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HOUSTON, May 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sewa International will be funding the installation of 100 oxygen generation plants in hospitals across India to ease oxygen scarcity in the country. It has ordered 20-tonn Zeolites (molecular sieves that absorb nitrogen and produce oxygen as a product) from Honeywell to establish up to 30 plants immediately. As a part of these efforts, it has placed purchase orders for 15 oxygen generation plants to be set up in the next 8-12 weeks at a cost of about $1.8 million.
Sewa International has started a fundraising campaign to construct these oxygen plants. A donation of $61,000, $81,000 or $121,000 will help install one oxygen plant of a desired sizeThe campaign will help distribute oxygen generation capability to different parts of the country equitably bridging the urban-rural divide in India's healthcare sector.
"Based on our reading of the current situation, we have made a strategic decision to start building oxygen generating plants in India to enhance India's capacity to face the present COVID-19 crisis. This will make India future-ready to face a possible third wave of the pandemic," said Arun Kankani, President of Sewa International.
Sewa has identified three vendors from India to supply machinery required to build these plants. The first fifteen plants will be a mix of 250 LPM and 500 LPM capacity and each can support about 20 to 40 ICU beds. Sewa International is working with forty to fifty hospitals across India to establish these plants, and the number of hospitals is expected to grow to more than one hundred depending on donor support.
"The primary target for installing these oxygen generation plants are charitable hospitals in rural and tribal areas and hospitals in 2nd and 3rd tier cities. The plants, with good care and maintenance, have a life of twenty years. One 500 LPM plant can support a 200-bed hospital with 40 ICU beds or can produce 110 cylinders of oxygen a day. Including site preparation expenses and taxes, one such plant will cost about $121,000," Mukund Kute, Project Manager for Sewa's oxygen generation plant initiative said.
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.
Contact Vidyasagar Tontalapur – 1 - 720-526-9939 Viswanath Koppaka – 1- 404-304-0563 Email: 310619@email4pr.com Web: http://www.sewausa.org
Houston, Tx (May 18, 2021): Sewa International has announced $100,000 in aid to Nepal and $50,000 to Trinidad and Tobago for COVID -19 relief efforts as the second wave of the pandemic is gaining strength in the two countries. The COVID-19 second wave is rapidly spreading in Nepal and the test positive rate has crossed 47 percent.
“Similar to our ongoing campaign to help India, we have launched ‘Help Nepal Defeat COVID-19’ campaign to raise funds to send oxygen concentrators, ventilators and other lifesaving equipment to Nepal,” Sewa International’s Vice President for Administration, Ashwani Garg said.
According to Swadesh Katoch, Sewa International’s Vice President for Disaster Recovery, Sewa is planning to send 54 oxygen concentrators, 500 oximeters, 250 infrared thermometers, and 250 electronic blood pressure monitors to Trinidad and Tobago as the initial shipment in a week. Sewa International of Trinidad and Tobago is working with its partner organizations to distribute food, medicine, and other essentials to people who are in need.
“Sewa is working with the Nepal Medical Association, Aggrawal Sewa Kendra, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, and Upkar Sewa and our other partner organizations. Many Nepal related organizations in the US have been reaching out to Sewa to collaborate in this effort. Sewa International Nepal in collaboration with its partner organizations started our first COVID isolation center in Aggrawal Kendra in Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday, May 17. Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the Indian Ambassador to Nepal, inaugurated the center,” Ashwani Garg said.
The COVID Care Center has 22 rooms that accommodate two patients each. It also has three big dormitories that house more than 80 beds. If required, bed capacity can be increased to 150 in these dormitories. Sewa International has also started work in three other places in Nepal where food and basic medicines are being distributed to people in need.
“Sewa carried out major disaster relief and recovery activities in Nepal during the 2015 earthquake and we have the experience working in Nepal and we have volunteers on the ground. We are grateful to Americans who gave their generous support to our India campaign and request them to extend their complete support to Nepal to fight COVID-19 at this hour as Nepal is not really equipped to face a crisis of this magnitude,” said Arun Kankani, President of Sewa International.
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.
