In the Coronavirus epoch, heartening tales of everyday folk and their acts of benevolence offer some much-needed reassurance for everyone. Rural communities, despite the many challenges and disruptions, are uniting to rally in solidarity in tackling the pandemic. They also give us hope that humanity can overcome uncertain times like these by coming together. Here are five uplifting stories of local communities going to great lengths to help each other out.

1. Token of gratitude

While Isha volunteer Premkumar anna was carrying out his daily duties in Moolakkadupathi, he caught the attention of a little boy who was busy enjoying a sugarcane treat alone by the roadside. When Premkumar tried to approach him, the boy dashed off with a large smile on his face, much to his surprise. But a few minutes later, Premkumar saw the little boy return with his mother. They came up to our volunteer and offered him sugarcane as their token of gratitude for helping them out. His mother said: “I am very thankful to you and other volunteers for helping us. You all are doing so much good for our village.”

2. Of true altruism

In Samanapudur village, our volunteers were carrying out their daily routine of going from door to door to deliver food packets. They were pleasantly surprised when they reached the home of an elderly woman. In an act of nobility, she asked the volunteers to take back her food packet and give it to somebody else in her village who needed it. Jayakumar anna, one of the volunteers, explained: “She told us that her grandson was among the children who had taken food packets from us earlier. The boy had dutifully given a packet to his grandmother before rejoining his friends.”

3. Children who stole our volunteers’ hearts

Surya and Srinivas, two eight-year-olds, had both wanted to join our volunteers and become a part of the mission to #BeatTheVirus. Despite their infantile rivalry in the past, they have set aside their differences and found common ground in the fight against the dangerous virus. The brave duo volunteered to help harvest tomatoes followed by the enthusiastic distribution of their favourite herbal drink, Nilavembu Kashayam. A volunteer said: “They joined us and helped in our activities. In maintaining discipline and caring for each other, children are showing the way.”

4. Communities coming together

During these challenging times, the locals are going out of their way to help our volunteers by providing food and assisting them in work. This was exemplified when the farmers and other locals in the village made selfless donations, showing humanity at its best. A member of the local Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) in Alandurai panchayat, Dhanasekar, donated 20 large packets, each containing 25 kg of rice. In Thondamuthur village a small-scale farmer, Murugesan, donated 15 kg of suraikai (bottle gourd). Another farmer, based in Iruttupallam, gave 25 kg of jackfruit and 14 kg of mango. Such examples of compassion resonate throughout villages in these areas. It is a way for locals to express their solidarity with the volunteers for their assistance.

5. Help comes auto-matically

Sasi anna, a village volunteer, put knowledge in auto repair to good use when he noticed that the vehicle used by the Isha volunteers had developed a mechanical fault in one of its doors. He quickly fixed the door of the multi-utility vehicle. When the volunteers offered him money for his services, Sasi anna refused. He said: “You are doing so much for us and helping us in many ways. Let this be my humble contribution to repay you.” Sasi anna added: “I feel like I was wasting my time simply sitting and chatting about unnecessary things. Now, Sadhguru has given us the opportunity to do something useful for the people.”

People from these rural communities have pulled together to demonstrate how humanity comes first. In the time of social distancing, they have kept the community spirit alive and combined their resources to beat the pandemic.

To know more about Isha’s efforts, visit: http://Isha.co/BeatTheVirus