COVID-19 and Vaccine Awareness Camp Organized at Over 50 Locations

Just After the Second wave of COVID-19 Pandemic to stop further devastation, Be Educated Launched a program for underserved and marginalized communities: Urban Poor, Rural, and Adivasis (Indigenous Tribal communities) to equip and educate them about the prevention from virus and encourage them for the vaccination. This program was fully funded ($12000) by Ambedkar International Center USA.  A big thanks to the AIC team.

Under this program Be Educated held a zoom session with Dr. Rajat Sharma Microbiologist from ISU USA on COVID and Vaccine. Volunteers from Andhra Pradesh, UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, MP, Assam, WB India, and from Nepal participated and clarified their misconceptions about the vaccine.  Vaccine Awareness Program was held at over 50 locations in remote rural and slum areas in 10 states of India. At each location, our trained volunteers organized a camp where they made people aware of the prevention of virus and explained how the vaccine works and why people must get vaccinated. To encourage people they also gave away oximeters, contactless thermometers, hand sanitizers, masks, and T-shirts printed with vaccine motivational quotes in various languages, also pre-post raffle cards that could be mailed out after the vaccination for a Cash Award.

Need of the Project: gaps have been identified

The disconcerting rural-urban divide is widening during the pandemic when states claim their share of Covid-19 vaccines. With a lack of solid medical infrastructure in the country’s rural hinterlands, combined with vaccine reluctance, rumors, and myths about the jabs, people have slipped into a gulf of worry and mistrust in rural areas. People, especially rural people, have expressed frustration about some inoculation drive administrative policies—the administration’s lack of awareness of the benefits of being vaccinated. Rural people had to be adequately conscious of the severity of the pandemic with detailed information.

It was apparent that Covid 19, particularly in rural areas, needs awareness and education. The project, therefore, identified the areas of greatest vulnerability at selected locations in the country.

Process of the Project Action Plan:

To make the project impact on precise results, we have adopted a multi-pronged strategy. There was a Brainstorm Project Action Plan among the key players, and the vaccination awareness, education, and convergence strategy were adopted. The following steps have been developed:

1. Evaluation of the situation, in the rural areas, to improve people’s awareness and response to government awareness and to promote vaccination
2. Coordination using existing and new mechanisms to engage with
3. Define our goals with teams and partners and prioritize them. Take a regular look at them to ensure that they meet our priorities
4. Identify the key influencers and target community with practitioners, volunteers, and persons with real COVID-19 experiences
5. Developed information, education, and communication strategies to ensure 100% efficiency in our project
6. The execution in a defined time and agreed objectives of the project activities
7. Monitor and monitor the efficiency on the ground.

Outcomes:

Our easy-to-understand communication, 1000 oximeters and 65 thermometers for villagers and marginalized communities in the slums, together with quick training on how to use them, has helped increase awareness in the targeted communities.

People listened to us and were very sincere. Although the local administration reached, people living in the slums were vaccinated because of our mythic buster activities. The active participation and the community’s positive response were highly encouraging. Vaccinations followed many people at one of Be Educated’s successful academy centers in Lucknow, Ballu Adda.

The spread of education is always our key objective, so this has been our best experience in difficult times to work for society. Working on the ground level was entirely different. Without whom this campaign was not possible, we are indebted to our volunteers for their hard work and commitment towards a healthy community!

Reported by: Toolika Garg and Sara Marwah