As India faces an overwhelming surge of record-breaking COVID-19 cases and deaths, humanitarian organizations are offering ways to help the country in dire need of resources.

Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), a global humanitarian agency that helps in delivering emergency relief, has been working with its India chapter to provide on-the-ground resources during the crisis.

Since pandemic began, CARE India has aided more than 400,000 people in the most marginalized sections of the country with PPE and dry ration support, a CARE spokesperson told ABC News.

"The unabated spread of COVID-19 has placed immense strain on organizations and communities dealing with this humanitarian crisis," CARE India told ABC News. "Marginalized communities face the greatest risk since they are already struggling to meet their daily needs. We at CARE know that the poor communities, as well as women and girls, are at highest risk."

Currently, the CARE India team is in Bihar and is coordinating with COVID-19 designated hospitals across the country to collect data, administer IT services and support the well-being of health care workers.

On the organization's website, there are ways to donate to the India COVID-19 emergency.

Sewa International, a nonprofit organization, announced Sunday it sent an initial shipment of 400 oxygen concentrators and other emergency medical devices to India through its "Help India Defeat COVID-19 campaign," according to a press release Sunday.

"Naturally, in the current situation, many Americans are concerned about the safety of their extended families and friends living in India. Hundreds of volunteers from Sewa and our partnering organizations are working on the ground in India," Arun Kankani, president of Sewa International, said in a statement. "Right now, our top priority is to quickly acquire oxygen concentrators and ship them to India as it can save lives."

The organization has also partnered with the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin to raise funds in the U.S., including by providing ways to donate.

On Sunday, Indian health care officials reported 349,691 new COVID-19 cases and 2,767 new deaths, ABC News reported. President Joe Biden spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and pledged that the U.S. will immediately help India with the crisis, according to a White House press release.

Source

https://abc13.com/how-you-can-help-india-amid-devastating-covid-19-surge/10550367/

As a second COVID-19 wave rages through India, the country’s health care system finds itself unable to keep up with demand. Without sufficient hospital beds, equipment and, more important, oxygen, India has put out a call for help worldwide. And some members of the Indian diaspora in Connecticut are answering. 

Sujata Srinivasan, an independent journalist with the Connecticut Health Investigative Team, is raising funds for OxygenforIndia. Formed by the director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, the newly created organization is aimed at expediting the “last mile.”

The main issue in India, Srinivasan said, is not a lack of oxygen supply but instead a broken infrastructure. In other words, oxygen is available but few have access to it due to transportation, lack of connections, etc. That last mile is where OxygenforIndia comes in, helping bridge the gap between suppliers and patients. 

“The problem that they’re solving is distribution, which is a huge barrier getting oxygen to people in desperate need right now,” she said. “It’s how do you get it to remote places? How do you get it to small hospitals? How do you get it to homes of COVID patients that cannot afford the hospital?” 

The volunteer-run campaign has set up “help desks” at several hospitals in overburdened cities. Priority patients can obtain a reusable oxygen cylinder or concentrator with a fully refundable deposit.

By offering take-home options to patients who can safely recover at home, OxygenforIndia also targets overcrowding in hospitals. 

“When a wound is bleeding, deeply bleeding, and there is a threat to life, the first thing you do is stop the bleeding. That is increasing the medical oxygen availability to hospitals and ramping up distribution,” Srinivasan said. 

OxygenforIndia hopes to provide 40,000 cylinders and 3,000 concentrators to hospitals in need. Srinivasan has helped raise more than $4,500 so far. And in an effort to keep donations coming, she’s put her cooking skills on the table. 

“I’m offering a thank-you gift -- a homemade Indian meal made by me to friends and family who donate more than $100,” Srinivasan said.

It’s the least she can do, she added, to help her natal country as many struggle to breathe over 7,000 miles away. 

Just last week, the World Health Organization reported India accounts for 1 in 4 COVID deaths worldwide. And with more than 22 million confirmed cases, India becomes the second country with the most infections -- trailing just behind the U.S. 

