Mumbai: As the pandemic ravages the world, there are several people working tirelessly to help those who have been affected by the infection and to ensure that the world remains safe for all others. And if you are looking to appreciate their work,  these brave warriors that comprise medical practitioners, sanitary workers, and other essential service providers then do the simplest thing - they start by writing a letter! University students - Tara Luthra and Aanshi Gupta - have launched an initiative ‘Write To Recognize’ to write thank-you letters for the frontline workers taking inspiration from the Crisis Project from the United Kingdom which was also started by a University student to encourage people to write letters to NHS workers. Through ‘Write to Recognize’,  Gupta and Luthra are curating heartfelt notes for healthcare workers and other essential workers who are risking their lives each day for people.

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.“The project is based on the Crisis project in the UK which we came across while at university in England. When we adopted it for India we realized here apart from medical practitioners there were so many other essential workers whose work need to be recognized. So, we expanded it to include grocery store owners, pilots, and many more.We launched the project in June and started an Instagram page.”



Those interested in writing a letter to the frontline workers can sign up on their website. In case you know an essential worker whose efforts need to be recognised and lauded, all you have to do is to  fill up the ‘Recommend a Hero!’ form with details about them and their work. Unless volunteers have a specific person they want their note to be delivered to, the Write to Recognise takes care of the matchmaking process and also ensures that the message gets delivered. The letters are not just a dry 'thank you' note, these letters are spruced up, scanned, and emailed to the person.

“Initially the response was from family members and friends but we soon got good organic growth. It is amazing to see how much time people put into writing letters. They even make drawings and paintings," said Gupta. She also said that people are often surprised to receive the letter of gratitude embellished artistically, and have also replied to many of the messages acknowledging the senders.

"We have sent letters to doctors who were so happy to experience so much gratitude and they reply to the letters too. We even sent letters to pilots who were involved in the Vande Bharat initiative,” said Gupta.

The language of the letters is not limited to just English either, they encourage their volunteers to write in regional languages such as Bengali, Marathi, Hindi etc to reach a wide number of workers who are spread out across all geographies. Most messages are sent through emails, but postal services are used if the letters are sent via post. To limit their exposure and their volunteer’s exposure to the coronavirus email is preferred. The founders also feel that the initiative has helped to help revive the lost elegant art of letter writing.

“We have 275 volunteers now across India and on Monday we will launch our US chapter. At present we do not have any plans to change the focus of the initiative. Letter writing is very personal and intimate and we will like it to stay that way,” Gupta added.

At present the project is self-funded and Gupta says “We haven't had issues with funds because most of our letters are sent virtually”.

What can one say to such self-less volunteers whose aim is to bring a smile to the hardpressed workers in the frontline battling the lethal pandemic except a big 'thank you, girls'! We need more such innovative gestures to motivate and boost the morale of those striving to keep the world virus-free.