ChildFund India starts special drive for fishing community; fishermen say they are grateful someone thought of them
Koli women get ready to receive their first dose at a camp at Machimarnagar, Cuffe Parade, on Tuesday. Pic/Bipin Kokate
Vaccination may have gained momentum in the city with over 42 lakh having received both jabs, but the fishing community is still lagging behind. An NGO started a drive on Monday to bring more members of the community into the vaccination net. Kolis, the traditional fishing community in Mumbai, are said to be the original residents of Mumbai. An estimated 5 lakh Kolis live along the city’s coast and were badly hit during the pandemic.
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“The vaccination drive held especially for us has ensured that the entire community has got at least one dose. It has also given us confidence that we can now face the third wave and it won’t affect our fishing business like it did previously in both the lockdowns,” said Sagar Dabri, chairman, Machimarnagar No 4, Cuffe Parade. The area has 2,500-3,000 houses.
“The Covid-19 vaccination centres usually have a lot of rush and many avoided going to these centres. While such a camp was required a long time back, we are grateful that at least someone thought about us,” said Dabri, who took his second dose in the camp. Avneesh Patil, 42, who was among several fishermen that took the first jab, said it is important for them to go to the sea. “I have seen my family struggle as docks were closed and fishing didn’t happen. With the community getting vaccinated, you feel confident and safe. Life is gradually limping back to normalcy,” said Patil, who kept trying earlier for the vaccine but found it difficult to get through.
Neelam Makhijani, country director of non-profit ChildFund India said the NGO has been working closely for the vulnerable and disadvantaged communities across the country and had found that the fishing community needed the doses the most. “They were not able to get the vaccination service that they should have. A fisherman is a daily wage earner. We found that after the pandemic hit their livelihood badly, losing even a day’s wage was a significant problem for them. We, therefore, decided to get the vaccines to their doorstep,” she said.
Makhijani said more than 70 per cent of the fishing community in South Mumbai got their first jab in the last two days in the vaccination camp. “We started off with the fishing community in South Mumbai and will proceed to the other parts of Mumbai in coming days,” she said. Makhijani said their aim is also to ensure a safe environment for children. “For us, it is important that the children are safe. By vaccinating young people, parents and the community we feel the children will be safer,” she said.
‘We will hold more camps’
Dr Prince Surana, CEO, Surana Sethia Hospital, whose team is helping the NGO conduct the vaccination camp said such CSR activities will help more underprivileged, non-affording Mumbaikars get the vaccine cover. “We are glad that NGOs like ChildFund India have come forward and HSBC’s CSR activity is helping us vaccinate our fishermen. We began with Colaba and Cuffe Parade on Monday and will be holding camps for the fishing community in other parts of Mumbai. Till date, 1,32,14,872 vaccination doses have been given in Mumbai.
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