Pranay Singh
Vice President, Information Technology
Maharashtra
No question about the role of medical and law-enforcement fraternity in such times but Pranay also feels deeply for the janitors and security staff members. He along with his family donated 100 kg of whole wheat flour and 10 kg of Sugar, to support the staff members who are tirelessly working for the well-being and safety of people.
Pankaj Puri
Trainee Svatantra Field Officer
Madhya Pradesh
Pankaj works as a field officer in Madhya Pradesh. In his village because of the lockdown, many of the villagers were facing challenges to get facemasks. Pankaj took the initiative of stitching facemasks to help his fellow villagers, in total he made 2500 facemasks and continues to do so when there arises a demand.
Chhote Lal Yadav
Regional Manager
Uttar Pradesh
Chhote Lal is associated with Svatantra for more than 4 years now, he works as the Regional Manager. With the effect of lockdown, many of our employees went back to their houses in various parts of rural India. Chhote Lal too belongs to such a village, it is harvest time in his village but it was not possible to harvest land without help. But there was no help available in the ongoing lockdown.... However, once the Government allowed certain relaxation for uplifting daily wage workers, Chhote Lal immediately hired a group of people to help him harvest his land. But in time he felt the workers are in dire need of money for sustaining themselves. He instantaneously spoke with a local Contractor to arrange work for these workers, the Contractor responded positively and immediately hired them. Although, he ended harvesting his field without any help, but he is happy he could arrange work for the workers that will help them sustain for a longer period.
Kabita Kumari
Executive – Training
Odisha
Certainly a tough time for all, some are even facing difficulties in arranging a decent meal for themselves and for the family. Kabita, who works in the Training Department was thoroughly disturbed by this thought and she took it up to feed such underprivileged people and started offering meal to them. She could sustain it for 14 days, however, faced monetary challenges to continue. But this didn’t discourage her and she unabatedly raised funds. Initially, they reached and fed about 70-80 people and today the count stands to least 100 a day.
Rasul Shek
Divisional Manager
Karnataka
Rasul is posted at Karnataka as the Divisional Manager. He just made to his hometown - Chilakaluripet in Andhra Pradesh in the lockdown. On his way, he saw many migrants and homeless people were struggling with hunger as there was a deep impact on the food supply due to lockdown. He along with his group of friends decided to help these people in distress, so they started distributing bread and biscuits. They roamed around the nearby areas on their bike with necessary precautions such as facemask and hand gloves and helped as much as 100 children and elderlies with food.
Pramod Jain
Senior Branch Operations Manager
Madhya Pradesh
Health is a primary necessity just like food, clothing and shelter, is been deeply sowed in our lives now more than ever. In the quarantine scenario, Pramod was at home when he got a call from his sister regarding his Nephew’s ill health and informed that doctor recommended them to go to Bhopal City to treatment without any delay. Nephew’s health was deteriorating and the family had to move him to a proper hospital on the same day.... But in the lockdown, it became a difficult task. The family tried reaching out to many government officials including a relative, who was well placed but circumstances were against them. The family lost 4-5 hours in arranging help. On the same day, Pramod took his car and with a driver without caring for his health, went to meet the local Collector and appeal for help. But the collector was busy with a group of Doctors in the isolation ward. After some delay the Collector heard Pramod’s plight and arranged all the necessary documentation. By the time he got papers allowing them to drive and reach Bhopal it was passed 10 pm. Finally, the treatment started at 1 am. Pramod felt victorious when he heard his Nephew is recovering.