Houston, TX (May 14, 2021): To relieve the strain placed on the Indian healthcare system by the current surge in coronavirus cases, the American Association of Physicians of Indian-Origin (AAPI) and Sewa International have partnered with eGlobalDoctors (https://eglobaldoctors.com/#/) to provide medical advice for COVID-19 patients from India via telehealth. This online platform gives patients an opportunity to meet privately with volunteer medical professionals, who offer counseling with the aim of identifying those with mild or severe cases of infection.
According to the Chairman and Co-founder of eGlobalDoctors, Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, over 100 volunteer physicians from AAPI and “Doctors for Sewa” have been registered on the platform in the past ten days. In that time, the website has been visited more than 100,000 times, at least 2,000 patients have filled out the COVID-19 Registration Form, and 500 patients have already received medical counseling. More than 200 volunteers from the US and India are working together to follow-up with those who filled out the online form but were unable to show up at their scheduled consultation time.
Sewa volunteers have been instrumental in facilitating these one-on-one sessions, matching patients to doctors who speak the same language and placing them in a private breakout consultation room. “The Sewa team is helping connect volunteer physicians and patients by phone, especially those who do not have video access or capabilities of smart phones or access to the internet. Sewa’s work on the ground is streamlining the process by reaching the people who are most in need—even those from smaller, rural areas,” said Dr. Gangasani. “Indeed, patients have been logging on from all across India—from Jammu to Kolkata to Tamil Nadu,” he added.
According to Dr. Anupama Gotimukala, AAPI President-elect, teleconsultations began in Whatsapp groups and Zoom webinars before moving to the eGlobalDoctors platform, where over 1,000 patients are being counseled per day. Dr. Gotimukala said, “Doctors must guide patients daily for a week to ten days. In the system, a patient is registered and then they can offer timings and meet with the same physician on multiple dates, allowing us to follow-up with close care. The goal of telehealth is to treat patients remotely, using technology to help us. Doctors and patients can be at home, rendering services very efficiently. In some cases, an entire family can receive counseling at once.”
Through online counseling, physicians offer medical advice regarding triage, prognosis, and management protocol. Dr. Prasad Garimella said, “Our objective is to keep patients with mild symptoms out of the ER and identify those who need to go to the hospital sooner. Decreasing the burden on hospitals involves lowering panic and decreasing misinformation about the pandemic that patients might have”.
HOUSTON, May 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sewa International has procured 7,482 oxygen concentrators, 20,500 pulse oximeters, 250 ventilators, 256 co-ventilators and other much needed medical equipment and has shipped most of these to India via UPS over the past two weeks. Working with its partners in India, Sewa International has distributed more than 4,000 medicine kits, and 5,000 essential kits. As Indian hospitals and care agencies struggle to meet this dire medical emergency, Sewa volunteers have been working across the country, in small towns and big cities to offer information about hospital bed availability, medical equipment distribution, vaccinations, and testing for COVID-19. Sewa International has already spent more than $7.5 million procuring and shipping equipment, and helping distribute needed medicines, food, and other supplies.
Detailing some of the work done by the Sewa International team in India, Viswanath Koppaka, National Marketing Director for Sewa International said, "Sewa International volunteers facilitated the COVID-19 testing at the Government Hospital in Hiriyur, in the Indian state of Karnataka on Tuesday, May 11. Sewa volunteers went door-to-door to create awareness among people in this small town about the significance of timely testing for COVID-19." He said that "Oxygen concentrators sent from the US has also reached Lucknow, the capital city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, May 11. Sewa has sent 70 concentrators to the city for immediate use as they will fulfill the urgent needs of various Covid Care Centers across the city. Uttar Pradesh reported 20,435 fresh cases on May 11 and had 2,16,057 active cases. The big challenge right now in India is the sheer number of people testing positive; the lack of medical equipment; and the difficulty for volunteers to work efficiently, quickly, and without hindrance in a country that is essentially under lockdown."
