Managing crisis

Embracing risks to enable fullness of life

Abstract

The pandemic of Covid-19 aroused varied responses in India. While some people shut themselves out of intense fear, a few brave people along with some organizations and communities risked their lives to offer material and spiritual assistance to those in need. Udhar Vikas Sanstha, a development and humanitarian non-government organization of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, Pune province, mobilized their staff of different faiths to think of creative and relevant strategies to reach out to the people at the margins. Going door to door masked and taking all the necessary precautions of social distancing and sanitization they visited the families in the slums, carried out surveys, empathized with the people, offered them necessary provisions and involved them in their own upliftment through training and income-generation activities. This relates well with the prophetic response of Mary of Nazareth who rose to address the crisis at Cana. Reflecting on Mary of Nazareth and Uddhar Vikas Sanstha, this paper demonstrates how managing crises is an urgent call to take risks and initiate strategies to enable fullness of life for oneself and others through support, sensitization and solidarity.