2020, by Pradeep Kumar, New Delhi

Born, raised, and currently residing in New Delhi, Pradeep is the  Co-founder and CEO of Learning by Locals.

I started my travel company in September 2016, and an NGO in September 2017. Both were doing great, and we had many events and plans for 2020. When I heard the news about this virus, I knew something was wrong and it would impact us, but I did not think much about it. 

Then the government announced the lockdown, and we were advised to stay at home. I found that near my house there were laborers who could not go back to their hometowns and were out of work. We started serving them breakfast. 

We asked our students in the slums if they needed any help, but they said they had everything. I sensed that one family was struggling, and when we started distributing rations to them, we found out that the parents were struggling but did not inform their children that they did not have enough food. 

We gave out rations, sanitary pads, and face masks. We distributed these things to more than 1,000 families. 

We also started offering our classes over the phone, and it helped us to learn a lot. There is no work in the tourism industry, but helping gives me hope and satisfaction. This is a time when we are coming together and supporting each other. 

2020 was a year full of challenges and learning for me. It was a friend who came for a short time and taught us to be more kind and humble. 

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(This story was prepared for an “Imagine Another World” online storytelling workshop held October 28, 2020.)

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