Bolangir: Extraordinary situations need extraordinary efforts – inspired by these words of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, 43 years old Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) – Uma Pradhan, the foot soldier of rural healthcare in the State, has risen through the extraordinary challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and set an example for others in the entire Bolangir district for her selfless service.
When the district administration assigned Uma the work to create awareness among the people to wear mask and wash their hands frequently with soap, she came to know that most of the poor people in her remote village named Chacherbeng under Belpada Block in Bolangir district do not have the capacity to afford for mask and soap to protect themselves from Coronavirus. This appalling situation made her come forward to help the poor and she took the initiative to stitch masks herself for the people. She took it as a challenge onto herself to help others on her own capacity and distributed the masks prepared by her and soaps purchased from her own income among the needy.
Every day after finishing her duty, she engages herself in stitching face masks for villagers and especially for pregnant women, handicapped people, old age villagers and people who cannot afford them. The kind hearted woman has voluntarily taken up the task and has been distributing masks without charging any money. While speaking to Newsroom.co.in, the foot soldier Uma Pradhan said, “I used to stitch around 30-40 masks in a day in the month of March and April when there was scarcity of masks in the region. The numbers have now gradually risen. I distributed those masks to people who do not have them or do not have enough money to purchase them for their safety.”
She added that she feels extremely happy for being able to make a small contribution in the battle against the pandemic.
Foot soldier spreads awareness
On being asked about spreading awareness about the Coronavirus infection, the soft spoken lady says that now the villagers are following social distancing norms strictly and they themselves are making others aware about the merits of wearing masks and washing hands as a precautionary measure against Coronavirus infection. Wearing of masks, social distancing and sanitization substantially reduces the risk of contracting the infection. She said that she always asks villagers to put on a face mask while stepping out of the house.
The way ASHA Didi Uma has served the people with her little income, it has definitely set an example for others including all frontline workers in the fight against Covid-19.