How COVID warrior Amina braved a storm to save a pregnant woman

The COVID-19 pandemic threw up a couple of heroes — the selfless ones who put duty and service first, often throwing personal safety to the wind.

Amina A., a temporary nurse at the Public Health Centre, Kuppapuram, Alappuzha, is one such COVID warrior. She was recruited under the National Health Mission (NHM).

The photo on Malayala Manorama of a nurse wearing a PPE kit and travelling alone on a huge country boat is vivid in public memory.

She was travelling to a house in Kainakari to give an injection to a pregnant woman who was in COVID-19 quarantine. The house was on an isolated island, one among the many in Kainakari, surrounded by huge backwaters. The heavy rain on the day had not washed down Amina’s spirit nor dimmed her will.

Medical Officer Sarathchandra Bose knew that the journey across the backwater was perilous. As he discussed the matter with his colleagues, Amina volunteered to execute the task. Amina said she could only think of the mother-in- waiting whom she was about to help stay safe.

The fibre boat was rocking as the high waves hit in and the wind rocked it a bit. Amina knew there was nothing to hold on to but faith. She said she had no second thoughts as it concerned a woman and her to-be-born child.

Amina lives near the Alappuzha rubber factory and her parents are Abdul Rasheed and Hayarunissa.

Our readers had nominated hundreds of COVID warriors to the Malabar Gold and Diamonds-Manorama Online project called ‘Golden Salute.’ From the names, Amina is one among those selected by the Manorama editorial team.