Donations Pour In Sewa International has reached the 105,000-donor mark and raised over $16 million from its 'Help India Defeat COVID-19' Facebook campaign and through their website campaign. As of May 10, Sewa International had procured 7,482 oxygen-concentrators and airlifted 5,482 of them to India. The highlight of the fundraising campaign was the recent $2.5 million pledge made by Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter. "We are happy that CEOs of multinational corporations and ordinary citizens of America are coming to the aid of India in this hour of need, and we are thankful that they have put their trust in us to offer medical aid in India quickly, efficiently, and professionally," said Arun Kankani, President, Sewa International. "We will do our best to help those suffering in India, and we will do as much as we can, quickly, to relieve the pressure that hospitals and care agencies are under," Kankani said, pointing out the challenges in procuring and shipping the needed equipment and getting quick clearance on the ground in India to send the equipment to cities, towns, and villages across the country.
"There are so many generous donors that we cannot name them all, but to all of them a big thank you," said Kankani, mentioning that among the big donors were the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, which donated $535,000 and Dr. Alok Agrawal, founder of the Global Pragathi (Global Progress), who has donated $500,000.
Contact Vidyasagar Tontalapur – 1 - 720-526-9939 Viswanath Koppaka – 1- 404-304-0563 Email: 309936@email4pr.com Web: http://www.sewausa.org
Houston, TX (May 13, 2021) – Sewa International has procured 7,482 oxygen concentrators, 20,500 pulse oximeters, 250 ventilators, 256 co-ventilators and other much needed medical equipment and has shipped most of these to India via UPS over the past two weeks. Working with its partners in India, Sewa International has distributed more than 4,000 medicine kits, and 5,000 essential kits. As Indian hospitals and care agencies struggle to meet this dire medical emergency, Sewa volunteers have been working across the country, in small towns and big cities to offer information about hospital bed availability, medical equipment distribution, vaccinations, and testing for COVID-19. Sewa International has already spent more than $7.5 million procuring and shipping equipment, and helping distribute needed medicines, food, and other supplies.
Detailing some of the work done by the Sewa International team in India, Viswanath Koppaka, National Marketing Director for Sewa International said, “Sewa International volunteers facilitated the COVID-19 testing at the Government Hospital in Hiriyur, in the Indian state of Karnataka on Tuesday, May 11. Sewa volunteers went door-to-door to create awareness among people in this small town about the significance of timely testing for COVID-19”. He said that “Oxygen concentrators sent from the US has also reached Lucknow, the capital city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, May 11. Sewa has sent 70 concentrators to the city for immediate use as they will fulfill the urgent needs of various Covid Care Centers across the city. Uttar Pradesh reported 20,435 fresh cases on May 11 and had 2,16,057 active cases. The big challenge right now in India is the sheer number of people testing positive; the lack of medical equipment; and the difficulty for volunteers to work efficiently, quickly, and without hindrance in a country that is essentially under lockdown.”
Donations Pour In
Sewa International has reached the 105,000-donor mark and raised over $16 million from its ‘Help India Defeat COVID-19’ Facebook campaign and through their website campaign. As of May 10, Sewa International had procured 7,482 oxygen-concentrators and airlifted 5,482 of them to India. The highlight of the fundraising campaign was the recent $2.5 million pledge made by Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter. “We are happy that CEOs of multinational corporations and ordinary citizens of America are coming to the aid of India in this hour of need, and we are thankful that they have put their trust in us to offer medical aid in India quickly, efficiently, and professionally,” said Arun Kankani, President, Sewa International. “We will do our best to help those suffering in India, and we will do as much as we can, quickly, to relieve the pressure that hospitals and care agencies are under,” Kankani said, pointing out the challenges in procuring and shipping the needed equipment and getting quick clearance on the ground in India to send the equipment to cities, towns, and villages across the country.
“There are so many generous donors that we cannot name them all, but to all of them a big thank you,” said Kankani, mentioning that among the big donors were the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, which donated $535,000 and Dr. Alok Agrawal, founder of the Global Pragathi (Global Progress), who has donated $500,000.
Houston, TX (May 10, 2021) – 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 nine BiPap 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 ship over 6,000 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 also procured 250 ventilators and other emergency equipment valued at $2.5 million. We have 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 Sewa in this time of crisis,” Arun Kankani said.
“Oxygen concentrators distributed by Sewa have reached 19 states in India so far -- Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, 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.
