Hyderabad-based cinematographer turns Covid fighter

Hyderabad: While the novel coronavirus ravages humanity across the globe, claiming lives, disrupting finances, shattering families, putting everyone in a massive crisis, one heartening fact is that youngsters have risen up to the occasion and taken it upon themselves to help fight the crisis.

City-based cinematographer Sinjith Yerramilli is one such person who has been utilising social media to ensure people get help in these trying times. Having started off by securing a plasma donor for a friend last year, Sinjith has now progressed to volunteering 24×7, being a part of several resource groups and handling various aspects related to Covid-19 in the State.

“I was always involved in social work when in college. I was part of an NGO and last year, when my friend’s father needed plasma, I started involving myself in securing resources related to Covid-19, and that was when I realised the magnitude of the disease,” says the 24-year-old. He came across a plasma resource group on Facebook and started contributing towards helping people collect plasma.

“I was inspired by everyone in the group who were striving hard to help people find plasma donors. That was also a time when the stigma associated with Covid was at its peak so I created an anonymous list of plasma donors and I was connecting people,” shares Sinjith.

After helping several people find donors and finding drugs like Remdesivir during the first wave, Sinjith started actively handling everything from finding hospital beds to ambulances to resources for plasma and drugs on resource groups. “Now I am active on Twitter and on various WhatsApp groups, and we verify the leads we have before connecting them to the ones who request us,” says Sinjith.

While it does take a toll on mental well-being, according to Sinjith, there are a lot of issues that people are suffering with due to the disease and it is important for the ones to help in whichever way they can. “I came across a lot of heart-wrenching cases like pregnant women and elderly people unable to find beds, and the fact that I am able to help them is what drives me,” he says, adding, “We are also better prepared now, in case there is a third-wave.”

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