Sumit Kumar
Branch Office Manager
Madhya Pradesh
Sometimes you are surrounded by good Samaritans but it only takes a crisis to recognize them. One of our BOA – Sumit Kumar fell ill on March 22, he was so weak he couldn’t even afford to go back home. Due to lockdown, he couldn’t get proper medication on time and his health condition declined. Other employees of the branch, Branch Manager (BM) – Rajendra Bhomeriya, Field Officers (FO) – Akhilesh Malwiya and Sonu, reached every hospital in the vicinity and when tried going to Ratlam they couldn’t manage a car as Sumit couldn’t travel in a bike. Employees reached senior officials and they assured a car will be arranged and sent to them from Ratlam.... But in the meantime, BM spoke with an acquainted and arranged for a car. After reaching Ratlam on check-up doctor informed Sumit only had 5 units of blood and there is internal bleeding too, they advised to take him to Indore. Which was an impossible task, the hospital denied admission but team along with area manager (AOM) – Vinay got in touch with a doctor in CHL Digambar Jain Hospital where Sumit was admitted, doctor asked them to arrange for 5 units of blood. The blood banks didn’t have AB+ blood, but Regional Manager Shakti Raj Shukla arrived along with two other donors and donated 3 units of blood. On the other hand, the police were making it impossible for the team members to make arrangements due to lockdown, they had to produce papers every time. Still, 2 units of blood were required. Branch staff got in touch with HQ in Mumbai who informed them about Svatantra Code Red App, through which staff members reached out to blood donors, however with restrictions in movement it wasn’t easy to get donors to the hospital. The last unit was arranged somehow. The BOM is recovering and is still in branch, taken care by the office staff.
Shriram Dangi
Svatantra Assistant Branch Manager
Madhya Pradesh
While creating and helping others bring you the selfless happiness but making your family smile is of equal importance. And when you are creative it certainly is a bonus. April 5th was Shriram’s daughter second birthday and like every parent, he too wanted to make it special for her. In the lockdown, only essentials were available so getting a cake was a dream. However, with his quick thinking, he carved a cake out of watermelon. The birthday will be forever etched as the most unique one in his daughter's life.
Dibyindu Sutradhar
Svatantra DM Business
West Bengal
The world is a better place because so many still care. Meet our colleague Dibyindu, who works in our West Bengal branch. Upon returning to his village just before the lockdown was announced, he noticed many migrants and homeless spent days without proper food. He along with his friends decided to help these people and donated grocery consisting of Rice, Potato & Soybean Packet to about 150 people, among which most were children and elderlies.
Rohit Pandey
Assistant Branch Manager
Bihar
Helping people without any expectation is the noblest act, Rohit Pandey along with his fellow villagers donated soaps and groceries to the labourers staying in their neighbouring village Dilarpur (Purani Sij). Due to the lockdown, labourers earnings are affected as they don't have any means of work. Rohit and others also ensured they educate the community about hygiene and the importance of staying home safely to combat the pandemic.
Santosh Kumar Sharma
Regional Manager
Bihar
“Every human is free to help society, regardless of their status, caste or religion” rightly put by our Bihar’s Regional Manager, Santosh Sharma. In his capacity, he helped 53 families, who were daily wage labourers by giving them grocery comprising of rice, potatoes, wheat flour, biscuits and chocolates. Inspired by his act, many followed suit and made a generous donation to the underprivileged.
Deepak Kumar
Svatantra Field Officer
Bihar
Deepak Kumar is one of our youngest hires and works as a field officer. He is an example of how social consciousness is embedded within a human, he used some amount of his salary to buy fabric and stitched facemasks. He then distributed facemasks to his fellow villagers and advised them about best practices such as maintaining hygiene, wearing masks and staying home to combat corona.
Satyendra Nath Singh Yadav
Senior Area Manager
Uttar Pradesh
Satyendra empathized with people in his area, who didn’t have a steady source of income nor the capability of buying food. He urged and convinced many of his fellow villagers to help these people by giving them cooked food. He along with many others, supplied 200 packets of cooked food daily starting from 8th April, not only in his block but also to nearby villages.
Mithun Chavan & Nitin Kolate
Svatantra Field Officers
Maharashtra
Mithun and Nitin both work as Svatantra Field Officer in Maharashtra Region. Inspired by teammate’s contribution in the time of COVID-19, they stepped in to help the less fortunate daily wagers staying in the same village. Both of them with their effort collected Rs.10000 and arranged grocery to 14 such families residing in the village. And proved that “two heads are better than one”.
Dhanpal Zala
Svatantra Field Officer
Gujarat
Youths are the future of tomorrow and a source of fresh perspective in society. Dhanpal is one of the youngest field officer and belongs to a remote village of Mahisagar District. Even then it didn’t stop him and his friends help their fellow villagers. The group collected some money and with that money bought facemasks and made a couple of them at home. They distributed facemask in a set consisting of 5 facemasks to 60 houses. A small thoughtful step can go a long way.
