Words can never say how the pandemic is affecting us individually. Though all of us are braving the same storm, we are clinging on to different means. Some are on strong ships, and some are clinging on to broken pieces of wood, and some even drowning. Only taking a longer look at our own privileges our kindness would go beyond the realms of mere charity.

When the lockdown was announced into effect in Nagaland, a freelance photographer (who wishes to remain anonymous) went out to document daily wage earners’ experiences. A lady whose husband is a labourer now without work, shared about her fears as food is scarce. They could no longer afford baby's food, and neither can they keep borrowing money from other people. A street vendor who sells vegetables mentioned her inability to receive products from the villages because of travel restrictions. Without vegetables being transported to her town, she is left with nothing to sell and without job. She is a single mother, whose husband died 3 years ago making her the only breadwinner in the family. Similar problems were highlighted by women (who were all single mothers) who sell streetfood, as with the closing of their stalls, their income was blocked. Students mentioned about the confusion and struggle as colleges are suddenly closed down. They felt the need to find way to support their families too. Collecting such stories felt personal to him. He connected with his friends, students and the street vendors to form a collective to help themselves. This collective came to be known as Naga Streetfood 101, a home delivery portal for homemade goods. The initiative found a lot of supporters, that it is still thriving even post lockdown. As I continue writing this piece, I’m also reminded of our neighbour who is a business man in his 60s. During the initial stage of lockdown, he distributed bags of rice to more than two villages and anyone in his community who is without work. He also distributed masks and hand sanitizers alongside. On learning that the health workers of a particular hospital were without proper food, he sent them meat of more than a hundred kilograms. Communities in villages also did their part by sending organic fruits and vegetables to be distributed in Kohima for free.

Neighbouring villages would share each other its harvests. Beyond the sense of saving each other from hunger, it was also the affirmation that we are all in this together.

As a young person, I felt helpless in the midst of all the chaos alongside the downside of my own career. In May 2020, I was contacted by an organization who was working on a project which sought to provide hyper local information during the pandemic. The idea was to provide information like where to find groceries, avail non-covid related medical attention, fix a home appliance, etc. during the pandemic lockdown. Through the experience of doing this project, I also saw the platform further to share job opportunities for those struggling to make ends meet. From June to August, our youth community called Our Young Voices joined a collective for a campaign. Our mission was to tackle period poverty during pandemic in Nagaland. The campaign was dependent on a funding organization for 40%, and the rest on crowd funding. We aimed to serve 7000 women with sanitary products in 3 months. The campaign was successful through the support of the public.

There was comendeble support from men. We would receive messages like, “I know how expensive they can be. I buy it every month for my wife. I want to contribute”, or, “I never thought of it that way. I really want to support”. A lady who also wishes to remain anonymous joined the campaign by providing sanitary products to 20 women for 3 months in Lonkhim village. In Pungro town, a team of male students and GBs (Gaon Burahs) took the initiative to pray and distribute the products we sent. It was the first time in the town that men were actively participating in menstrual health related issue. An excerpt from the project report- “Miss Mimi from Northeast Network (NEN), which is a distributing partner, mentioned they distributed mostly to street vendors, labourers and homemakers. Miss Mimi mentioned these women were struggling to even buy enough food to feed their family, and sanitary product was far from their list. Therefore, distributing them the products at even half the price was met with complete delight. Some mothers would come and collect for their daughters as well. Even 2-3 daughters in a family meant spending not less than Rs. 500 on sanitary products per month. “ The campaign's mission to distribute sanitary products to women in need also organically became an instrument to challenge stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation and reproductive health of women.

Chichi n co is an independently run business on Instagram owned by a student- Mr Jungshinungsang Imti from Kohima. It caters to sustainable fashion by selling mainly pre-owned products of any type online. Mr Imti mentions, “Selling pre owned clothing during the onset of pandemic raised a lot of eyebrows. We didn’t even know enough about the virus. I was particularly worried about my aged grandmom. My work involves going out, meeting people and bringing home the used products. It was a risk but it had to be done. People were relying on me to sell their products, so they can finally pay their house rent, buy stationeries for college, etc. I could not just stop. Luckily, we were able to find someone to help at home. This meant I could keep distance from my grandmom while work calls. It is definitely a hustle managing college, business and taking care of grandmom. It gets difficult, and there are moments I’d feel very lonely. The pandemic helped me acknowledge my own strengths. It is the people around me that help me get through.”∎