Impact Stories

Identifying a community leader

It is an art to identify a community leader from a group of people. A leader must possess certain skills such as selflessness, commitment, confidence, an emphatic attitude and amiable social behaviour. The Mazdoor team members saw the qualities of a leader in 38-year-old Neeta Parmar. Staying in a one room home on rent in an Economically Weaker Section (EWS) housing in Ahmedabad, she played a prominent role in ensuring that ration kits reached the needy during the pandemic in her locality. Be it a young girl suffering from Tuberculosis in Gokul Aawas community.

Today, she has become an integral part for the Mazdoor team members to reach the neediest and help them. On a recent visit to her home, she told us, "It is a very noble work to be the mediator between the needy and the facilitator. Each day in lockdown seemed a dark night. No food, no jobs, no money. Good samaritans used to visit our locality to provide help but it never reached us. So, we approached the team members and I was allotted the responsibility to identify the people who were in need of ration kits."

She adds, "I did a survey and made sure that the kits are provided to the disabled, widows, rickshaw drivers, young children or the unemployed. There are many people staying here who work in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation as sweepers and get a decent salary. So, I decided to exclude them in survey. Each kit has spices, dal, rice, flour, tea, sugar and the essentials”.

Neetaben herself works as a cleanliness worker sweeping building premises for a meagre income. Her husband is an auto rickshaw driver. She has two sons and one daughter. Her eldest son, 20, couldn’t study after 10th grade and currently works in a grocery store with a salary of Rs 11,000. Her daughter also started working after 10th grade and has a salary of 7,000 working as a babysitter.

When we visit her home, she has already made a list of the needy that she thinks can use our help. She introduces us to eight year old Kavita who has a severe problem with her throat. This makes it difficult for her to have food and there is a lack of clarity in her voice. She asks the team member to look into her situation. She has proven herself time and again to have leadership skills. Even when we launched our new project India Recycles, she lent a helping hand to arrange the sale of old clothes at a token amount known as India Recycles.

She had a tough time during the covid19 crisis but she never allowed it to come in her way of social work. Her husband couldn't move his left leg from waist to toe due to a paralytic attack. Neetaben at that time worked in housekeeping to run the house and paid for his treatment. She recently also received kits from the team members to support the family. Her husband drives auto for two or three hours and earn Rs 300 per day. Lockdown caused stress to her as she was not in a position to bear the school fees of her youngest son. She was worried on how to manage the fees.

Mazdoor.Co ensured his education continued and paid his yearly fee. She is indeed grateful to the team members for trusting her skills. Everyone in the locality knows that in case of any trouble, one has to see Neetaben. They know that she will go out of her way to convince the team members to help if the need is genuine. She considers herself lucky to be a part of such endeavour.