Jagat Saikia
Svatantra Field Officer
Assam
Lockdown has majorly affected the daily wagers, added to that farmers are unable to sell their crops in time, resulting in a huge depository of perishable commodities. Time and circumstances are a huge factor, Government’s relief packages are on its way however a group of Samaritans including our employee Jagat Saikia jumped to quick action. He joined his school Teacher and several others in helping people of their own town Gogamukh town and couple of nearby villages. The group pulled in money from their salaries and saving and distributed groceries. Alongside, they also educated people about coronavirus and the importance of social distancing. Their gumption helped approximately 270 households in the villages of Lothiya, Tulshibari, Dhalpuria and Chengamari.
Manoj Chouhan
Svatantra Area Manager
Madhya Pradesh
Help in any form is need of the hour. Manoj from our Madhya Pradesh office, in his own capacity, has helped the society. He participated in many activities conducted by NGOs, he even visits hospitals and helps families of patients admitted. He arranges tea for them and also for the Policemen stationed near his area. He has helped many families with vegetables grown in his backyard. This proves more than the money you need intend to be of help to others.
Amol Tikar
Senior Regional Mediclaim Coordinator
Maharashtra
Like so many others working outside their hometown, Amol too was lucky to reach his village in nick of time. Although, upon returning he could see that many of the village members who belong to the lower-income group and were daily wagers, couldn’t afford food in this irrepressible condition. Amol and his group of friends started collecting essential from other village members who could afford it and they also contributed Rs. 1000 per person and distributed food essentials to 40 families.
Mukul Kumar
IT Support Engineer
Uttar Pradesh
Mukul Kumar works as an IT Support Engineer in Uttar Pradesh. Seeing the difficult situation so many of his fellow villagers are facing due to lack of jobs and a steady source of income, Mukul along with his family arranged for essential food supply for 500 such families.
Rakesh Das
Svatantra Risk Officer
Assam
Rakesh wanted to help his fellow villagers who are farmers and whose income depended on selling vegetables and fruits in the market. But in this scenario, their earnings are gravely impacted. Rakesh and his family member’s saw made 100 facemasks at home and distributed along with food essentials.
Pranjit Kurmi
Senior Area Manager
Assam
Pranjit belongs to a place in Assam which is surrounded my Tea Estates and in the nearest Tea Estate, he witnessed many of the labourers didn’t have money to support their livelihood. Though the community is staying in facilities provided by the Tea Estate Owners, sustaining without money and food has become taxing to the community. To ease them of the situation, Pranjit helped 80 families of Fetabosti village with necessary food commodity.
Ramshankar Bagdi
Svatantra Field Officer
Madhya Pradesh
A good intention and motivated person can change their surrounding with positivity and resilience. Ramshankar, since the lockdown has begun is talking to his fellow villagers and many others about the importance of hygiene and social distancing. He has been urging people not to step out of their home and stay grounded. He is also helping the Policemen who are on duty during lockdown by providing them essentials so that they can carry out their duty without interruption. He has also made the arrangement of food and essentials to people who were in dire need. He intends to serve them till the situation doesn’t come in control.
Avijit Kumar Bala
Senior Regional Manager
West Bengal
In our current situation, a small help goes a long way. Avijit, who belongs to Malda in West Bengal helped many migrant and homeless avail food in the times of crisis. He along with his friend distributed 68 packets consisting of Rice, Potato and Soya bean in their locality. The families consisted of children and elderlies. There’s no doubt such an act of generosity has brought smile and relief to so many of them.
Arya Prasad Samantaray
Senior Regional Manager
West Bengal
Within the outbreak of the COVID-19 and so many of us being confined to our houses resulted in many of the stray animals being unfed. Arya, who is from Odisha noticed a great number of cattle and dogs were wandering about without proper care. He took it upon himself to feed as many animals he can, he has been regularly feeding the cattle in his area with fodder and water.
