Want to help? Join Karnataka's Covid-19 volunteer network

The government on Thursday reactivated its network of nonprofits and volunteer groups to help citizens deal with the second Covid-19 wave.

As part of this, the government has invited citizens to enrol as volunteers in the effort managed by senior IAS officer Uma Mahadevan. She was picked by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to lead the government’s effort to liaise with the private sector during the pandemic last year.

“We have a network of 200 large nonprofits. Shortly, we’re getting details of NGOs in districts also, as the existing network is present in and around Bengaluru,” Uma, the panchayat raj secretary, told DH.

“The sudden surge (in Covid-19 cases) has taken everybody off guard,” she said.

“If we create a hyper-local list, that will come in handy in helping people. That's how we build community.”

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By putting together a list of volunteers, Uma said, the government will coordinate requests for help, with offers of help.

“We have received requests for volunteers to work at the government’s oxygen call centre,” she pointed out.

“On vaccinations, for example, there might be senior citizens living alone and someone may volunteer to help them out. All these needs are evolving,” she said.

Apparently, volunteers are already coming forward to cook free meals for those affected by the pandemic.

The government has opened an online application form, asking interested citizens to enrol for on-ground or remote volunteering work.

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“For on-ground work, we want people to be generally in good health and already vaccinated,” Uma said.

Last year, overwhelmed by the response from civil society groups and nonprofits, the government came up with a portal called 'Sankalpa' to coordinate relief efforts during the pandemic.

“Last year, we were able to achieve a lot of work on the ground in terms of improving health infrastructure and relief efforts,” the officer said.

Citizens interested in volunteering for Covid-19 can register at bit.ly/GoKVolunteer.