Glory for good work to guardian angels

Sanjay R Murty | NT
Bengaluru:

Namma Bengaluru Foundation felicitated Mercy Mission, a voluntary service organisation, in the 'Social Work' (organisation) category for their selfless services during Covid-19. The award was given by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Friday.

When News Trail called up Mercy Mission’s volunteer Tanveer Ahmed on Saturday, he was busy shifting the dead body of a 92-year-old. He had to help shift two more bodies on Saturday. Mercy Mission’s volunteers are known as Mercy Angels.

Ahmed, 46, along with his team Mercy Angels, carried out over 2,500 burials during Covid-19, when families of the deceased were not allowed to take the patient’s body home.

Many families were against the government's rule as they wanted to bid their loved ones a final goodbye. With the helplines offering no help, it was people like Tanveer who worked tirelessly, fed the hungry during the lockdown, suppled ration kits to guest workers and then did a service not many would do – conducted the last rites of men and women who died from the dreadful pandemic.

The NGO, known for its yeoman service during the Covid-19 mayhem, was founded in March 2020. One of its main objectives was to provide dignified burial or cremation to the victims who had succumbed to the infection.

“We are a big team of predominantly Muslim NGOs that work in several verticals including distribution of food and ration kits, arranging hospital beds and plasma (during the initial days of Covid-19), helping migrant workers take Shramik trains, etc,” said Tanveer who is a recruiter by profession.

Mercy Angles include professionals from various sectors. During the pandemic, Mercy Mission helped procure and supply hundreds of oxygen cylinders for patients in and around the city. It also started a telemedicine facility with over seventy empanelled doctors.

The organisation initially worked from a rented building near Cantonment Railway Station. With four ambulances available at any point in time and many more with its partner NGOs, Mercy Mission is dedicated to the service of patients and the departed.

Apart from its service, the NGO has also been able to escalate certain discrepancies in the healthcare system and its management. It has been able to bring about the necessary change at the policy level. When asked about challenges he had before him, Tanveer said that the only challenge was the negative portrayal of the community as Covid spreaders.

“Luckily, I did not get infected even after handling so many bodies. Many of our teammates suffered the infection, which was a challenge to us,” he added. Mercy Angels have also been doing last rites for several unclaimed and unidentified bodies. With this, they have been of great help to the police.

Naveed Irfan Iqbal, another volunteer of Mercy Mission, got infected twice during the pandemic. A businessman by profession, he was with the mission from the beginning. “It has been a wonderful journey getting out of our normal lives and reaching out to people in need,” he said.

Mercy Mission continues to aid patients and is actively helping out families shift their deceased. In addition to this, it also provides transportation to patients undergoing dialysis. Also, it continues to help shift dead bodies, conduct last rites for unclaimed bodies and transport patients for dialysis. The CM congratulated the winner and applauded NBF for recognising Covid warriors of the city.

“We should not forget about our history and learn from the pandemic to be resilient and fight all obstacles in life,” he said. Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said, “The selfless service by the doctors, healthcare professionals, and all frontline workers cannot be forgotten. This award really patronises the sacrifices and the great work done by the healthcare community