Dr. Sankar Niranjan, a nephrologist with Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, said the situation is not only alarming but also saddening. He runs the Connecticut chapter of AIM for SEVA, an education trust helping level the academic playing field for rural children in India. 

The organization has partnered with SEWA International to provide relief. 

“They’ve raised somewhere close to $10 million as of last week to send oxygen concentrators and supplies to the hard-hit parts of India,” Niranjan said. 

SEWA international had shipped over 5,000 oxygen concentrators as of Monday, according to its website. 

But how did India get to this point? 

New coronavirus variants take the majority of the blame, but they aren’t alone in the case explosion.

“Earlier this year cases were low, people were feeling confident, and then we had this combination of pandemic fatigue, dropping precautions and lack of vaccinations. And all of a sudden we’re seeing this huge surge and the medical system is completely overwhelmed,” said Dr. Neha Jain, a psychiatrist with UConn Health. 

She launched a private fundraiser on GoFundMe to help her former medical school peers. In the last weeks, she’s heard numerous accounts from them on how grim the situation is for both patients and those on the front lines. 

“They have pulled providers that aren’t necessarily trained in western medicine. I don’t know if anyone in medicine is sleeping right now. There is a lot of frustration, but quite frankly there is a lot of fear in the medical community right now because when people’s loved ones are sickened and you can’t save them, people do get angry,” Jain said. 

In less than a week, she raised almost $5,000 to purchase oxygen concentrators for Mayom Hospital, a private hospital in Gurgaon. The challenge, she said, as an individual and not a large organization is finding a reliable supplier. Many families in the same boat have had no option but to bank on the black market. 

Along with many others of the diaspora, fundraising and sourcing supplies from miles away is Jain’s way of grappling with the crisis.

“You feel helpless, but then that intersperses with these impulses to drop everything and run back … but you know you can’t. So you figure out ways to cope. And I think that’s what most people from the immigrant community are doing,” Jain said. 

While Connecticut, along with most of the country, prepares to return to some sense of normalcy by July 4, Jain said it’s important to remember that we’re not at the finish line just yet. 

“Even though we are in a good place, the pandemic is not over,” Jain added. “What we’re seeing in India right now can very much happen here in the U.S. We still need to be careful.”

Source

https://www.wnpr.org/post/indian-diaspora-connecticut-steps-help-fight-covid-india

MANCHESTER, N.H. 

As India confirmed 390,000 new COVID-19 cases and nearly 4,000 deaths on Tuesday, there is a dire shortage of hospital space and oxygen. The India Association of New Hampshire is giving its first big donation to relief efforts.

The association has raised $60,000 so far, thanks to donations from the New Hampshire Charitable and Gupta Family foundations, along with hundreds of individuals.

“So many Granite Staters have been sending us donations, donations have been pouring in every day,” said Tej Dhakar from the association. “We really appreciate the kindness of the people and their concern.”

Checks have been written to Together for India and Sewa International, relief organizations sending desperately needed oxygen concentrators to India.

“We are also going to use these funds to set up and maintain makeshift hospitals with a lot of beds and also provide essential rations and medical supplies,” said Subba Raju Datla from the Boston Chapter of Sewa International.

Rotary International’s 2,000 members in New Hampshire and Vermont are supporting the relief efforts. So are the New England Maskateers.

The India Association of New Hampshire hopes to double donations and keep sending life-saving help.

“The humanitarian aspect has come out, the good in serving the humanity at large, it’s a global pandemic,” said Rep. Latha Mangipudi from Nashua.

Source

https://www.wmur.com/article/fundraising-efforts-india-association-new-hampshire/36401901#

The cylinders were put onboard the navy warship sent as part of Operation Samudra Setu 2 to pick medical equipment from South Asian and South-East Asian countries

Global Schools Foundation (GSF) has dispatched more than 500 oxygen concentrators to India for COVID-19 affected patients, as a timely gesture to help the nation deal with the medical crisis in the country.

