Musician and Sunny Leone's husband Daniel Weber launched his series of Instagram Live sessions titled Stories of Hope on May 5 this year. In these live sessions, Daniel has been discussing pertinent issues related to the pandemic such as overall well-being, mental health, and has also chatted with people who have turned Good Samaritans by providing food to the needy during the lockdown.
In the 12 sessions that he's hosted so far, Daniel has featured well-known filmmakers and mental health experts. On Wednesday he shared a video on Sunny's official Facebook page that featured the relatively new cloud kitchen in Mumbai called Smart Chef. The Andheri-based kitchen that was started in August last year was badly hit by the pandemic. However, ever since the Mumbai government announced the lockdown in April this year, the kitchen started an initiative called #BhukeMatSona, and has been delivering food to the needy every day. Daniel spoke with one of the team members, and threw more light on the work that the kitchen has been doing. You can watch the video here.
Daniel's purpose of starting this series of videos was to instill hope. On his Instagram page, he writes, "In these unprecedented times that we are in, it takes a lot to be hopeful, but hope is all we have to hold on to.
You can add hope to the lives of others by sharing stories of how you, or someone you know has done something positive worth mentioning in this time of need. There are so many local hero’s and there stories are an inspiration to us all. Your stories of strength, valour, generosity and will-power will help thousands of others through their difficult time. Come, let's share our story on an insta live daily 530pm. Instagram - @dirrty99 DM your stories here and we would love to hear it live !!! (sic)."
Earlier in the week, he had invited Dr Sunita Dube, founder of Medscsapeindia & WeDoctors Campaign for COVID-19, who is at the forefront treating patients. She said that being positive and following protocols is the most effective way of dealing with the on-going crisis, "Following all the protocols is a must. People have to be careful and vigilant. Not being vigilant has cost them a lot. This time around, a lot of people have not been able to get their early diagnosis in time due to a high number of cases. The medical fraternity in the country is dealing with a multi-layered pandemic. We're somewhat at the peak of the second wave. Administrations across states are discussing the third wave and vaccinations. We all let our guards down post the first wave; we cannot make the same mistake this time, too. Things are gradually getting under control in the country but till everything doesn’t settle down, double-masking or wearing N95 masks, maintaining a distance of more than six feet and sanitisation are important."
Daniel, who believes in spreading positivity and applauding frontline workers, also highlighted the need to make people understand why vaccinations are crucial and precautions necessary at all times. "Precautions and following medical instructions are a must. The idea behind doing this live chat everyday is to help people see the brighter side of things and also act cautiously at all times."