When 60-year-old Kollam native Subaidha sold her two goats to donate money to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF), she was only looking to do her part in helping the state tackle the COVID-19 crisis. She was recognised for her service on the same day by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who mentioned her name and act of generosity in his press conference on Saturday.
Now, people from far and wide are calling to convey their gratitude to Subaidha umma, as she is fondly called.
"It is overwhelming to see this response. I had not imagined this becoming news. It was when I heard in one of the press meets of the Chief Minister that some children donated even their vishukaineetam (money received as gift for the Vishu festival), that I felt I also should do my part, however little that might be. But now I am happy as I am getting a chance to talk to so many people from all over Kerala," Subaidha says.
Though Subaidha wanted to donate money, she did not have anything left from her meagre savings, earned from a tea stall beside her home, near the Kollam Port Office at Kochupilamoodu.
"When I talked to my husband, he was very supportive. We both decided to sell two of our 20 goats. Of the Rs 12,000 that we received, Rs 5,000 was set aside for house rent and Rs 2,000 for the electricity bill. We took the rest of the money to the police station near my house since I did not know where else to go. Since they were not taking donations, they asked me to go to the Kollam Collectorate. Though it is a little far from my house, I went there and gave the money to the Collector," she explains.
While her three children are all married and work as daily wage labourers, Subaidha lives with her husband, who underwent heart surgery just a few weeks ago, and her brother who is also a heart patient. The three-member family has been living off their limited savings from the tea stall. She has also been raising goats as additional income to make ends meet. Subaidha's tea stall, which had been closed for about a month-and-a-half due to the lockdown, is now open.
The news of Subaidha's kind gesture has touched many hearts. She says she has been getting phone calls offering to help her, including offers to buy her goats.
"A doctor from Wayanad called me. He said he will buy me the medicines which my husband needs. I politely said no. I didn’t make the donation to seek favours. But since he was insisting, I took his phone number and said we would call when he needed it,” she says.
Kollam Collector B Abdul Nasar and MLA Mukesh also visited her in her home on Monday.
"I pray for all children all over the world every day. This is such a dangerous disease. So many are dying. Let everyone recover fast," Subaidha says, before telling this reporter to stay safe as well.
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