In all folklores, there’s always someone who stands up in times of need, bends the story arc and is celebrated as the hero. 3 year old Aasu from Palghar found her hero and her light, both literally and metaphorically, in her own sister, Roshni.

Aasu’s mother passed away when she was 1 and with her father away for contractual labour most of the times, the burden of caring for Aasu and her 4 siblings fell on their grandparents. As a grandparent, taking care of 5 children and their nutritional needs could be quite a task and soon, Aasu became malnourished. She was diagnosed during a routine screening in her village in November 2018. We advised the family to get her enrolled in the malnutrition treatment program and bring her over to the weekly OTC’s. With the grandparents hard pressed between running the household and taking care of the children, Aasu’s 10 year old elder sister Roshni, took it upon herself to get her treated and save her life.

Roshni would bring Aasu to the OTC every week. She learned to take care of her nutritional needs, maintaining a clean environment, purifying drinking water and identifying common diseases. Every day she’d get up in the morning, fetch water, fix a nutrionally wholesome meal and take care of her 4 sisters. Between all this, she also found time to play her favourite game, Langdi. It was through Roshni’s efforts that Aasu recovered completely in December 2018 and continues to be healthy. It isn’t a surprise that Aasu and Roshni are inseparable.

Often for the hero, bending the story arc comes at a cost. Roshni had to drop out of school and missed out on her education. But if there’s one thing that we’ve learnt about Roshni, it is that she isn’t someone who’d give up easily. She plans to go back to school soon and become a doctor when she grows up. And not only that, she is going to ensure that all her sisters too go to school. A tall ask for a 10 year old? Yes. But Roshni is already quite adept at forging her own path once she as decided where to go.

Sangeeta Ghodeswar, a community mobiliser from Govandi, Mumbai and in her mid-thirties, is a single mother dealing with the anxiety and stress that comes along with the pandemic. She single-handedly manages her household and the upbringing of her daughter who is currently pursuing her primary online classes.

The pandemic has affected her mental health she says and has made her more anxious than before. She gets anxious every time she is out of the house and is very cautious in following protocols. Although this experience and the responsibility of being a mother is what drives her to keep doing what she does – work with mothers on raising healthy children and providing them emotional support.

During the lockdown, she continued to counsel mothers through phone-based sessions Reaching out to pregnant & lactating mothers and parents of children aged below 5 years on telephone, she would discuss maternal and child health, nutrition, precautions during COVID-19, availing health services and much more. She was able to connect with families physically during dry ration distribution drives and gradually as restrictions eased. Venturing out was not an easy task by any means, but Sangeeta dealt with her fears by following protocols and the realization that she is in a position to help out families in need, drove her every day.

She gradually worked out a routine to make time for herself and deal with the anxiety of being at home during a pandemic. “At home I spent time learning new nutritious recipes and being with my children. We would often work together on various school activities and tried to make the best of staying at home” says Sangeeta.