The Role of Youth and Students in combatting COVID-19

In times like these that the world has never witnessed before, COVID-19 continues to take tolls on many innocent lives with every coming day. In such times of peril and vulnerability, it is the students who are up to take charge on their levels and serve the society with valour and humility. These are the times that require the potential connexion of the youth to take accountability and hence, provide mental and physical aids to countless patients suffering through the virus. The times have demanded a silent ruckus with Universities and colleges being shut down while students strive to make help available for the affected ones.

The students and youth of the nation have portrayed vigorous involvement in ground-level contributions attributed to serve the society in these tough times. To look at a much wider perspective, in order to meet the nation’s need for blood donations and plasma, which are in utmost demand to save the lives of patients, oxygen cylinders and beds available in hospitals, young student volunteers and workers now, need to put in every inch of their effort to make sure no patient’s sanctity is ignored. The need of the hour demands the youth to work on every ground-level activity right from working on the sanitization of public transport, toilets and schools along with proper vaccination drives to make sure the facility reaches maximum number of people.

In the past few days, many student-leader organisations like the Delhi University Students’ Union and the ABVP students’ wing have tries their best to make the regarded field efforts to sanitize hostel rooms, vaccination centres, university premises and the offices of frontline workers, thus helping this student and youth initiative that now needs to be taken to a national level. To talk about a few initiatives taken up by student organizations, the DUSU has initiated the setting up of four university centres, involving testing centres, isolation centres, oxygen centres and vaccination centres, to provide immediate help to the patients. In order to spread the reach, an online pool of 500 people has been created by the student volunteers to reach out to individuals from all over the country. The Union members and student activists are continually seen updating people about the vacancy of beds in the capital region and elsewhere through the social media handles and, at the same time, carry out their endless service towards the patients on field. An approach to set up a hospital with 100 beds for the convenience of the students of Delhi University and other patients in need has been actively initiated by the union members, only to help more youth participation and ensure the health of the students.

अभियान निरंतर जारी है…..

हरियाणा प्रांत की कुरुक्षेत्र इकाई के कार्यकर्ताओं ने स्थानीय अस्पताल में कोविड के खिलाफ लड़ाई लड रहे कोरोना योद्धाओं, अस्पताल में भर्ती मरीजों और उनके परिजनों को दोपहर का भोजन, फल, जल एवं अन्य आवश्यक सामग्री वितरित की। #ABVPForSociety pic.twitter.com/YT3M20MqNC

— ABVP (@ABVPVoice) May 11, 2021

ABVPVoice, the much trending helping-hand rendered by the students’ wing to aid those suffering, has appealed the students all around the nation to stand strong with Covid warriors and maintain their safety by regularly sanitizing police stations, dispensaries, vaccination centres and hospital wards. Apart from Delhi, the ABVP karyakartas involving more than 3 million youth contributors have extended their organization of the vaccination and blood donation campaigns in many other states like Maharashtra and West-Bengal, where the cases continue surge.

In these times where not everyone can reach out directly, constant online help have been set up for the patients along with a 24/7 helpline that is attended to at all times. Student Organizations all around the nation have come forth with their initiatives to encourage more students and youth to actively engage in providing benefactors for the affected ones. Further, we see many students persistently reaching out to every patient possible, only to help their situation and provide them with medications, oxygen cylinders and vaccines. These students, though aware of the risk to their own lives, have been rendering a constant assistance to the society by delivering all requirements including food, blood and plasma to the ones in need. These are the much needed times that require the participation of youth on a country level.

“पहले रक्तदान-फिर टीकाकरण”

जयपुर प्रांत के बी.आर. महाविद्यालय, शाहपुरा में अभाविप कार्यकर्ताओं ने रक्तदान शिविर का आयोजन किया, जिसमें 59 युनिट रक्त एकत्रित किया गया।

अभाविप सभी युवाओं से टीकाकरण से पूर्व रक्तदान करने का आग्रह करती है। #ABVPForSociety #ProudBloodDonor pic.twitter.com/2P1DYCtbbK

— ABVP (@ABVPVoice) May 11, 2021

While each of these students faces a mental breakdown while they watch many patients suffer through causalities, they are urged not to give up on their intentions. This is not a government-centric, rather a society-centric approach that the students aim to take up and spread across the nation. Aware of the mental crisis that these times have brought, online mental counselling initiatives are being set up along with many awareness campaigns to help people survive the psychological effects that this situation bestows. To keep the University premises safe and secure, student activists continue to exhibit persistence in sanitizing the campus, offices of the university frontline workers and college hostels on a regular basis, whilst reaching out to the hostel and student residences in the campus.

To reduce the burden on administrative staff and healthcare workers, karyakartas of ABVP Kanpur are volunteering at a vaccination centre.

Karyakartas are assisting people with registration, addressing their concerns and helping them through the process.#ABVPForSociety pic.twitter.com/bxlijd0eRn

— ABVP (@ABVPVoice) May 11, 2021

While India has come a long way in order to battle the pandemic, making constant progress with the vaccines and health supplements, the students and the young need to stand together now more than ever, to help the society get through these times of crisis. Though many student activists and youth workers tend to keep working on the ground level with better initiatives and for the principle of serving the society at all costs, there is a long way to go. These times of need implore all students from over the nation to take a step ahead and realize the significance of young muscle at times like these, thus keeping up the confidence and hopes of many who rely on us for their well-being.