These life-saving equipment are in addition to the first shipment of 200 oxygen cylinders sent on an urgent basis as part of a larger consignment onboard the Indian Navy warship Airavat to aid in transportation of medical oxygen and other supplies.  The cylinders were put onboard the navy warship sent as part of Operation Samudra Setu 2 to pick medical equipment from South Asian and South-East Asian countries.

Global Schools Foundation reached out to Sewa International - a huge network of social initiatives across India - to tap their deep local resources and get these oxygen concentrators to the small towns and villages deep inside the huge country. Through Sewa International, the concentrators will reach locations where COVID-19 patients are in urgent need of medical help.

“We are saving lives in India by sending life-saving equipment such as oxygen concentrators and cylinders. They can be used within hospitals or at venues of social organisations or community centres,” said Atul Temurnikar, Chairman, Global Schools Foundation. “It is our duty to ensure we reach this benefit to remotest corner of India and GSF would do whatever it can to assist in Covid-relief measures.”

He further said that GSF will have constant vigil on the evolving medical landscape to ensure quicker response time when situation arises.

“The 500 oxygen concentrators is a timely step and an important contribution by GSF towards medical relief of COVID-19 patients in India,” said Shyam Parande, Secretary, Sewa International.

Source

https://www.biospectrumindia.com/news/83/18601/global-schools-foundation-dispatches-500-oxygen-concentrators-to-india.html

Less than a fortnight after President Joe Biden in his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged his country's steadfast support for the people of India, America has responded with an unprecedented financial assistance worth nearly USD half a billion.

Biden spoke at length with Modi last month and conveyed solidarity with India in its fight against the viral disease. He assured the prime minister that the US and India will work closely together in the fight against COVID-19. "Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need," Biden had said in a tweet.

Reflecting an overwhelming support for a "natural ally", the entire country not only the administration, but also the corporate sector which created a global task force, as well as Americans and Indian-Americans have opened their coffers for India.

This half a billion dollars includes USD 100 million pledged by the Biden administration, USD 70 million by pharma major Pfizer and 450,000 Remdesivir doses, the governmental purchase price of each of which in the US is USD 390.

Thousands of oxygen concentrators and plane loads of life saving drugs and health care equipment are flying off the United States for India almost every day.

Several companies like Boeing and Mastercard have announced financial assistance worth USD 10 million each, Google has pledged USD 18 million, which the Global Task Force that comprises CEOs of top American companies have already pledged USD 30 million worth of life saving equipment.

Describing it as a “Berlin Life Moment”, Mukesh Aghi of US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), told PTI he expects the assistance to touch almost USD 1 billion by the end of the month. “It is emotional for the diaspora, almost everyone has someone who has been touched by COVID-19,” he said.

Nisha Desai Biswal, president of US India Business Council (USIBC) said, “The outpouring of support from the United States over the past two weeks was a spontaneous mass mobilisation of support for the Indian people from across the America government, business community and diaspora community and the American people.” “It is unprecedented, and it reflects both the deep bonds between our two countries and the gratitude that Americans feel for the role India played in supporting the United States when we were experiencing our COVID surge last year,” she said.

However, given the “speed and severity” that have overwhelmed the capacity of hospitals and local authorities, more assistance will be needed and for a sustained period of timescale of the pandemic, Biswal said.

People of the country and the Diaspora too have come out in large numbers. Indian-American Vinod Khosla has committed USD 10 million, top corporate leader John T Chambers has promised USD 1 million.

For the first time in its history, Sewa International has raised USD 15 million; American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) (USD 3.6 million), Indiaspora (USD 2.5) million and Jai Shetty has raised USD 4 million.

“There has been overwhelming support and offers of assistance from the US Government, private sector, diaspora and the American public at large. In fact, in my interactions in recent days, the US interlocutors across the board ask me, ‘tell us what more we can do for India'”, India's ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu told PTI.

