A website is helping women widowed by the pandemic find employment.
Yudhvir Mor, vice-president of software company Zuora, launched ‘Covid widows’ when he saw the trauma of a friend’s family. “He was a bright guy and to see his wife and two small children in grief moved me no end,” he says. Mor networked with about 3,000 senior IT executives on LinkedIn and got their help to provide skill development and counselling to bereaved women. “The response has been overwhelming,” he told Metrolife.
Launched on May 11, Covid widows gets about 1,000 calls, e-mails and WhatsApp messages a day from across the country. A majority of callers are from major cities.
“Most have formal education, but have never had to work because their husbands earned well. Some are seeking employment for the first time, and others are returning to work after a break,” he says. About 4,000 volunteers, comprising psychologists, gynaecologists, homemakers and students work round the clock to help the women.
Most callers want to be financially independent and are not keen to live with their in-laws. “They want to start working to provide for their children and also put their own education to good use,” he says. A majority of the callers are housewives, who have completed their formal education and wish to start working.
Twitter : @CovidWomenHelp
Instagram : covidwomenhelp
Website : https://Covidwidows.in
The site adopts a
four-step process.
Grief counselling
(Published 18 May 2021, 17:35 IST)