10 Ways in which Sonu Sood Helped India during the Pandemic

During the first wave of Covid in India, so many of the migrant workers lost their jobs and wanted to travel back to their native towns. But due to the lockdown they were not able to do so. So, Sonu came forward and made sure that every single migrant who asked him for help could get all that they wanted. From arranging buses and food to providing plane tickets on his expense, Sonu helped migrant workers who would otherwise have to walk back home by foot. Soon, he also launched a toll free number where migrants could call and ask for help. He provided free food kits and transportation to thousands of migrant workers. His constant effort to reach out to the needy and help them generously won him appreciation and love of people all across the country.

Needless to say that many lost their jobs around the world during the Covid-19 crisis and India was no exception. Thus, with companies shutting down people were left jobless and were forced to engage into ventures which were way below their educational qualifications. A similar thing happened with Unadadi Sharada from Hyderabad, who was working in an MNC when she lost her job  Sharada’s story soon went viral on social media, and reached actor Sonu Sood. A Twitter user named Ritchie Shelson had tagged Soon, asking him to help the techie. And as soon as Sood got to know about her situation, he came up with a positive solution. He reached out to her, interviewed her and offered her a job.

After providing jobs to people who all were reaching out to him, Sonu realized the bigger need for employment amongst people. As till this point, he was able to employ only those whose pleas could reach his ears, but what about those who couldn’t reach out to him? Hence,
to do his bit for the needy who lost their job during the coronavirus pandemic, Sonu came up with the idea of Pravasi Rojgar app for the unemployed. Through this app, he aimed to help over 2 million migrants find employment during these tough times.

Sonu helped in bringing stranded students back home from Kyrgystan and Russia. He helped arrange a flight for 1,500 students from Bihar and Jharkhand who were stranded in Kyrgystan, and about 101 students from Russia to Delhi and Chennai. While the flight was supposed to reach Chennai directly, there was a stopover due to multiple requests. And even though the flight wasn’t full enough to take off, Sonu paid the additional amount for the other seats to be occupied.

As India was suffering with the shortage of oxygen due to the second wave of Corona Virus, Sonu Sood came to the rescue. After getting an SOS call from ARAK hospital, Bengaluru, Sonu and his team started working to find oxygen cylinders. They worked the entire night and arranged enough oxygen cylinders at a short notice. Their help saved over 20 lives which were at risk. In addition, Sonu also answered Indore’s plea for help. He urged everyone to stay safe and ensured that 10 oxygen generators reached the city to tackle the shortage.

In a Twitter interaction with Chinese Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, Sonu Sood requested that the consignments of oxygen concentrators to India be cleared. In his tweet, Sonu said that he and his team have been trying to get ‘hundreds of oxygen concentrators to India’. And like a miracle, the next thing people noticed that the Chinese Ambassador answered his plea. Weidong assured that China will do its utmost to support India fighting COVID-19. He also promised to ensure smooth functioning of exports to the country.

Just like in the movies, Sonu Sood acted as a real life superhero who helped people in the difficult times. He airlifted critical COVID patients and got them admitted to hospitals as per their requirements. For instance, he arranged for an air ambulance for a patient and transferred him to a hospital in Hyderabad from Jhansi, where he couldn’t get proper treatment. The patient had to be taken to the Gwalior airport which Sood’s team also facilitated. Another time, he airlifted another patient, Bharti, from Nagpur so she could be better treated in Hyderabad. Bharti’s family expressed their gratitude via a video message and called him an “angel” in all true sense.

Sonu Sood did not just stop after financially helping people but also helped in creating awareness regarding the vaccination. He made sure that the significance of vaccine reached everybody. Hence, on 11 April, Sonu Sood was announced to be the brand ambassador for Punjab’s vaccination drive by Punjab’s Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. He assured that they would do their best to ensure that everyone gets vaccinated. In fact, he was also involved in the launch of ‘Sanjeevani – A Shot Of Life’. The initiative’s aim is multifold— to increase awareness about the vaccines and the need for vaccination, and enable vaccination in villages without proper access to healthcare. Apollo is the health partner for the drive and will help organize the vaccination drives.

Sonu also added another feather to his cap by starting two new initiatives to help people collaborate in a united front against the COVID second wave. Firstly, working with two healthcare services namely, HealWell24 and Krsnaa Diagnostics, Sood’s charity started a free patient-doctor helpline that people can access from the comfort of their homes. Secondly, he opened a channel called ‘India Fights With Covid’ on Telegram mobile application. With this channel, the actor aims to find hospitals, medicines and oxygen. Here, everyone can work together to collate resources to help others.

Recently, the global icon, Priyanka Chopra praised Sood’s efforts and called him a “visionary philanthropist”. As Along with using his resources and accessibility for public good on the ground, Sood has also been using his social media platforms to amplify SOS requests. In a video on Instagram, Sood spoke about children who lost their parents to coronavirus, and urged the States and the Centre to help the kids complete their education free-of-cost. He also urged philanthropic organizations to lend a helping hand to facilitate this. In a later video, Sood talked about the pressure on crematoriums due to the high death count. Referring to people not being able to give their friends and loved ones proper burials, he pleaded to the government that funeral rites should be more affordable, which would be possible if the government bore that cost.

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