Rotarians continue Covid relief during second wave
During the second wave of Covid infection, Rotarians from all the four zones have taken up Covid-relief work on a war-footing reaching out to hospitals, home-isolated patients and marginalised families hit hard by lockdown in various states. Here are some of the clubs that have done some amazing Covid relief activities last year.
RC Bhavnagar, 3060
A 10-member project team from RC Bhavnagar, RID 3060, set up a Covid care centre for 25 patients at a cost of ₹25 lakh. “We did not charge anything to the patients except for medicines and lab charges. Doctor consultation, oxygen and food, were given free to all,” said Rtn Manish Kothari, past president of the club.
The club could do this “thanks to the generous donations from philanthropists, Rotarians from India and overseas, including the US, UK and Spain,” he said. When the centre was closed on May 28 due to a steep drop in Covid cases, “we had treated 130 patients and the overhead expense of ₹25 lakh was met through donations and contributions from large-hearted individuals.” The 20,000 sq ft-hall was given by the Gyanmanjari group of colleges, Bhavnagar, free of cost.
“A panel of four doctors and six nurses took care of the patients. The club met the monthly expense of ₹5 lakh for paying salaries to the doctors, nurses, administrator, cleaners and security guards,” said Kothari. Yoga classes and other recreational activities were arranged to boost the morale and mental strength of the patients. If a patient turned critical, he or she was immediately referred to nearby hospitals for ventilator and Bipap support, he said.
RC Mysore, 3181
A Rotary OxyBank with 18 oxygen concentrators and two oxy-equipped ambulances set up by the club, was inaugurated by Mysuru City Corporation commissioner Shilpa Nag. My Seva Trust, an NGO, gifted the ambulances and 15 oxy concentrators; Vasavi Seva Foundation from Bay Area, California, US, Rtns Shivaprasad and Jacob James donated rest of the concentrators.
A Covid telecare centre with telecom lines and communication equipment was set up at the club premises under the guidance of donors Hari and Chetan Vishwanath and Citizen’s Forum. The Covid care team is offering tele-consultation to people having symptoms of Covid and guiding them with dos and don’ts. This centre is supported by a group of doctors and volunteers from 8am to 10pm daily. The telemedicine doctors advise patients on self-care and medication. “The doctors were joined by a team from Ireland which helped us to work with patients for long hours. Over 2,500 calls (till June first week) were attended by the dedicated team,” said DG M Ranganath Bhat.
With the support of the corporation, well-designed medicine kits and grocery packs were distributed to patients in home isolation. The club, along with others NGOs, is providing food daily to street dwellers and migrant families accommodated at makeshift quarters at the Nanjaraj Bahadur Choultry. Rotarians are coordinating with Covid Mitras set up by the corporation across Mysuru. These are early intervention centres offering triage services and consultations to people having mild symptoms. Rtn Mahendra Singh was feted by the corporation commissioner for his service at the NR Covid Mitra, while Rtn Vinay Venkatesh is serving at the Tulsidas Hospital Covid Mitra. “We will install mask vending machines at vantage points in Mysuru,” said Bhat.
An awareness video, made in two languages (Kannada and English), was circulated among 40,000 children and their parents to warn them about a possible third wave of the pandemic and reduce panic reaction through better preparation.
RC Chandrapur, 3030
Each day for a month around 100 food packets were distributed to people struggling during lockdown including relatives of patients at the Civil Hospital, roadside dwellers and marginalised families. The club members donated liberally for the project.
RC Mandvi, 3054
Fifty pulse oximeters, 500 N-95 masks and 200 respiratory vaporisers were distributed to all the eight PHCs and three Covid care centres, two in Mandvi and one in Gadhshisha village. The Covid relief work led by project chair Darshana Shah feted the corona warriors of Mandvi Municipality including ambulance driver, sanitising team and others.
Taluk health officer and medical officers at all the PHCs were also honoured. Around 1,000 three-layer masks were given to the bus crew of state transport undertaking, mobile cart hawkers and rickshaw pullers, among others.
Two oxygen concentrators were donated to the club by the Fokia Trust, Bhuj, for home isolated patients and 50 injections (Seranox-60) were received from Layja Social Service, Mumbai, to treat heart complications in patients.
Also, the club got three sanitiser machines from Matushree Zaverben Chunilal Sanghvi Family Trust and they were given to the Mandvi court, S V Arts and Commerce College and C J Mehta Vaccination Centre. Club president Pratik Shah and its secretary Darshan Sachade with the guidance of PDG Dr Harshad Udeshi executed the Covid projects.
RC Ferozepur Cantonment, 3090
In the presence of DG Vijay Arora, RID 3090, and district secretary Ashok Behal, RC Ferozepur Cantonment led by club president Kuldeep Singh and secretary Kamal Sharma donated two oxygen cylinders to two charity institutes — Shree Ram Bagh Old Age Home and Sewa Parmo Dharm Trust.Earlier, the club donated a portable ventilator, two infrared thermometers, 50 PPE kits and 1,500 masks to the medical teams at the local Civil Hospital for treating Covid patients.