“They recall with fondness the help India gave. These are reflective of strong partnership and close people to people ties between our both nations. We deeply appreciate these gestures. We will continue to engage with the US in our collective fight against the pandemic,” he said.

Among other major financial contributions announced include Procter and Gamble (USD 6.7 million); Merck (USD 5 million), Walmart (USD 2 million), Salesforce (USD 2.4 million), and Caterpillar (USD 3.4 million). Companies like Deloittee have announced to 12,000 oxygen concentrators to India.

While Microsoft is partnering with the US government in providing aid and oxygen, FedEx and UPS have taken up the mantle of taking care of the transportation of life saving health care equipment like oxygen cylinders, ventilators and oxygen concentrators to India.

On Sunday, Indian-Americans from Tamil Nadu including eminent philanthropist M R Rangaswami, held a “Help Tamil Nadu Breathe” to raise USD 1.5 million in few hours. “This is an incredible outpouring of generosity, which people have come to expect from America. When the world has a crisis, beyond politics, beyond dispute America steps up,” Rangaswami said.

“It is comforting to see US cargo jets with much needed medical supplies landing at the Delhi airport regularly,” said Karun Rishi, president of the USA-India Chambers of Commerce. Noting that the stakes are very high for the entire world, he said India's success or failure to come out of this once in a century crisis will have a direct impact throughout the world. Echoing Biswal, Rishi said that more needs to be done.

“The scale of assistance to India needs to increase and speeded up. To make some reasonable impact to tide over this crisis, India may need between USD 25-USD 50 billion in assistance in the form of vaccines, technology transfer, increasing vaccines and therapeutics manufacturing capacity, medical equipment and public health measures,” he said. PTI

Source

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/outpouring-of-support-from-us-for-india-covid-19-help-touches-half-a-billion-usd-250728

The UPS Foundation announced a $1 million commitment to fight the COVID-19 surge in India. The combination of emergency funding, in-kind transportation movements and technical expertise is intended to provide urgent relief, as well as strategic support.

“The UPS Foundation is committed to improving the well-being of communities impacted by COVID-19 and we want to help alleviate the suffering in India by leveraging our partnerships, our resources and our logistics expertise,” UPS Foundation President Nikki Clifton said in a statement.

UPS says it is working with a wide variety of strategic partners, including UNICEF, CARE, The Salvation Army, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, MAP, Medshare, Rotary Club, the U.S. Chamber Foundation and others to mobilize critical medical supplies including oxygen concentrators, ventilators, nebulizers, respiratory supplies, personal protective equipment, COVID-19 test kits and antiviral medications to India.

The UPS Foundation also is providing emergency funding to The Salvation Army and CARE. CARE is supporting the health system of the state of Bihar in India, including activation of two temporary COVID-19 care centers with five intensive care centers to follow. In addition, The Salvation Army dollars will fund oxygen concentration facilities in hospitals to increase their capacity to treat the most serious cases. Shipments began arriving in India May 3 and will continue for the foreseeable future.

As COVID-19 spreads in India, UPS employees, including Jackson Carter, director of international airfreight at UPS Global Freight Forwarding, say they want to help. Carter is part of a team coordinating shipments of supplies across India.

“We use the phrase ‘delivering what matters,’ ” Carter said. “If they don’t have these supplies, this virus is going to keep spreading. Every pallet we move is another way to fight this pandemic.”

The UPS Global Freight Forwarding team, in coordination with The UPS Foundation, has moved 5,000-plus oxygen concentrators to various locations across India with Sewa International and UNICEF.

UPS Global Freight Forwarding has also moved pallets of respirator equipment destined for hospitals, remote villages north of Mumbai and areas in the state of Gujarat along India’s western coast. “Our hearts go out to the people of India during these tough times,” UPS Global Freight Forwarding President Romaine Sequin said. “We’ll always be ready to lend a helping hand.”

