(Left) Dr. S. Amenla Walling (Right) Visevono Terhüja Shupao with her husband & 5-month-old daughter.
Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | May 8
Being a mother is tough, but in these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is even tougher. Mothers have always played multiple roles but the global crisis has thrown upon them extraordinary challenges. However, they still find joy in their children despite the harsh pandemic.
Unconditional love
Visevono Terhüja Shupao, who is married to an epidemiologist posted in a remote district of Nagaland, did not have her husband around as a new and expectant mother. “The greatest challenge for me in these times as a mother of an infant is to keep my child protected from the virus,” she relates to The Morung Express on the eve of Mother’s Day.
“Keeping a human being away from physical human contact especially of loved ones is totally against nature but that is what is required if one is to assure maximum protection,” she goes on to say while articulating that “the inability to have loved ones over to share our joy whenever and wherever, and also having loved ones over but at the same time having to deal with a certain disquiet feeling, fearing for my child’s safety has been quite stressful.”
One of her fears is that her child will have to grow up mostly inside the four walls, with minimum physical contact for the first few months. “And who knows, years,” she adds, is disconcerting. However, for her, the best part of being a mother “is getting the privilege to demonstrate my unconditional love for my child and in turn being rewarded everyday with all the love and warmth that only my child can provide.”
Joys of motherhood
For Dr S Amenla Walling, it has been a blessing in disguise as she is able to spend more ‘quality time’ with her only 9-year-old daughter. “But when we look at the entire world facing all these troubles- the reality and the present situation, it is really very sad,” she articulates.
On a personal level, she is thankful that they do not have to worry about where the next meal is coming from but just thinking of how others are suffering is something that also concerns her. Pointing to those who are already at the crossroad level of life, especially students of classes 10-12, she puts across that “they have to go in different directions of study and they are at a crucial part in life where they are looking out so much for universities and their lives are just left hanging.”
“This is one of the things that make us feel so helpless and it can’t be solved at the family level. That feeling of helplessness is so overwhelming,” she says.
But when it comes to the joys of motherhood, she expresses, “it will be difficult to just put it down to something because the entire journey of having a child and nurturing them, each moment is so rewarding.”
During these challenging times of the pandemic, she also says, “there is so much stress and loads that mothers have to carry.”
However, she emphasizes that it is not going to help by stressing out. Instead, we need to have a cool head and steer the family more towards a healthy life, she says, while adding that “when we say ‘healthy’, it also means trying to steer the family away from being so sedentary and gadget addicted.”
She strongly feels that ‘being creative’ which does not take so much or need so much money can help people at home shift to healthier life. “We can just be a little creative and inculcate healthy lifestyles which can take us a long way,” she states.
Dr S Amenla Walling who is a Deputy Director in the Department of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services was earlier awarded “Established Woman Entrepreneur” in Direct Selling Industry by the Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) on Women’s Day this year. She was the only recipient from North East India to be have been recognised for her contribution in the selling industry by IDSA which has about 450 direct selling companies registered with them.
“This award came as a pleasant surprise and was something which I was also not aware of,” she says while highlighting that it was for her contribution in the upliftment and empowerment of other women. Being associated with 4Life for 12 years now and currently a “Bronze” at 4Life, she also states that “when it comes to network marketing, a home maker can also do- whether you are a very educated professional or an illiterate- and can impact the life of others.”