REACH IN US Activity During the COVID Pandemic

REACH IN US activities with our partners in India

Early Stages of Pandemic (Till Summer of 2020):

The COVID pandemic was officially declared in mid March 2020 all around the world.  That had immediate impact on our operations in the US.  The Sunday hot lunches could no longer be provided in person.  So early in the days REACH IN US met its obligations to New Hope Housing by providing funds.  Our supporters responded by contributing funds over and beyond their annual support.  In India, the movement of migrant labor from cities to villages created a humanitarian crisis.  Our partner in India, Snehalaya, responded with energy, compassion and organization to provide the migrant workers and villagers with rations and other supplies.  REACH IN US provided Rs. 2,75,000 to help them in this effort.

In the US, the shortage of masks for non health care providers became an acute issue.  Over a period of four months (March-June 2020) our volunteers made over 1,000 cloth masks that were supplied to homeless shelters, nursing homes, to medical clinics and to families with limited financial resources.  In addition, we provided additional financial assistance ($5,000) to our local partners, New Hope Housing, Cornerstone and FACETS, VA to help them meet the additional services and increased client load that they faced due to the pandemic.

Middle Stage of the Pandemic (Winter of 2020-2021):  

During this stage, the case load in the US skyrocketed while cases in India dropped very significantly.  Coupled with the winter season, our local partners that provide support to population experiencing homelessness faced especially tough challenges.  New Hope Housing requested us to provide bagged lunches for this population that could not be housed in their shelters due to the pandemic restrictions.  Our volunteers responded with a surge of generosity and supplied lunches for 30 people three times a week for the entire duration of the hypothermia season and beyond!  

You can see the photographs of our volunteers making the lunch bags at the end of the BLOG.

 

The Third Wave of Pandemic in India:

Past one month has unprecedented surge in COVID infections in India and the resulting human tragedy is enormous indeed. In this post, we will summarize the activities undertaken by our partner organizations in India, Snehalaya, Ahmednagar. Anandwan, and SEARCH, Gadchiroli.

Snehalaya Activities:

Snehalaya is an Ahmednagar District-based NGO working for the rehabilitation of people living with HIV / AIDS and women and children for over three decades. This includes, but is not limited to: sex workers and their children, transgender and MSM communities, rape victims including minors and unwed mothers, newborns and infants, victims of domestic violence, slum communities, child laborers, child brides and other exploited and deprived sections of society. While helping our beneficiaries through 22 tailored projects, we also respond to calamities like floods, droughts, earthquakes and epidemics/pandemics, and are currently focused on the COVID pandemic, providing emergency support and services across our district.

The second wave of COVID is devastating India. Ahmednagar District, where Snehalaya operates is one of the worst hit with no beds, oxygen or medicines available to our largely rural population of nearly 5 million which already experiences high unemployment and a severe lack of statutory healthcare. Drought, poverty and a large transient population has historically perpetuated many issues for low-income families, most of whom earn their living from agriculture or daily wage work and with high sugar cane production, the district also attracts many migrant workers.

Since March 2021 a flood of positive cases has rendered the current medical facilities throughout the district overburdened and insufficient. There has been a steep rise in the number of Corona positive patients in the district and at the start of April, Times of India reported it was in the top ten worst affected districts in India with over 1,000 new cases a day. The Hindustan Times further reported that: “From April 15-21, when Maharashtra recorded its highest seven-day average in both cases as well as fatalities, the case fatality ratio (CFR) of five districts posed the most concern. Of them, Ahmednagar recorded the highest at 1.4%, followed by Nagpur (0.95%), Mumbai (0.64%), Nashik (0.62%), and Pune (0.33%).” 

The present quarantine and medical facilities in the city are full and overburdened. With no beds and limited oxygen and medicines available in government or private hospitals, admission and treatment for patients has become extremely challenging and next to impossible with profiteers exploiting people through the black market.

To relieve the burden on medical facilities, those testing positive with minor or no symptoms are advised to self-quarantine. However, for those on low or no incomes who live in very small houses or slum dwellings isolation of COVID positive family members is simply not realistic. For those with more serious symptoms the lack of resources and inflated fees involved in gaining what treatment is available is beyond their reach.

At the same time cases of trafficking, child marriage and domestic violence are also increasing and, with many businesses and government offices closed or reduced, there is very limited access to support services. Police blockades and limited public transport are also making it difficult for those seeking medical attention and other support.

Snehalaya Response

In response to the critical situation we have put pressure on authorities, such as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, our District Collector and others to take direct action to improve the situation. We have also issued regular media statements requesting them to ensure proper access to hospitals and supplies of oxygen and medicines such as Remdesivir to COVID positive patients, particularly for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. As a result, our District Collector has initiated a 24/7 helpline to control the chaos and scramble for treatments the pandemic is causing and we are encouraging further action.

