Feedback on Partnering with Community Organizations in the Midst of the Covid Pandemic
While the immediate impact of the covid induced crisis led to a severe resource crunch amongst millions of individuals and most donors as well as NGOs worked under a crisis management mode to alleviate the conditions of millions of needy and the poor, the focus upon managing the crisis has shifted significantly in the past three months on the specific management of disease through a litany of measures.
The foundation is currently working on a multi-pronged multi
partner cooperation across all the wards of Bengaluru and it is in the DJ Halli
region of East Bangalore that the organisationās efforts are being directed
towards providing adequate precautions to the residents of the region.
Most blocks in DJ Halli are ill-equipped and some of the
denser slums often suffer from poor sanitation facilities, closely cramped
housing, unreliable provision of running water and above all, are often
congested in nature. With four adjacent wards converging upon a single
vegetable market, the region in and around the PHC at DJ Halli is often teeming
with people. Physical distancing is a fancied dream as people live in close
quarters indoors and interact with each other in equally cramped outdoors.
Community Feedback on Managing Covid
In addition to all the above mentioned causes lies the
underlying issue of a lack of recognition of the diseaseās effects. The lack of
recognition flies in the eyes of the conventional analyst for awareness about
the disease is immense and all the residents who lived through the difficult
times of the lockdown are well aware of the possible effects of the disease and
also the measures required to prevent it.
However, the current predilection of not wearing masks also
comes associated with the sense of fatality and fatigue, having undergone
painful job losses and social stigma for the past few months. Residents come up
with creative replies when enquired about the reasons for not wearing a mask.
Varying from āIt is all godās willā to āNothing will happen
to meā to āWe have all caught the diseaseā to āGod cannot kill all the poorā to
āIf it happens, it happensā to āWe donāt have money to buy a maskā to a
multitude of reasons, the almost universal lack of an interest to wear masks
also hides an important detail about their social lives. The communities here
have been the hardest hit by the economic impacts of the crisis and have no
other option but to step out and work in the nearby regions. They cannot step
back and worry about wearing a mask or maintaining distance but rather about
getting food into their stomach.
The feedbacks surrounding myths and legends that have
cropped up around the issue managing covid also border on the absurd. For
example, the ola driver today mentioned eloquently that these masks are the
governmentās strategy to confuse the public and went on to add that Masks store
carbon dioxide and this goes back to the body and makes us weak. The government
ultimately wants us to be all weak so that our focus remains on treating
ourselves rather than worrying about the country. More such theories abound in
the markets of Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Delhi ranging from guzzling copious
amounts of alcohol to holding your breath to āWe are safe as long as we are in
our localityā to stopping the consumption of fruits as fruits are known to carry
the virus. The list is endless, and each country, state, city and locality have
added a twist to these stories. The challenge for people working in the
frontline is to sift through the rumours and convey basic truths about the
pandemic and its causes.
Partner Approaches to the Communication Campaign
The task before the volunteers of Sama Foundation as it
approaches each door and explains the benefits of preventive measures is
immense and multi-layered. In a way, the communication strategy being developed
in the form of a smiley campaign is targeting at these foundational issues
being faced by locals. While the NGO works diligently in the slums, its
volunteers are attempting to convey the importance of being aware of the
disease. Simple measures such as a temperature check or use of oximeter is
shared with the household to convey a message that the status of the family is
currently healthy. The volunteers also share critical contact details of the
local BBMP war zone which has been setup for the express purpose of providing
right information to the needy communities.
The volunteers trained to work with Sama start with an
advantage of being from the same locality as the respondents. Besides being
trained in conducting simple health checks, filling up data sheets, responding
to queries, sharing phone numbers for emergency calls and even preparing a
street play, the volunteers have their hands full. In between, they also find
time to stick posters and banners at various critical locations in the
locality. The volunteers have come up with interesting preliminary feedback
from their interactions with community members. Some of their key observations
were that respondents are usually scared when they the gun-shaped thermal
scanner and oximeter.
Secondly, survey fatigue has crept into most people after
several months of data collection and locals are usually sceptical is sharing
information. In some cases, respondents are reluctant to answer and in
extremely rare circumstances, respondents have refused to answer or even tore
the sheets. However, this behaviour is countered by the use of local volunteers
and most respondents do share information freely when volunteers explain about
the importance of such data collection.
Thirdly, as observed in places like Eidgah Mohalla, most
respondents have responded well and offered detailed information about their
health. The response is more detailed when the person being interview is
suffering from Blood Pressure or Diabetes. These respondents have also
requested for medicinal support as well. Volunteers have been trained to
exhaustively interact with people who suffer from co-morbidities and this data
is being captured in detail.
In the midst of communicating on the effects of the disease,
the foundation is working closely to ensure that potential side-effects of the
disease is kept within tolerable limits. Through its partner, Mercy mission,
several fever clinics have been set up in these wards which are designed as a
walk-in facility for community members to receive an update on their health
status. These booths are non-intrusive in nature and responds to community
members who wish to get themselves checked voluntarily. Though, there was an
initial apprehension amongst several community members about the purpose of
these booths, a sustained communication campaign has led to a steady walk of
upto 80-100 everyday who get themselves checked on parameters such as
temperature, Blood Pressure and oxygen level.
These efforts are still in a nascent stage and the coming
weeks and possibly months will unfold a clear image of the impact of the foundationās
community level communication campaign. Posters, stickers, banners, wall
paintings, murals, street theatre, songs, tableaus, announcement from mosques
and more activities are planned as part of the campaign. Till then, the
foundation and its partners such as Sama and Mercy Mission are determined to
carry on spreading the message of managing the covid crisis.
Vijayshree G.R. and Kunal S.