Salute to the fearless
UNDP, Star honour five female community workers for service during pandemic
Having two young children and an ailing mother-in-law at home, it was extremely risky for Haowa Khanam to go outside her home during the pandemic.
Sweeping aside all fear, she installed numerous hand-washing booths all around Karail slum, distributed leaflets and took training sessions about maintaining social distance and hygiene.
On the occasion of International Women's Day 2021, The Daily Star and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Bangladesh yesterday awarded five female community workers, for their self-sacrificing initiatives during Covid-19 pandemic. Haowa was one of them.
Under "Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project" (LIUPCP) of UNDP, these women played a vital role in raising awareness about Covid-19 in heavily congested slum areas and impoverished parts of Dhaka.
When misinformation about Covid-19 and its treatment were spreading, Ayesha Siddika (18) took to the streets with a microphone and disseminated correct information and awareness about the virus.
Sajia Akter was six months pregnant when the pandemic hit. However, she went out to distribute hand washing materials to 2,760 families. She also disseminated nutrition-related information for pregnant women and new mothers.
Runa Akter conducted training sessions about hygiene and social distancing, and arranged food assistance for thousands of families when many people were jobless and starving due to the shutdown.
Beauty Rani Sikder went door to door to hundreds of families in Karail slum, collected health-related information, distributed hand-washing materials and raised awareness.
The Daily Star and UNDP Bangladesh termed these five women "Nirbhaya" (fearless) and awarded a crest and a certificate for their bravery and selfless contributions during an award giving ceremony held at The Daily Star Centre yesterday.
Runa Akter said, "When working during the lockdown, I was not afraid. This was work that I wanted to do. The real challenge was the empty roads, lack of transport, and getting past police and the army and convincing my landlord, who wanted to evict me in fear that I would infect others by going out."
Ashekur Rahman, assistant resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh, said, "Under LIUPCP, we have nurtured 1,500 such volunteers who have made tremendous efforts to ensure hygiene and to raise awareness in the communities."
UNDP Resident Representative Sudipto Mukerjee said, "We are proud to recognise and honour these frontline workers. 50 years ago, freedom fighters of Bangladesh liberated this country through supreme sacrifice. We are really fortunate that 50 years later we could honour these women who also fought bravely to save their communities during this pandemic."
Mizanur Rahman, chief operations officer of The Daily Star, said, "When the pandemic reached Bangladesh, all of us panicked. We saw how sons and daughters abandoned their parents; how dead bodies were left in hospitals in fear of the disease. What these brave women have done for their communities in such a panic-stricken situation is really exemplary."