Kapil Deshmukh
Senior Regional Manager
Chhattisgarh
The new normal has left all of us fazed and every day has been about learning something new or hearing some new stories. We have seen in the news how people are walking on highways to reach their hometown and Kapil, who works as the Senior Regional Manager met and helped a family who was on their feet towards their destination. The family were on their path to cover a distance of 450Km from Aurangabad and while passing from Nanded, the family was helped by Kapil and his father with food and water. While parting ways they gave hand sanitizer to the family. Even if it were for a moment, this certainly has provided the family with some relief from the distress and etched memory for the lifetime
Buddhadev Dey
Back office Manager
West Bengal
The intensity and reach of Coronavirus is hard to fathom, it has not left any corner of the world. Areas such Bolpur in West Bengal, on a normal day and time it is quite distant from the hustle and bustle of the city. Today, however, the corona has not spared that area. Buddhadev and his friends ensured that in their capacity they at least help people with food essentials. They helped 78 such families with Rice, Potato & Biscuit
Kishan Prakash
Risk Officer
Bihar
Kishan is a native of Sonpur Village in Bihar and in his village too the daily wage workers and farmers were perplexed due to the lockdown impact. He along with his group of friends contributed around Rs. 1000 per person and collected Rs. 10000 and arranged for rice, pulses, salt, oil, soap and mask for more than 85 people. They continued to provide to the distressed families for 12 days, the effort also came under the eye by the local media and fellow villagers and the group was and was appreciated for their contribution and effort. Additionally, when Kishan was not preparing the donation, he single-handedly planted more than 45 trees in his area. We are amazed by the effort of this young boy and his zeal to serve the society.
Dildar Kaji Hossain
Trainee Field Officer
West Bengal
Dildar in his hometown Malda saw many migrants and homeless people didn’t have even minimal access to food and hygiene. Hygiene is of topmost importance to fight against coronavirus. He immediately sprang into action, gathered a couple of friends and made arrangements of groceries and other essential items to help the needy. Samaritans like Dildar are proof that humanity still exists.
Latu Moni Nath
Senior Branch Manager
Assam
Inspired by the saying, "No one has ever become poor by giving -" by Anne Frank, Latu Moni spent his one month’s salary for purchasing grocery and essential for the daily wage workers residing in the area of Doghari Village in North Lakhimpur. He appeals to people to contribute in their own capacity that will help save many lives.
Pankaj Aundhkar
Zonal Manager (Zone 2)
Madhya Pradesh
Pankaj is one of our first employees, he belongs to Takarkheda Sambhulo a village in Amravati (Maharastra). Due to the lockdown, he had to travel to his local village and upon arrival to his village, he saw the acute struggles of daily wage workers and their families, with zero savings and work, their condition was worrisome. He arranged for rations consisting of food items and other essential items such as sugar, salt, oil, peanuts, soaps, biscuits, red grams etc. to 25 families in the village and contributed my small part as a responsible citizen. This proves Svatantra team is led by examples.
Bijay Kumar Swain
State Admin
Odisha
We are living in times which none of us could have ever imagined, but we cannot ignore the reality of the situation. This is the time we need to come together and help each other in any way possible. Our team in a branch in Bhubaneshwar were facing challenging times because of the prolonged lockdown. There was the unavailability of LPG gas cylinder in the concerned area which resulted in a shortage of food availability and the employees of the branch were the hapless victim of the situation. Bijay Kumar Swain our team member from Odisha region went out of his way and arranged LPG cylinder from his on house. A true exemplary act of a team player.
Peeyush Agrawal
Svatantra Area Manager
Assam
Impact of the pandemic has given birth to different kind of situations, in one such cases, Peeyush who works in the Assam region wanted to fly back home but his flight cancelled and was forced to stay in the branch, without any cooking utensils and problematic electricity. He survived the entire two months on rice and Maggi. Once the railway announced special trains, he was immediately homebound and after 14 days of home quarantine, he fell sick with a severe throat infection. During this entire time, Svatantra’s CEO – Anujeet Varadkar and the Zonal Head – Rajesh Kumar were personally checking with the Peeyush on his well-being. While we talk about how people are helping the society but it is also important to know that teams and senior officials of Svatantra Microfin Organisation has been constantly talking to other staff members to take an account of their whereabouts, thus benchmarking #svatancares slogan.
Avinash Kaulaskar
Assistant Branch Manager
Maharashtra
Post lockdown, when the Branches are gradually reopening across India, there were set of employees who faced lot of difficulties and challenges while reporting back to work. Amidst all these, Avinash Kaulaskar from Maharashtra joined work despite his fractured hand and began working on a regular basis. His health did not deter him to showcase his hard-work and commitment towards work.