Kottayam: With grit and a will to do any work, there is nothing to be afraid of when life poses different challenges, says Lakshmi Ammal - the first woman auto driver from her district in Kerala - who now serves COVID patients at a COVID Care Centre in Kottayam.
Lakshmi Ammal, a native of Manarcaud in Kottayam district, has been fending for her family by riding an auto rickshaw since 2002. However, with the COVID pandemic, the resultant lockdowns and regulations, her only means of income almost stopped, all of a sudden.
With the spread of COVID, as the number of passengers she gets a day started to dip further, Lakshmi Ammal ‘changed gear’ and moved forward along with the flow in no time. Initially, she started working as a helper in the community kitchens in her area. She was also on the frontline to deliver food for those who were on home quarantine.
Later on, as suggested by the Panchayat authorities, Lakshmi Ammal joined duty at one of the COVID Care Centres. Now, she wears her Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and actively works at a COVID Care Centre being operated at Manarcaud St Mary’s Auditorium, amongst more than 100 COVID patients without any apprehension.
Along with the COVID duty, Lakshmi Ammal also takes up the responsibility of dropping off discharged COVID patients from the COVID centres to their houses in her auto-rickshaw. When she gets back home after the 21 days of duty at the COVID Care Centre, she is only anxious about how her fellow residents in the locality would take it. She does not know how she would be able to quarantine herself, she said.
Lakshmi Ammal says, with a will and grit to do any job, we can survive any adverse situation without fear.
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