Meet this week’s lockdown legend: Shwetha from Carmel High School
The plight of marginalised citizens during the Covid19 lockdown, is something that all of us in this country have been witness to. Even our youngest citizens cannot have failed to see how people have struggled to access food, medicines and other resources. One such young person was Shwetha Shree Rachita, a grade 10 student of Carmel High School, Rajajinagar. Solve Ninja Sanskriti Sharma reports.
“My father told me ‘While we are sitting here at home and enjoying this period, see how people are struggling outside’. I wanted to do something, because helping people is our duty as citizens of India and moreover as humans. So I thought of starting a social media campaign to raise funds for women daily wagers, who were the most affected and had no access to essential, sanitary products.” Shwetha recounts.
Being a student, Shwetha did not have a concrete plan initially, just the knowledge that she had to help. She started out by contacting some of her friends and spoke to teachers at her school and formed a WhatsApp group to start raising funds. They faced some set backs in the beginning with some members of the public feeling that as school children, they would not be able to do much. The group of students did not did not have a bank account to receive donations either. With the help of one of their teachers, they found out about Reap Benefit. “I found out about the Reap Benefit foundation with the help of Shwetha Ma’am at school. As soon as I contacted Archana Ma’am from Reap Benefit for help, she immediately agreed to collaborate with us. Our group then made made attractive posters, articles and a note, to spread the word about our campaign. We shared it in across Social Media using the handle She As A Virago.” Shwetha shared.
Collecting donations started slowly, but with the help of Reap Benefit the team extended their campaign schedule and by the end of it they were able to raise INR 10,600.
Shwetha says, “ After collecting the money, Reap Benefit volunteers, especially Archana Ma’am helped us located daily wage workers who were working as house helps, in garment factories, canteens, beauty parlours, etc. After verification we prepared ration kits, each worth INR 1000 and distributed them among the families identified. The smiles on the faces of the women made us happy. Because of this initiative, about 10 families received food for one month. Moreover, it ignited a spark in me to think about a way in which we could provide a permanent income source for unemployed women.”
Swetha started the initiative She as A Virago in grade 8 with the intention to motivate women, create awareness among them and break the chain of patriarchal mindsets. “Through this initiative we enacted skits about successful women in our school. This brought about a change in the mindset of few of my friends with regards to the role of women. We also have a blog, in which we write about the barriers in the way of successful women. Well also send articles to The Times of India and New Indian Express website.”
When asked about what her next steps are in regards to the initiative, Shwetha says, “I would like to keep working on women empowerment starting with my family and friends. And if the lockdown extends, I will definitely start another fundraiser and help more families. I also intend to distribute masks and sanitizers to those who need them. I have this confidence because I know I have Reap Benefit to help us. Moreover all this would not have been possible without Shwetha Ma’am , Hemalatha Ma’am, Archana ma’am , my team members, parents and especially the donors. So I would like to thank them for their support.”
We can’t wait to see how Shwetha will take her work forward in the months to come! You can follow the work of She As a Virago on Facebook, Instagram and on their website.
