Bangalore's Here I Am is performing the final rites of COVID-19 victims, ensuring their dignified farewell since the first wave!

With more than 70 volunteers working hard, Here I Am is an initiative by the Archdiocese of Bengaluru, led by Father Santhosh Royan and Father Rajesh.

The second wave of COVID-19 has broken many families. People have lost their loved ones, and due to the high rate of mortality, it is difficult to arrange and perform the last rites of the dead. It's heart-wrenching and indeed a very difficult time for those who are suffering. Helping such people by arranging burials while following all the COVID-19 protocols, a group in Bangalore named 'Here I Am is nothing but a saviour.

With a team of more than 70 volunteers from across Bangalore, Here I Am has done 1,400 burials since the pandemic hit Bengaluru. More than 800 burials were done alone in the first month of the second wave. This funeral Squad began working last year when the number of cases had reached a peak. The Director of this initiative, Rev. Fr Santhosh Royan has been training the volunteers about the use of PPE kits, how to touch the body, and how to maintain a distance. He claims to have given 120 training programs to the volunteers as mentioned in one of the videos.

The ambulance usually comes to the gate, and then the volunteers help in transporting the body to the grave. The bodies are either kept in a stretcher or in a coffin. After that, the volunteers lower the body into the grave and leave for another one. The team of Here I Am also helps people with the prayer services. They also have a free ambulance for those in need.



Ensuring dignified farewell to all those who died because of COVID-19, Here I Am is not only helping with the burial, but they also console the family members, and provide coffin boxes to the needy. Let's give them a big thumbs up for their work, and wish them a safe time!

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