Hi,
COVID-19 has hit hard in India again making it the leading epicentre of the disease caused by the new mutated strains. The infection and death tolls have reached record high and the health system in different parts of the country is on the verge of collapse.
Like other common people, many Wikimedians might have lost their jobs last year. Like last year, this year too, many volunteers have been infected and hospitalised. Some of them have lost their family members, relatives, friends and other dear ones.
Volunteer online community is the heart of our movement and every dedicated, experienced and long-term volunteers are our most valuable asset. It is not at all exaggerating to say that many language Wikimedia projects or WikiProjects are dependent completely on one (or two or three...) person's persistence to build it as a tall building from scratch and if we lose some of those people, those projects might totally stop forever. There are so many fantastic people in the movement who have been doing incredible work in their volunteer capacity for such a long time (sometimes more than a decade) to make what Wikimedia is today.
I would like to urge people with power and money in the movement to find a way to protect these assets. We not only cannot afford to lose them, but also need to proactively protect them. Maybe a small step to provide personal or family COVID-19 insurance might help a lot. Maybe sending money to buy COVID-19 vaccines might save some of them. Who knows?
If we can spend millions of dollars for conferences or a couple of hundred thousand dollars to celebrate 20 years of Wikipedia during Wikimania, can we not spend a few thousand dollars to protect at least some of the people around the globe to some extent who made it possible to turn Wikipedia into its 20th birthday?
Disclaimer: I had tried to convince the grants team from my personal capacity last year when COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in India but was denied due to their legal concerns regarding insurance registration as well as settlement and liability issues. Few others tried to convince them too but failed. I am reaching out to the community to start a conversation this time and find a way together.
I am sorry for my long mail. I could not help it.
Regards,
Bodhisattwa