Sixteen-year-old Ryan Punamiya and the Lokhandwala-Oshiwara Citizens' Association donate 200 protective face shields and 400 reusable masks to the officials of Arthur Road Jail
Ryan Punamiya wears one of the shields he and the LOCA donated
Over the past fortnight, 16-year-old Andheri resident, Ryan Punamiya, and the Lokhandwala-Oshiwara Citizens' Association (LOCA) have managed to raise over '2.5 lakh as part of their online fundraising campaign, to provide COVID-19 frontline warriors with protective gear. On Friday, the teenager and members of the LOCA delivered 200 protective face shields and 400 reusable masks to Arthur Road Jail authorities, for the use of staffers as well as infected inmates.
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At least 77 inmates and 26 staffers of Arthur Road Jail had tested positive for the novel Coronavirus recently. Speaking to mid-day, Punamiya said.
"The whole concept of prison is to ensure that any person who broke the law has a fair opportunity to redeem himself. So I thought these inmates should also receive adequate protection so that they have the chance to redeem themselves. When I read about a spike in cases at Arthur Road Jail and later came to know through LOCA that there is an urgent need of protection kits, we immediately sent out the required number of shields and masks to them."
He added, "These frontline COVID-19 warriors are true heroes. They are risking their lives for our safety. They could have stayed home with their families but decided to be on the ground. Hence, it is important that they are protected."
Punamiya is also the founder of Bags4ACause, an initiative that aims to combat hunger and plastic pollution. LOCA and Bags4ACause have been using the '2.5 lakh to provide frontline warriors with PPE. They have distributed over 5,000 units of PPE so far, to policemen, medical personnel, and the jail staff and inmates.
'Still raising funds'
Dhaval Shah, founder, LOCA, said that the process of raising funds online is still going on. "The equipment we sent to Arthur Road Jail is meant for the staff as well as for the inmates who are already infected with the virus, so that they don't spread it."
Karan Jotwani, co-founder of LOCA, said, "Our message to everyone who is capable of helping is this: we need to step up now so that our knights can fight this virus effectively and eradicate it from our country at the earliest."
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