Volunteers are not automatons

Here is how groups from Chennai that do COVID-19 volunteering work unwind amidst the stress and anxiety

The frontline makes unique demands on those occupying it. It forces them to go where most others have dared not to go. Under the weight of the responsibilities it imposes on them, frontliners make sacrifices, even to the point of putting their personal safety on the line. That aptly describes the situation of pandemic frontliners. The nature of their work makes stress, frustration and anxiety unavoidable. So, the question is: How do volunteers on the frontine help themselves deal with these factors as they go about helping others? Volunteers from Jain International Trade Organisation’s (JITO) youth wing have been juggling between their professional commitments and volunteering activities, which include supplying oxygen concentrators to those needing it and and running a COVID helpline with a doctor responding to people’s questions.