Give a little bit of yourself to India…not just your money
Empathy is that incredible force that sustains and defines our humanity. Whether or not we are directly affected, it is incumbent upon us as human beings to look out for each other as best we can. As COVID-19 continues to ravage the great nation of India, concerned citizens of the world are looking within themselves to figure out how best to help.
Total COVID-19 cases in India have now surpassed 18 million and the daily cases are predicted to hit 600,000 by end of May. With less than two percent of India’s population fully vaccinated, hospitals and funeral homes are overwhelmed. Oxygen remains in chronic short supply and is now being sold in the black market.
How can you help? Money might be your first thought. But some things are probably more long-lasting than money. Here are 5 practical ways you can help India, even without money.
- Encourage: Call all your Indian friends and other Indians you know around the world and encourage them. Texts, postcards, and letters are all good.
- Video message: Take it a step higher and send them personalized video messages.
- Social media: Use Facebook, YouTube, and other social media channels to reach out and touch the Indian communities. Also call others to do the same.
- Pause: Take a few minutes every day, preferably at set times daily to pause or pray or just reflect in sympathy.
- Give: Find a charity and make a contribution, no matter how small. Oxygen, oxygen cylinders, and other hospital supplies are urgently needed. Friends and families can put money together to fund an oxygen cylinder or oxygen-related item.
Albert Shane Laulman, a Minister at Toronto Milestone Churches, aptly expressed the clarion call: “Let’s unite together to help India breathe.”
In addition to these efforts, monetary donations are still incredibly useful. We have put together several reputable charities that you can give to for India:
- HOPE worldwide Canada is providing support to HOPE worldwide as they actively work with their partners to provide food, medicine, and immediate relief materials to India.
- Give India is accepting donations that will go towards boosting oxygen supply, providing food for the hungry and cash to those whose family members have died of COVID. Donate here.
- Feeding From Far is fundraising to donate meals to the poor in Mumbai. Donate here.
- People for Change is providing daily food ration kits to the trans community and sex workers in Jamshedpur, India, many of whom were facing food insecurity before the pandemic.
- Mazdoor Kitchen is a citizen-run organization that is providing meals and ration kits to daily wage workers in North Delhi, Ind
- Indian Muslim Relief & Charities (IMRC) is a nonprofit focused on supporting India’s Muslim community. Their COVID efforts are far-reaching, from stipends for currently unemployed teachers and imams, to the thermometer, oxygen related supply, and mask distribution
- Mission Oxygen is an effort run by Delhi-based entrepreneurs, focused on acquiring oxygen cylinders and concentrators.
- HelpNow, an ambulance network set up by students, is a 24/7 logistics network that is helping transport COVID patients, medical workers, and life-saving medical supplies, including oxygen, blood and organs
Dr. Ashok Kumar Prabath, the Chief Wellness Consultant and Counsellor for LOVESPRING Wellness sadly noted: “As a doctor who has worked for a quarter of a century in the public health care space in India, what we are seeing is unprecedented. The overwhelmed hospital system is so devastating. We are trying new strategies to provide home-based care for mild to moderate infections using digital oversight by medical professionals. That way the hospitals will focus on the more critical patients.”
There are now over 1.6 million Indians in Canada and they are dominant in the IT, transportation, and hospitality sectors. Next to China, India has the next highest number of immigrants to Canada. As the country fights this unprecedented battle, Indians around the world will gladly take all the help that comes their way.
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