Source

https://www.ttnews.com/articles/ups-foundation-commits-spending-1-million-fight-covid-19-india

The equipment shipped to India from New York on May 7 included 260 oxygen concentrators, 1,000 oximeters, and nine Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure machines.

Non-profit organization Sewa International said that it has spent over $6 million to procure lifesaving equipment in the last two weeks as part of its 'Help India Defeat COVID-19' campaign.

The equipment shipped to India from New York on May 7 included 260 oxygen concentrators, 1,000 oximeters, and nine Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure machines, it said in a statement.

MedShare, a non-profit organization that sources and delivers surplus medical supplies and equipment to communities in need, donated the concentrators. The United Parcel Service Foundation partnered with Sewa International to ship them to New Delhi by air for free.

Sewa has so far raised $16 million for the initiative to supply aid material to India. It raised $7.7 million from over 104,000 donors from its Facebook campaign and $4.2 million through its website.

So far, the organization has spent over $3.5 million to order 7,482 oxygen concentrators and procured 5,118 of them from various vendors in the US and elsewhere, it said.

Of these, Sewa has shipped 2,844 oxygen concentrators and 2,084 of them have reached India. They are being distributed to government hospitals and COVID-19 care centers and hospitals run by Sewa's partner organisations.

It is planning to ship more than 6,000 additional oxygen concentrators to India in the next two weeks.

Sewa has spent over $6 million to procure lifesaving equipment in the last two weeks as part of its Help India Defeat COVID-19 campaign, it said.

"Shipping large quantities of medical equipment to another country from the US has a lot of logistical challenges. We are optimising our shipments so that they reach India fast," Sewa's President Arun Kankani said.

Sewa has established a control room in Atlanta and it is managed by 10 volunteers. They are constantly researching the availability of medical equipment, vendor credentials, price, and other details to purchase them or find donors who can donate them, he said.

We have received phenomenal support from across the US for our Help India Defeat COVID-19 Campaign. Many corporates, hospitals, and community organisations are calling us to offer help. Sewa volunteers are working hard to connect the dots. We thank all those who have given help and continue to offer support to Sewa in this time of crisis, Kankani said.

The equipment has gone to Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, according to Sewa's Vice President for Disaster Recovery Swadesh Katoch.

It's very important to save every life and I am confident that the equipment we have sent to India will ease the shortage of emergency equipment and help COVID-19 patients recover and enable families to protect their loved ones, Katoch said.

Sewa started its campaign to aid India on April 23, 2021, when it saw an alarming rise in the daily number of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities.

Describing itself as a Hindu faith-based charitable non-profit, Sewa works in the areas of disaster recovery, education and development, and serves people regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, it added.

India has been severely affected by the unprecedented second wave of the coronavirus and hospitals in several states are reeling under the shortage of health workers, vaccines, oxygen, drugs, and beds.

After recording over four lakh fresh cases for four consecutive days, India witnessed a single-day rise of 3,66,161 COVID-19 cases on Monday, which pushed its tally to 2,26,62,575, according to the health ministry.

The death toll due to the viral disease climbed to 2,46,116 with 3,754 more people succumbing to it, the ministry's data showed.

Source

https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2021/05/covid-19-sewa-lifesaving-equipment-india/amp?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=

Sewa International Sends Over $6 Million Worth of Medical Equipment to India

India Post News Service

Houston, TX: Sewa International has spent more than six million dollars in the last two weeks to procure lifesaving equipment such as oxygen concentrators, ventilators, BiPap, and CPAP machines as part of its ‘Help India Defeat COVID-19’ Campaign.

Sewa shipped 260 Inogen oxygen concentrators, 1,000 oximeters, and nineBiPap machines from New York on Friday, May 7. UPS Foundation partnered with Sewa International to ship them to New Delhi by air for free. MedShare, a non-profit organization that sources and delivers surplus medical supplies and equipment to communities in need, donated the concentrators.

