A webinar on Interfaith Humanitarian Alliance was organised by Sphere India on Tuesday, in collaborative partnership with UNICEF, WHO, World Vision India, and HCL Foundation. Faith leaders from Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram participated in it.
TFM Desk
Interfaith leaders from different religions of Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram came together to build community resilience through credible information sharing and prevent stigma and discrimination during COVID-19 pandemic.
A webinar on Interfaith Humanitarian Alliance was organised by Sphere India on Tuesday, in collaborative partnership with UNICEF, WHO, World Vision India, and HCL Foundation.
The faith leaders addressed the need of the hour, that is, to gather more knowledge about the pandemic, dispel rumours about vaccinations and continue following COVID appropriate behavior. They also underlined the importance of keeping a positive outlook, leading to positive mental and physical health, stated a release by Sphere India.
Haji Arafat Ali, president of Muslim Council of Manipur looked at how false information and unverified news contributes to mistrust in the community. The faith leaders can play an important role in changing that. He also suggested a collaboration between faith leaders and the local administration for conducting awareness drives that can help fight the onslaught of misinformation related to COVID-19.
Sister Memita from Brahma Kumaris, Manipur, focused on the need for meditation to foster positive thoughts. “To be a completely healthy person, mental health is as important as physical health. We should keep our minds busy and our energies focused on constructive things so that we are able to derive mental strength at this time of greatest need,” she said.
Manish Lall, manager – Faith & Development, World Vision India, in his Keynote Address, spoke of the critical role of faith leaders to promote COVID appropriate behavior as they are guides to society. He urged the faith leaders to promote safety protocols during worship, provide psychosocial care to the aggrieved and care for the marginalised and vulnerable sections of society.
Antaryami Krishna Dasa from ISKCON, Shillong, emphasised the importance of “taking proper care of the body and spreading a positive outlook in others to mitigate suffering”. He encouraged keeping the body and mind healthy and following the COVID safety protocols.
Rev K Lalbiakenga, secretary of Youth Affairs with Baptist Church of Mizoram started his address by condoling the loss of lives during the ongoing Mizoram –Assam border clash. On the issue of vaccinations he spoke of following government guidelines. He urged for extending religious places as vaccination centres and for COVID care.
Swami Anuragananda, secretary at Ramakrishna Mission, Cherrapunji, spoke on the grief in the community. He said that we should remember our dead and grieve them but also know that the soul transcends death itself. We need to take care of ourselves and the ones facing loss in the community and reaching out through psychosocial care.
Rev Dr Jangkholam Haokip, director of Bethesda Khankho Foundation emphasised the importance of volunteering and how volunteers can help in easing the process of registration, transporting the vulnerable from their location to vaccine centers and extending volunteer help even after the vaccination process is complete.
Rev Mc Donald Pyngrope from Mawkhar Presbyterian Church, Shillong highlighted that the pandemic is not an issue of a particular region or religion but it is an issue of humanity.
“We need to be resilient not just against the virus but also against the stigma and discrimination it generates in the community. A resilient community is built on love and support towards one another”.
He suggested creating a database of communities that are more vulnerable and using out networks to reach out to them. He suggested creating food and medicine banks as resources for the community and joining hands in solidarity to as people of different faiths to effectively fight this crisis.
Jennifer Kishan, program manager – Collaborative Advocacy vertical, Sphere India in her welcome address, stressed the important role faith leaders play as changemakers that can impact the community by making it more COVID prepared.
Sphere India thanked the faith leaders for their participation and insights and on coming together as a community during this time of need.
Sphere India Interfaith Humanitarian Alliance is an interfaith humanitarian platform for COVID-19 response convened by Sphere India, in partnership with WHO, UNICEF, World Vision India and HCL Foundation.