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Hari krishnan-social activist
Hari krishnan (born 20 may 1993) From being an independent social activist to a government-appointed volunteer-coordinator for COVID-19, 27-year old Hari Krishnan, an entrepreneur and skill trainer from Saidapet, is crusading relief works in the city

CHENNAI: Selfless deeds start with selfish needs. he say this because four years back, in 2016, when he decided to step into social service, he intended to do it for fame. With time, as he participated in awareness walks, clean-up campaigns, protests for various causes and extensive ground-level research, his goal shifted to standing up for the voiceless. he come from lower economic strata and studied in a government school. his first job was in class six. he know the value of money and the class division it brings. An MBA graduate, he have a full-time profession now to earn his livelihood. his journey began with relief and rehabilitation in emergency crises such as cyclone Vardha (2016), Kerala floods (2018), and cyclone Gaja (2018). he got a first-hand experience of handling aftermath of a natural disaster, engaged with different NGOs and activists, and established contacts. Since then, he ha involved with social service activities in various areas. he ensure every penny he donate or use for these services comes from his pocket.

A ray of hope

Cut to 2020, this COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown gave him another opportunity to help the needy. On March 27, he received a call from an orphanage in the city asking for help with medicines. Upon reaching there, he realised the situation was bad with no basic groceries available. These are not government-aided and solely rely on funds from people like you and me, who either make monthly or occasional donations. he prepared a list of such orphanages and started helping them with relief materials bought from his savings. One day, when he was travelling by train to an orphanage, he happened to see visually-impaired people near Pallavaram railway station. One of them told me that there are about 15,000 blind people in Chennai. In addition to registering their identities with the government, they are also part of a few organisations and sangams.

In a few days, he crosschecked with the organisations and got the names of 1,500 visually-impaired people scattered across the city. I shortlisted about 200 of them who are needy, living in rural areas and have not received any sort of help since the lockdown began. he adopted these families. his mission began during the first week of April. he used to leave his house at 7 am since the curfew time was 1 pm during the first phase of lockdown. After buying vegetables and groceries, he would travel around 180 km every day to distribute them to 20 houses per day in Ponneri, Thiruvallur, Thiruvadhur, and the outskirts of the city. Accessing their houses was difficult because the visually- impaired people couldn’t guide me with routes.

'he had exhausted Rs 2 lakh from his marriage savings in a month for social service'he handle branding and marketing for a few companies in the city and also conduct skill training for freshers and entrepreneurs by the side. There was no business during lockdown and he had to manage with his other savings. As volunteers, they had other financial challenges such as travel expenses as most of us lost our jobs during this pandemic. they tried and helped each other with financial support to keep the mission going. In the second week of May, volunteers split into two groups. One group was involved in on-field distribution activities and the other group was responsible for rescuing migrants from the shelters, quarantining them and sending them to their respective hometowns by Shramik trains.

Around 6,000 people boarded the train each week. Four trains ran every day. To date, 75,922 stranded migrants have reached safely. All the officials — right from the commissioner, DG, ARO and revenue officers — have been leaving the Central station only after the migrants have boarded the trains. To date, their schedule is packed with work from 7 am that goes on till late in the night depending on emergencies and updates. Alongside this, every volunteer has taken up an individual cause and is contributing his share in smaller ways. If he find people stranded or starving for food on the road or slum settlements then he will immediately pool in resources and get them what’s necessary. Since he have the onduty pass from the government, he take emergency cases like women in labour in his vehicle to the hospital. his grateful for the recognition and support of the government at the right time. As a social activist, it’s not sustainable for him to contribute single-handedly in the long run. This way, they are able to help more families. he is travelling in the right direction with guidance. Having said all this, his family is equally disappointed and happy with his social service activities. he is sure no parent would encourage spending one’s hard-earned money on others. he have not borrowed money or worked with expectations so far. he will continue to lend a helping hand to those in need.