{"id":6562,"date":"2016-05-05T22:00:28","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T16:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6562"},"modified":"2016-05-05T22:00:28","modified_gmt":"2016-05-05T16:30:28","slug":"lockdown-hero-whatsapp-group-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=6562","title":{"rendered":"With the Concerned Citizens of \u201cLockdown Hero\u201d, Help is Only a WhatsApp Message Away"},"content":{"rendered":"\nT<\/span>he nationwide lockdown to curb the coronavirus pandemic over the past few weeks has created challenges for healthcare personnel, police officers, and essential workers<\/a> \u2013 but a few ordinary citizens have come together to lighten their burden.\n\nOffering their time and services for free amid the crisis, the volunteer group \u201cLockdown Hero\u201d is doing exactly what its name suggests. Armed with phones and internet connections, some time to spare, and the hope for a better tomorrow, Lockdown Hero is working across 95 cities including Mumbai, Pondicherry, Delhi, and Guwahati, to ensure help is provided where it is asked for \u2013 in a timely fashion. Most of the volunteers, consisting of office-goers and freelancers<\/a>, are added to a WhatsApp group dedicated to the city they belong to.\n\nWith belief in the idea that everyone needs a hero and that everyone has the ability to be one, Lockdown Hero operates at three levels – City Hero, Neighbourhood Hero, Area Hero. The best part? It is immaterial whether the group has to figure out a \u201csmall\u201d problem (like sourcing ration for a family), or a \u201cbig\u201d one, like finding a caretaker for an elderly person.\n\nMumbai-based Ajinkya Chikte helped start the initiative. Chikte has previously managed back-office work for Anubhuti Trust and Project Mumbai among other NGOs and volunteer groups, so the 33-year-old was familiar with the workframe. The group is driven by the thought that an easy-to-reach, reliable system was needed for ordinary people trying to navigate the lockdown.\n\nAt present, with multiple WhatsApp groups, the volunteers cater to the needs of urban poor, the underprivileged, the elderly, the infirm, and children. Providing meals for a family of five is just as important as arranging for a laptop for an underprivileged kid for whom this might just be the last shot at continuing his education, explains a volunteer recounting a recent incident.\n\nA Bandra resident had tweeted about a young boy in their neighbourhood needing a laptop as the lockdown had forced schools to shift to online classes<\/a>, and as he came from a family with financial constraints, they could not afford to buy one. It barely took the Lockdown Hero Mumbai group a few hours to connect a generous donor who\u2019d stumbled upon the tweet with an authentic laptop vendor that another group member verified. In less than two days, the child had a brand, new device.\n\n

Found a benevolent donor in @drnehavenkatesh<\/a> who restored my faith in kindness and helped pay for a new laptop for the child. Family & I are immensely grateful. Found a generous team of volunteers in @LockdownHero<\/a> who helped facilitate the initiative thanks to @Kaju_Katri<\/a> \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\u2014 La Bandida Uski de Bombay ( comerad \u092a\u094d\u0930\u093e \u091a\u0940 \u0928\u094b ) (@Womaniya) May 16, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>