Houston, TX (May 4, 2021) – Sewa International has reached the 101,000-donor mark and raised over $7 million from its ‘Help India Defeat COVID-19’ Facebook campaign within 10 days of launching the campaign, indicating massive support from Americans to help India in its hour of need.
Started with a modest goal of $500,000 on April 25 as India started seeing a drastic increase in the number of cases reported daily, Sewa’s Facebook campaign has grown in strength. Based on rapidly changing needs on the ground, Sewa moved the campaign’s fundraising target thrice, to $1 million, $5 million, and then to $10 million dollars, responding both to the felt need for medical equipment in India, and the emotional commitment of donors to alleviating the suffering of millions.
“It is heartening to see Americans generously donating to help India face the challenge posed by the COVID-19 second wave. I am deeply moved by the love and warmth thousands of Americans have shown to India through their donations. People are urging others to donate showing Americans are standing solidly with India at this moment,” Arun Kankani, President, Sewa International said.
Oxygen Concentrators Reach India
Sewa International representatives received 1,148 oxygen concentrators on May 4, 2021, and 318 of them on May 3, 2021. Sewa International’s partner organization, Sewa United Kingdom has also sent another 50 oxygen concentrators. Sewa International volunteers transported all of them to their warehouse in Delhi for distribution to cities and hospitals across the country.
The Sewa India team has also received 139 oxygen concentrators from the United Arab Emirates. “Sewa teams from many different countries are working with their local communities to raise funds to help India in the current COVID-19 crisis,” Arun Kankani said.
“We are receiving a lot of requests for ventilators, and right now, 256 co-ventilators are in transit to Atlanta, GA. We are placing orders for 150 ventilators with Philips in India, and Philips is donating another fifty. We are procuring another fifty in the US soon,” Srikanth Gundavarapu, who is leading the Sewa Procurement Team, said.
“Sewa has procured 1,688 oxygen concentrators in the US in addition to the 2,584 we have already sent to India. Our procurement team is acting fast to obtain more of these machines. We are seeing an increasing demand for many lifesaving equipment, and we are placing orders for 140 Bi PAP machines soon,” Srikanth Gundavarapu said.
Houston, TX (April 29, 2021) – The first major batch of oxygen concentrators has left Atlanta by air to Delhi. Thanks to UPS Foundation’s generous collaboration with Sewa International, the shipment of 2,184 Nuvo oxygen-concentrators, manufactured by Birmingham, Alabama-based Nidek Medical Products, Inc., is being shipped free of cost to New Delhi, as India struggles with the severe second wave of COVID-19 that has led to an acute shortage of oxygen, ventilators, and hospital beds across the country.
While the shipment from Atlanta to Delhi is going via UPS, Air India will be distributing the consignment to seven metros in India, also without cost to Sewa. From these seven metros the oxygen-concentrators will be transported by road to 21 cities. “In the midst of this health crisis in India, we are absolutely thrilled to have the support of so many organizations and people in enabling this quick shipment of oxygen-concentrators to India,” said Arun Kankani, President, Sewa International, who had flown from Houston to be with the Sewa Atlanta team as they readied to send the medical equipment to India.
Romaine Seguin, President Global Freight Forwarding at UPS, said, “Our Heart goes out to the people of India during these tough times and our prayers are with them. It is our pleasure to lend a helping hand in this shipment of much needed medical equipment”. Kiran Manchikanti, VP, UPS Information Technology, said “Being an Indian and being able to make a difference makes me proud to support Indian people at this moment.” Philippe Gilbert, UPS President, Supply Chain Solutions, reiterated that his team is with the people of India and are willing to help alleviate the pain.
Sewa started the ‘Help India Defeat COVID-19’ campaign on April 23, 2021 to ship oxygen concentrators to Indian hospitals. Sewa initially planned to raise $500,000. But responding to the rapidly evolving needs on the ground, Sewa increased the fundraising target to $1 million, $5 million, and $10 million in the subsequent three days. “This is generosity and commitment of Americans, not just Indian Americans, to help India in this hour of need,” said Swadesh Katoch, Sewa International’s Vice President for Disaster Recovery, who has been working from Atlanta to ensure that the equipment reaches India fast. Dr Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), advising Sewa International, said that the 100,000 strong physician group of Indian Origin is proud to support the people of India during these tough times.
