The Crisis:
As we traverse through the current crisis that the pandemic has posed for us, the future of thousands of people has been permanently affected due this situation. This is especially true for people who have lost their families and loved ones.
In the midst of this crisis is another looming problem posed by the loss of life of the bread winner of the family. Yes, the corona virus deaths have left thousands of women widowed, grappling with an uncertain future.
Not just a silent spectator:
While most of us have been silent spectators to the situation, Yudhvir Mor, Country Manager and Vice President of Engineering at Zuora, plunged in to help these widows by launching a personal initiative to enable these women move ahead of their grief and get professional guidance to establish themselves financially.
Covidwidows Initiative:
Without losing time, Yudhvir reached out to ex-colleagues, old friends, and industry leaders, to give shape and momentum to Covidwidows. In just a week’s time he was able to gather support for this initiative from around 3,500 volunteers which is truly phenomenal.
The Covidwidow Help initiative aims to help women widowed by the COVID-19 crisis by providing round-the-clock support in grief and career counselling, and skill development to earn a stable living.
Yudhvir says that about 600 women have reached out for support. He goes on to state “We are looking for four kinds of personas to volunteer and help. This includes career and grief counsellors, industry leaders who can find necessary referrals, and professionals who can help with interview preparations. We are also looking to onboard women leaders from across industries to join the women-focused initiative.” Yudhvir goes on to add, “Many women are not ready for career guidance because they are in shock and traumatised.”
According to Yudhvir and his team, the Covidwidows program was built on three core guiding principles:
- No finance & Donations :
We will not be accepting any donations or funding and neither do we look forward to any monetary benefits.
- Priority :
Our priority is to help women who lost their partners as a result of the Covid 19 crisis. We understand there are many other equally important causes. For us : Less is More
- No Corporate sponsorship :
We want to run it as a volunteer driven initiative. We look forward to help from CxOs, Media and corporate houses to help us reach out to the maximum number of impacted women.
While the initiative does not accept corporate or CSR sponsorship, it is looking for help from senior executives, media, and corporate houses to spread the word in their network.
How does it help?
Women can avail round-the-clock support in grief and career counselling, resume writing, gaining referrals, and preparing for interviews, and other areas of skill development.
Those seeking help are required to share their name, email ID, phone number, place of residence, and resume.
The team states, “When a woman in need approaches us, rest assured, the first step has already been taken. Our volunteers will find the best fit for their skill sets and connects them with potential employers. We intend to make this process swift and seamless so that the person finds independence and peace at the earliest.”
The initiative ensures to help women every step of the way so that they can gain personal and professional satisfaction in the long run.
“We understand that some of you may have put your careers on the back burner by prioritising your family members, and now, with the loss of a spouse, you will need to support yourself, your children, and extended family too,” the founder shares.
Even women with little or no experience are requested to approach Covidwidows and seek help without hesitation and take the first step in a thousand-foot journey and together we shall cover the distance comfortably.
Website : https://Covidwidows.in | Twitter : @covidwomenhelp | Instagram : covidwomenhelp | Facebook : /covidwomenhelp | WhatsApp : +91 95282 76958 | Email : covidwomenhelp@riseagain.in