So far, Sewa has spent over $3.5 million to order 7,482 oxygen concentrators and procured 5,118 of them from various vendors in the US and elsewhere.  Sewa has shipped 2,844 of them and 2,084 of them have reached India. They are being distributed to government hospitals and COVID-19 care centers and hospitals run by Sewa’s partner organizations.

Sewa is planning to shipover6,000 additional oxygen concentrators to India in the next two weeks. “Shipping large quantities of medical equipment to another country from the US has a lot of logistical challenges. We are optimizing our shipments so that they reach India fast,” Sewa’s President Arun Kankani said.

“Sewa has established a control room in Atlanta, and it is managed by ten Sewa volunteers. They are constantly researching the availability of medical equipment, vendor credentials, price, and other details to purchase them or find donors who can donate them to us,”Kankani said.

“We have received phenomenal support from across the US for our ‘Help India Defeat COVID-19 campaign’. Many corporates, hospitals, and community organizations are calling us to offer help. Sewa volunteers are working hard to connect the dots. We thank all those who have given help and continue to offer support to Sewain this time of crisis,” Arun Kankani said.

Help Has Reached 17 States

“Oxygen concentrators distributed by Sewa have reached 17 states in India so far — Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh,” Sewa’s Vice President for Disaster Recovery Swadesh Katoch said.“It’s very important to save every life and I am confident that the equipment we have sent to India will ease the shortage of emergency equipment and help COVID-19 patients recover and enable families to protect their loved ones,” he said.  

Sewa started its campaign to aid India on April 23 amid an alarming rise in the daily number of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities. Sewa has raised $16 million for this initiative so far including $7.7 million from over 104,000 donors from its Facebook campaign and $4.2 million through its website http://www.sewausa.org.

About Sewa International

Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c)(3) Hindu faith-based charitable nonprofit that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development. Sewa has 43 Chapters across the USA and serves regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.

Source

https://www.indiapost.com/sewa-international-sends-over-6-million-worth-of-medical-equipment-to-india/

CHICAGO: At a Press Conference at Rainbow Push Coalition Headquarters in Chicago convened by its founder Rev Jesse Jacksonappealed to the World to Assist India in her fight against the Corona pandemic.

Dr. Bharat Barai, Oncologist& Chairman,US India Friendship Council, Chicago asked Rev Jackson to speak to President Biden to immediately release the 60 million vaccine doses stockpiled at Baltimore to India

Rev Jesse Jackson speaking at the Press Conference said he would speak to President Biden to immediately release the 60 million vaccines of Astra Zeneca doses stockpiled in Baltimore.

Further Rev Jackson said he would personally speak to the Health care Industry to donate Oxygen Concentrators and Cylinders to India and follow up with the pharmaceutical giants to ensure therapeutic supplies to India. He assured that he would personally monitor these relief efforts from USA along with American Association of Multi Ethnic Physicians, USA and their associated organizations.

Dr. Vijay Prabhakar, Public Health Administrator & Chairman American Association of Multi-Ethnic Physicians listed the Chicago based organizations that are helping India including Sewa International, USA having sent $8 million aid to India, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Chicago sending over$1 million worth of supplies, FIA Chicago among others.

Dr Sreenivas Reddy, an Interventional Radiologist & Trustee, Chicago Medical Society emphasized the urgent need for vaccine supplies to India along with donations of Oxygen Concentrators, Oxygen Cylinders, &Ventilators /BIPAP

Dr Ms Santosh Kumar, Executive Director, Metropolitan Asian Family Services said pointed out that Indian badly is in need of antiviral meds Remdisivir and Tocilizumab .

Neal Patel, Chairman, Indian American Business Coalition, USA appealed to all to send in their in kind and cash contributions to Indian Red Cross Society, New Delhi (https://www.Indianredcross.org/ircs/northzone) Rev Jackson applauded the dynamic Community leader Dr Vijay Prabhakar for all his efforts during this pandemic here in USA and in India.

