UNITED BY A CAUSE

Bengaluru-based MAHITA NAGARAJ heads HumanKind Global, a global group of volunteers who work ceaselessly and seamlessly to help those in need in these difficult times.

- Kalwyna Rathod

What started with a phone call from a friend living abroad, requesting help in delivering medicines to a relative back home, went on to become a movement by the name of Caremongers India. A year down the line, it has grown exponentially to become HumanKind Global. Helmed by Mahita Nagaraj, a digital marketing professional from Bengaluru, the volunteer group now has members from over a hundred countries across the world. Says Nagaraj, “When we launched the initiative as Caremongers India when the COVID-19 pandemic had just hit, we believed that we would help vulnerable citizens across the country. Now, we’ve been able to fulfil varied requests for help in over 21 countries, so we’re truly a global group!”

The Community And Its Work

HumanKind Global consists of 62,000 members on Facebook, 3,000 to 4,000 more on WhatsApp groups, and over 7,000 volunteers on the ground. Nagaraj reveals, “Last year, our assistance was more reactive in nature – we were able to help people who approached us for help. Now, we’ve moved to both proactive and reactive assistance, offering help where we think it might be most needed, as well as helping people through their most vulnerable times. It now seems, in retrospect, as if the requests were fairly simple last year – food, provisions, transport, travel passes, medicines, legwork, information. This second wave, all the requests are only medical – for hospital beds, oxygen, medication, plasma, ambulances, bereavement, telemedicine. The list goes on.”

HUMANKIND HAS AN EXTREMELY ACTIVE HELPLINE NUMBER, AND THE GROUP HANDLES AN AVERAGE OF OVER 15,000 REQUESTS EACH DAY