The peer network with 4,000 volunteers has already received over 500 applications from women across the country
Hyderabad: The pandemic has been hard on everyone. Lives have been lost, families wiped out in days leaving behind not just grief, but also an economic desolation. Among the worst-hit are the women, for some, the loss is not only of a life partner, but also the breadwinner of the family.
After witnessing the trauma of a close friend’s family who left behind a widow and two young children, Yudhvir Mor, VP of software company Zoura, decided to launch a platform for women who found themselves the sole supporter of their families, following the loss of their husband to Covid-19. He was joined by other industry leaders like Karan Parvesh Singh, founder, RapidLeaks, Himanshi Tandon, brand marketing head, Reebok, Asim Farooqi, VP-Product development, Genpact, Anju Jayaram, co-founder, Women’s Web among others who reached out to their networks to find jobs for such women.
The platform called Covid Widows which was launched in May received over 500 applications already from women across the country and has 4,000 volunteers comprising psychologists, gynaecologists, homemakers, retired IAS and Army officers and students who work round-the-clock to help the women.
“A lot of women have been affected in the pandemic. Some are not very educated and there are others who chose to stay home and manage the household. We are getting calls from metros and small towns. The important thing here is to show them that they aren’t alone in this and there is help at hand to get their life back on track,” explains Parvesh.
According to him, most industry leaders have themselves come forward to help such job seekers, from fields such as F&B, IT, heavy industry, volunteer groups, and soft skills trainers.
“We are all aware that we are dealing with a really unique situation here. We hope to reduce the economic worry and isolation women are feeling after losing their partner. It’s all volunteer based and we don’t accept sponsorship of any sort. We have gotten a lot of queries about skill development, a lot of women don’t even have a resume. So, we are taking all these factors into account when we cross-check the profiles of the women in order to help them get jobs that suit their capabilities and skills,” adds Parvesh.
Currently, they are in the process of vetting their volunteers who come from within the State, country and even abroad. They check the veracity of their volunteers by asking them to use their official email ids and a link to their LinkedIn profile.
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