By Asaavari Kaur
Weeks of planning, days of phone calls, hours of teaching sessions and a tad of quiet apprehension later, we were walking into the Saket Gurudwara Polyclinic clad with 30 vaccines, syringes, flowers, coconut water+juice and our Jagriti stickers. Apprehension why? No matter how safe the vaccine is, I was taking responsibility for any sickness/allergies/discomfort that the young girls would feel afterwards. While I was confident that the side effects are minimal, there is still ALWAYS a little fear.
I had so many people there to help me through every step for which I cannot describe how grateful I am. 2 nurses, Diya from the Team, Dr Kataria from the Advisory Board and my parents. It was all hands on deck from the minute we walked in.
During the two weeks working up to the 28th, every consent form sent to me on WhatsApp was something my family and I celebrated: we saw it as one more girl who was impacted by my conversations with them and someone who truly thought the vaccine was worthwhile. So when we were driving to the Gurudwara, we told each other that we would be happy regardless of the turnout.
But as soon as we pushed open the doors, girls started streaming in- some of whom had given confirmation but many of whom had just walked in with signed consent forms. I tried my best to follow a standard procedure: give consent form and Aadhar proof, get vaccinated, photo with prescription paper+rose+juice, sit down for 5 mins, leave. But I soon realised that there was a huge mess of consent forms and Aadhar proofs scattered across the table while I tried to make sure every girl gets their refreshment, a picture and feels okay after the vaccine. Although the beginning was rocky, everyone slowly fell into the groove of things, some helped make calls home to confirm that the girls under 18 DID, in fact, have parental confirmation, some took pictures and made sure the girls signed the register, and some managed the consent forms and Aadhar cards.
One special moment for me was when the mother of an 18-year-old girl approached the table that I was standing over and asked if she could get the vaccination. Her daughter had told her about it and managed to convince her of its importance so much so that she too, felt the need to get it. When the young girls are able to take away from Jagriti sessions and speak to their parents about it, I feel like the work being done is worth it because it is encouraging girls to have open conversations with their parents in conservative families.
Of course, every experience comes with learnings and considering that this was my first vaccine drive, there are definitely things that could have been done better. Next time, having posters downstairs at the entrance of the Gurudwara would be a good idea because I got a lot of calls about girls who couldn’t find the polyclinic. Also, I think it would be a good idea to have a more organised way of collecting consent forms and identification proofs, instead of having to tally them later. I would also print more stickers! They were really good for promotion and encouragement.
I just want to thank each and every person that was involved in the Vaccination Drive and the Fundraiser that took place before that, without your support none of this would be possible.