‘WE’ Community - A Social Initiative for COVID-19 Support
The WE Club was founded during the peak of the COVID-19 second wave in India with the aim of connecting students and faculty members through a community platform to provide support in times of emergency. The initiative focused on enabling the sharing of crucial information such as contacts for hospital beds, vaccines, and medical supplies. Beyond emergency aid, the project also encouraged engineering students to collaborate and explore innovative solutions to pandemic-related challenges.
I was the founder and coordinator of the WE Club. My role involved starting the initiative, setting up the platform using WhatsApp to connect people, and encouraging participation. I guided the community, ensuring everyone could contribute as per their abilities, whether by providing emergency information or participating in discussions on how we could help as engineers during the pandemic.
I established and managed the WE Club, a community initiative that brought together over 150+ students, faculty, and members of the college together to fight against the deadly COVID-19 wave.
Challenges:
- Remote Coordination: The entire initiative was managed remotely, with people contributing from different locations.
- Emotional Stress: The overwhelming nature of the pandemic made it difficult for many to stay focused, yet the group found ways to support each other.
- Resource Scarcity: Access to timely information and medical supplies was a constant challenge due to the chaos of the second wave.
- Unstructured Start: The initiative was formed on short notice, with no formal structure or resources in place, requiring quick adaptation.
Actions Taken:
- Remote Platform Setup: I initiated and managed a WhatsApp group, which served as the primary platform for all members to communicate, share resources, and collaborate on ideas. The group that served as a hub for sharing emergency resources like hospital contacts, oxygen availability, and vaccination centers.
- Encouraging Participation: Promoted a collaborative environment where students, teachers, and alumni voluntarily took responsibility for sharing resources and ideas.
- Discussions: Initiated conversations about how we, as engineering students, could help society through inventions and other ideas, focusing on using our skills for problem-solving in this crisis.