It's a frightening number: step by step, 100 sponsored children of India Aid have already died of Corona this year.
So also the little Devayani (10), who her Wartenberg godparents remember.
Wartenberg - No question about it, the corona pandemic is already a catastrophe in this country, but it shows its particularly ugly grimace in countries with great poverty. Willi Veit from Wartenberg can only shake his head: “What do you complain about when freedom is restricted? When you see that in India, it's really embarrassing, ”says the 71-year-old, frustrated. There is also deep sadness in his words. He and his wife Marianne have lost their Indian godchild Devayani. The ten-year-old died of Corona. As the godfather of India Aid “step by step”, Veits has long since met an individual fate. This year 100 sponsored children of the association have already died in the pandemic.
A terrible number that Monika Blechinger-Zahnweh reports to our newspaper. "Overall, there are still many more deaths in the families affected," she reports. Blechinger-Zahnweh looks after the godparents in and around Wartenberg for the aid in India. There alone, a good 200 counts step by step. In total, the association from Tiefenbach in the Landshut district has around 5,000 sponsorships.
With this high number, one horror message follows the next from the southern Indian state of Kerala, on which the work of “Step by Step” focuses.
"It must have been pretty tough," says Marianne Veit about the fate of the little Devayani Kalesh.
“We have looked after her since she was four years old.
She was born in 2010 and would have turned eleven on December 16, ”reports the godmother.
After the news of their death, the Veits kept looking at pictures of the little ones and thought: "That can't be."
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Devayani's last letter to her godparents.
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But the virus showed no mercy. “The whole family was sick,” reports Marianne Veit. In between the girl had even moved "because everyone around had Corona". All for free. The mother was able to leave the hospital quickly, but Devayani, her brother and the father were in the intensive care unit longer. Ultimately, brother and father also survived. “But nothing worked with her. The cremation was the very next day, ”says Marianne Veit. She knows the horror images of the mass cremations in the country, which were also a topic in the German media and caused consternation.
For a while the Veits had been waiting for news from India how their Devayani are doing.
Ultimately, the shocking news came from Sister Kala, the tireless contact person for “Step by Step” on site in Kerala: “She has passed away.” She has died.
The Veits had previously sent money to India for medicine to save the girl.
"She was very, very hard-working and talented and proudly wrote to us when she got good grades", remembers Marianne Veit of Devayani, who recently attended the fifth grade of an elite school. was built.
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Marianne and Willi Veit mourn the little Devayani.
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Sister Kala reports on the spot at regular intervals. Veits translate her letters and those of the godchildren into German for the godparents who do not speak English. As a result, the Wartenberg couple read one bad news after the next. “It's hard to digest,” say the Veits. “They are descriptions of how people die there. That cannot be compared with our situation. ”Despite the dire circumstances, the children would not complain in their letters, but would rather show themselves grateful for the support of the sponsors or, for example, when home office is possible again. Devayani's last letter to Veits reads similarly, in which she finally wishes her godparents all the best. Devayani drew a fish under her words, not knowingthat it would be the last picture for their supporters in Germany.
Meanwhile, the work of India Aid does not lapse into shock. It has to go on. “Still helping the families step by step with food and medication, because the lockdown, which has now lasted 20 months, has deprived everyone of their livelihoods. The day laborers are not allowed to do any work, ”reports Blechinger-Zahnweh. As the Veits say, you have to wear a double mask even at home, you shouldn't just leave the house like that. Otherwise draconian punishments would be due, such as the father's monthly salary.
In addition, the black fungus is spreading along with the virus.
According to Apotheken-Umschau, more cases of the rare fungal disease have been registered among Covid-19 patients and those who have recovered in India.
According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this is an additional challenge for the 1.3 billion country that is particularly affected by Covid-19.
In the state of Maharashtra alone, 1200 people had died of so-called mucormycosis by August.
“The only bright spot is that after 20 months of school closure on November 1st, some of the sponsored children were allowed to return to school,” reports Blechinger-Zahnweh.
The organization “Sternstunden” donated 100,000 euros for families in need - “an amount that will ensure the survival of 7,000 families until the end of the year”.
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Checking the body temperature: Sister Kala (left) doing a morning check in an Indian school.
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According to Sister Kala, every school child is given a 100 milliliter hand disinfectant and half a liter of boiled water.
This should not only protect the children from throat infections, but also from other infections carried by the water, and the body temperature is measured.
Unsurprisingly, the level of knowledge among the students is not particularly high.
“Some have even forgotten the alphabet and have to start from scratch,” says Sister Kala.
Donation account:
Step by step - help with a system: GLS-Bank Munich, DE57 4306 0967 8236 2178 00. Information about the association at www.wirhelfenlösungen.de.