We are also taking a more direct approach, adapting, expanding and initiating new projects to provide vital support to as many of the 150,000 plus people who have tested positive with COVID in our district. Outreach work, ambulance services and our community radio are helping us to reach out to communities in all corners of our district.

Fore more details of our activities, please go to the link: https://www.snehalaya.org/covid2021

Anandwan Activities:

BACKGROUND:

The devastating carnage a second wave of CoViD-19 is causing in India continues. The Government is trying its best to arrest the spread of Coronavirus. In such a case, it would be ungrateful to remain uninvolved saying ‘this is the responsibility of the Government’. So, understanding the gravity of the situation, Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Warora has launched the ‘Mission Anand-Sahayog’, a campaign to help control the spread of Corona and to support the underprivileged sections, whose livelihood is affected due to COVID.

To date, Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Warora has provided the following In Kind Aid through Internal Resources under ‘Mission Anand-Sahayog’: –

• 3 Oxygen Concentrators, 2 BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) machines, 100 beds, 100 mattresses, 200 bedsheets, 3000 cloth masks, 30 ceiling fans for COVID Care Center set up by Shantivan, a non-profit organization in Beed District, Maharashtra.
• 8 Oxygen Concentrators, 8 Jumbo Oxygen Cylinders and Ivermectin, Favipiravir tablets for CoViD patients at Sub District Hospital, Warora, Chandrapur District, Maharashtra in response to the appeal by local authorities.
• 50 PPE Kits to volunteers providing free meals in Government and Private COVID hospitals in Chandrapur City, Maharashtra.
• Ration Kits (costing Rs. 2000/- each) containing rice, flour, edible oil, tur dal, gram flour, chilli powder, salt, turmeric, cumin-mustard, tea powder, sugar, toothpaste, bath and laundry soaps, coconut oil etc. to 500 persons with disabilities, tribal and landless in in Warora tehsil and in Jivti tehsil (Dist. Chandrapur, Maharashtra)
• Nutritional food packets (costing Rs. 2000/- each) containing peanuts, poha, semolina, jaggery, rice, mung dal, tur dal, matki, gram, nagli biscuits, dates, cashews, almonds, raisins etc. and medicines to 50 no. HIV positive children in Jalgaon City, Maharashtra.

PROPOSAL:

In spite of  efforts by the Government Agencies and Non-Government Organizations, the pandemic has left many in dire straits. Daily wagers have lost their livelihood. Children suffering from HIV and other incurable diseases, Persons with disabilities, Poor, Old destitute people in the society are battling food scarcity. COVID patients are dying due to shortage of Oxygen. Volunteers, who provide free food to COVID patients and their relatives are at risk due to inadequate medical safety equipment. We have been receiving appeals from NGOs and voluntary support groups across Maharashtra to help them provide aid to the malnourished children, HIV affected women and children, destitute, tribal, slum children, landless farm laborers, cane breakers, Nomadic from Pardhi, Dombari, Devdasi communities, poor and needy patients infected with COVID in rural hospitals, health workers in the form of Ration / Nutritional Food Packets, medical safety equipment etc.

It is our plan to reach out to the needy through ‘Mission Anand-Sahyog’ by providing-

• 10,000 Ration / Nutritional Food Packets containing Food items and other Essentials.
  Cost per packet – INR 2,000.00 (USD 30.00 approximately)
• Oxygen Concentrators, Jumbo Oxygen Cylinders, BiPAP Machines, Medicines
• Healthcare Worker Kits (PPE Kit, Mask, Sanitizer, Hand Gloves, Face shield, Hand wash, Thermal gun, Pulse Oximeter) etc.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Vikas Amte, Secretary Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Warora

SEARCH COVID Care:

 

During the second wave and anticipating the possibility of third wave, SEARCH has engaged in following with respect to COVID care through our hospital. We are also planning a community-based health care model for approaching the third wave, but that idea is still being worked on for details. 

 

1. Hospital inpatient (indoor) care for COVID patients – till now treated more than 155 patients, along with providing oxygen support as and when needed.

2. Hospital based COVID testing for early and rapid diagnosis- this is crucial as testing is really inadequate in Govt. setup and when done the report takes too long making it useless. We have built arrangements for both RTPCR and Antigen testing and our reports come in 1 hour! Have done more than 1200 tests so far in our hospital. 

3. Free Ambulance Service to patients from rural and tribal villages to bring them to SEARCH hospital or a Govt. health facility – This is very important as transportation is a problem. 

4. SEARCH hospital has been recognized as an official COVID Care Hospital and Vaccination Centre by the Government. We have started the vaccination unit and have started administering doses of Covishield vaccine.