Dr Suresh Reddy, President, American Association of Multi Ethnic Physicians Inc., USA appealed to Rev Jackson to request President Biden to invoke the Federal Good Samaritan Act to provide immunity from malpractice for U.S. Physicians treating Covid Patients anywhere in the world. Dr Reddy said that will greatly help the American physician community to fight the Covid pandemic globally.

Dr Zenobia Sowell, Dentist & Women’s Chair of Congressman Danny Davis’s Multi Ethnic Advisory Task Force said it is everyone’s duty to help India flatten the Covid 19 surge as we live in a world that cannot be separated by borders.

Ravi Baichwal of ABC TV Channel 7 covering the press meet got it aired on May 5 Wednesday 5 pm news. Bishop Travis Grant, National Field Director for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition assured the Indian American Community that they will follow through on all their requests and will continue to work with the Community leaders to ensure swift aid to India.

James Gomez, Director of International Affairs of Rainbow Push Coalition, Washington DC assured that they would work closely with the Chicago Indian American Community and American Association of Multi Ethnic Physicians, USA to expedite much needed aid to India.

Dr Vijay Prabhakar thanked the Rev Jesse Jackson, Founder of Rainbow PUSH Coalition for assisting India at this time

Source

https://www.indiapost.com/rev-jackson-urges-pres-biden-to-release-corona-vaccine-doses-to-india/

As COVID-19 cases in India soared over the last week – with 359,000 new cases recorded in 24 hours on Tuesday – St. Thomas businessman Pash Daswani wanted to do something to help the people.

“I didn’t know where to start,” he said, adding the effort had to be targeted because “India is one of the most corrupt countries in the world.”

Thanks to a couple of phone calls, one incoming from an India friend on St. John, the other outgoing to the India Consulate in Atlanta, a plan began to gel. Daswani is the president of the V.I. India Association – a 501(c)3 – and the organization is in a unique position to receive tax-deductible donations that will be sent to another 501(c)3 that has already mobilized to purchase oxygen concentrators that can be used by an entire family.

Daswani’s friend Akhil Deshwal lost a relative to COVID in the latest devastating surge. She was 50 years old and left four young children behind, Daswani said. Her husband had died just a few months earlier. “It brought the situation close to home,” he said.

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Daswani tracked down the India Consulate in Atlanta. The consulate quickly recommended an organization that had already mobilized, making the footwork far easier.

Sewa International, a Hindu faith-based organization, has been given very high marks by both the consulate and a nonprofit set up 19 years ago to review and rate charitable organizations.

Daswani immediately reached out to Sewa, which was founded in 2003. Sewa’s website states it specializes in disaster relief and rehabilitation. It has a four-star rating as well as a perfect score – top 100 nonprofits – from Charity Navigator.

With supplies dwindling or non-existent and medical facilities completely overwhelmed by the second wave that hit the country of nearly 1.4 billion people in the last weeks, Daswani saw the oxygen concentrators as a meaningful contribution. Also, Sewa had secured a few deals to get the devices at a good rate and an agreement from United Parcel Service to send a specific number of pallets of the devices to India at no cost. But free delivery is limited. Daswani said he thought there were about 100 pallets still available.

A man with an oxygen concentrator (Shutterstock image)

He hopes to raise at least $100,000 as quickly as possible, which will pay for approximately 170 concentrators.

The India Association, as of Thursday, had already purchased 26 oxygen concentrators to be sent directly to India.

For now, tax-deductible contributions can be made by check to India Association and mailed to: P.O. Box 1267, St. Thomas, VI 00804.

Questions may be addressed to Daswani at pash@consultpash.com or 786-393-0221.

Source

https://stjohnsource.com/2021/05/12/local-association-steps-up-to-help-relieve-covid-crisis-in-india/