Houston, TX (April 26, 2021) – Sewa International, the Houston-based nonprofit organization that specializes in disaster recovery, education, and development, has ramped up their fundraising goal to $10 million to fight the COVID surge in India. It has volunteers working both in the US and in India, round the clock, coordinating the work of both raising funds and procuring medical equipment supplies, as well as getting the equipment and essential supplies to hospitals, institutions, and individuals in India. Sewa International is seeking the advice of a team of doctors in the US on procuring the appropriate medical equipment and supplies to be shipped to India.
Gitesh Desai, President, Houston Chapter of Sewa International, appeared on ABC 13 News-Houston, and spoke with reporter Shern-Min Chow about the 400 oxygen-concentrators already shipped to India, and 2,184 more concentrators that were purchased today, and which are to be shipped shortly to India.
Sandeep Khadkekar, Sewa’s Vice President for Marketing and Fund Development, responding to the overwhelming support for their Facebook fundraising campaign said, “We are deeply moved by the response we have received from all of you for our fundraiser. Sewa appreciates your willingness to donate for a cause that would save many lives in India. Our top priority is to procure and ship oxygen concentrators to India as soon as possible”.
A severe second wave of COVID-19 has overwhelmed India’s healthcare system and caused an acute shortage of oxygen, ventilators, and hospital beds across the country. With the number of new cases crossing 300,000 daily and a steady rise in number of fatalities, now estimated to be around 195,000 Indian hospitals are under serious stress to accommodate new patients.
“Sewa International has had a tremendous outpouring of support from individuals and organizations across the country, and the Facebook fundraising campaign has had such traction that Facebook is working with us to boost this campaign to ensure that Sewa International leverages the trust people have in us,” said Viswanath Koppaka, Director of Marketing, Sewa International. “We have about 60,000 donors who have supported our Facebook campaign, and it has been a challenge to keep them in the loop of all the work going on behind the scenes. But we also have energetic volunteers pitching in, working late into the night, to do all that needs to be done keeping people informed,” he said.
HOUSTON, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sewa International, the Houston-based nonprofit organization that specializes in disaster recovery, education, and development, has ramped up their fundraising goal to $10 million to fight the COVID surge in India. It has volunteers working both in the US and in India, round the clock, coordinating the work of both raising funds and procuring medical equipment supplies, as well as getting the equipment and essential supplies to hospitals, institutions, and individuals in India. Sewa International is seeking the advice of a team of doctors in the US on procuring the appropriate medical equipment and supplies to be shipped to India.
Sandeep Khadkekar, Sewa's Vice President for Marketing and Fund Development, responding to the overwhelming support for their Facebook fundraising campaign said, "We are deeply moved by the response we have received from all of you for our fundraiser. Sewa appreciates your willingness to donate for a cause that would save many lives in India. Our top priority is to procure and ship oxygen concentrators to India as soon as possible."
A severe second wave of COVID-19 has overwhelmed India's healthcare system and caused an acute shortage of oxygen, ventilators, and hospital beds across the country. With the number of new cases crossing 300,000 daily and a steady rise in number of fatalities, now estimated to be around 195,000 Indian hospitals are under serious stress to accommodate new patients.
"Sewa International has had a tremendous outpouring of support from individuals and organizations across the country, and the Facebook fundraising campaign has had such traction that Facebook is working with us to boost this campaign to ensure that Sewa International leverages the trust people have in us," said Viswanath Koppaka, Director of Marketing, Sewa International. "We have about 60,000 donors who have supported our Facebook campaign, and it has been a challenge to keep them in the loop of all the work going on behind the scenes. But we also have energetic volunteers pitching in, working late into the night, to do all that needs to be done keeping people informed," he said.
Contact Vidyasagar Tontalapur – 1 - 720-526-9939 Viswanath Koppaka – 1- 404-304-0563 Email: 308710@email4pr.com Web: http://www.sewausa.org
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