Rita is a fiery yet humble reporter and social activist from Sheohar, Bihar. A former Khabar Lahariya reporter, Rita understands rural issues and how to resolve them like the back of her hand. When not in the 'field', she can be found either at the local panchayat or at the office of the district administration, meeting officials, screening her videos…

Rita Devi

This report filed by our Community Correspondent Rita Devi from Sheohar, Bihar shows the strength of massive awareness campaigns like 'Jaan Jao Jaan Bachao' to motivate people and get them vaccinated against COVID-19. People from Sheohar in Bihar were skeptic of taking the vaccine. They believed all social media forwards and other unverified information that said vaccines will make men impotent, women won't be able to conceive and that, in general, taking the vaccine will make one sick.

"We had refused Anganwadis and other health officials who came for inspection and vaccination," said one of the residents of a village in Sheohar. This was the general opinion among all the local residents. However, continuous awareness campaign via videos, pamphlets and personal interactions slowly led the villagers to see the real picture and accept vaccinations. It is estimated that direct beneficiaries of this campaign were more than 20,000 people while those indirectly affected are said to be in lakhs.