RC Aurangabad, 3132
Through US-based Wheels Global Foundation, an IIT alumni group, the club procured 10 oxygen concentrators in partnership with Shiv Yog Foundation. “These machines will be provided to Covid patients in home isolation and those in underserved areas including villages, tier-II and III cities in Maharashtra,” said Vinayak Upadhye. His son, a patent attorney at Washington DC and active member of Wheels Global, made arrangements for the delivery of oxy concentrators. Club president Vijay Jaiswal and secretary Samir Kandkhedkar coordinated the project.
RC Bombay Bayview, 3141
The club presented wellness kits to 5,000 nurses by mobilising ₹44 lakh through a crowdfunding platform. “This will help them fight fatigue and give a nutrition boost which is very much needed to overcome the stress due to long hours of work,” said Smita Parekh, club president. Each kit contains a hot flask and assorted dry fruits.
RC Pondicherry Port, 2981
The club donated equipment, medicines and consumables worth ₹14 lakh to PHCs in four villages and the Covid ward at the Mahatma Gandhi PG Dental Sciences College. The Covid medicine and consumables were donated to other smaller institutions too.
The equipment included oxy concentrators, electric needle (syringe) destroyers, thermal temperature gauges and oximeters. Among the consumables donated were 2,000 N95 masks, 50,000 three-ply masks, face shields, aprons and gloves, The club donated Covid protective gears to the police department too. Club members Samir Kamra, Srikanth Sivaraman, Suresh Jalan, Huzefa Lal and four others including president Nandakumar contributed liberally for the distribution of Covid equipment and medicines.
RC Bangalore West, 3190
Rotary Bangalore West, RID 3190, donated 100 oxy concentrators to Covid care centres across Karnataka through a contribution of over ₹83 lakh ($116,000) from Pragathi, USA, an NRI community working in Covid relief work; RC Austin, Texas, RID 5870; RID 5870 Keyway Disaster Relief Fund, US; RC Bandar Sunway, RID 3300, Malaysia; RC Merthyr Tydfil, RID 1150, UK, and Auma India, manufacturer of electrical gadgets.
Seventy of the 100 machines would go to Covid centres and maternity hospitals being run by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP). Corporation commissioner Gaurav Gutpa launched the machines on the BBMP premises in the presence of PDG H Rajendra Rai, club members and district office-bearers.
RC Bangalore Junction, 3190
The club will be supplying 100 jumbo oxygen tanks for the Covid care centre at Hoskarhalli being run by BBMP through a partnership with Agarwal Samaj, Bengaluru. Club members contributed ₹16.5 lakh for this project.
Inner Wheel members executed a project worth ₹1.41 lakh to provide oxygen cylinders by flagging-off ‘oxygen on wheels’ at Chikkaballapur district. A bus has been designed to supply oxygen cylinders to hospitals and needy patients who are in home quarantine.
RC Saharanpur Classic, 3080
During the weekends throughout the lockdown months, the club served freshly prepared meals to about 700 disadvantaged families at the Prabhuji Ki Rasoi, a popular NGO under Project Relieving the Hunger, said club president K Sanjay Midha. The club members are also regularly distributing 250 food packets a day to family members of corona patients waiting at hospitals with the support of the NGO.
RC Pollachi, 3203
Grocery kits and vegetables worth ₹2 lakh were given to 120 families living in a quarantined colony. Rtn Hariraj donated 100 mattresses and pillows worth ₹2.5 lakh to a Covid care centre at a school.
The club, jointly with the poultry association, donated medicines and equipment worth ₹1 lakh to the Covid centre at the PA College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi.
An oxy concentrator and other utility items including wheelchair, bedsheets, glucolab monitor, glucometer, face shields, N95 masks, hand gloves, oxy cylinders, oximeter, stretcher trolley, O2 flow metre and plastic chairs worth ₹40,000 were given to the government hospital in Valparai for treating Covid patients.
RC Rourkela Royal, 3261
The club joined hands with the South Eastern Railway to distribute 40 kg grocery packs, to licensed potters at the railway station, to see them through the lockdown. Club president Vikash Agarwal and secretary Yogesh Banka were present at the event.
RI District 3232
Grocery kits, each worth ₹1,000, are being given by clubs to underprivileged families and marginalised people. The ₹3 crore food distribution project has already given away 32,000 kits. All 85 clubs in the district are planning to distribute a total of 35,000 grocery kits across the district under guidance from project chair Mahaveer Bothra. Each kit has rice, dhal, wheat, masala powders and cooking oil for a four-member family. DG Muthupalaniappan’s club RC Madras Central Aadithya distributed the edibles to Irulas and fishermen community. Their sister club in Malaysia, seeing the project on Facebook, contributed ₹16.5 lakh and another 3,500 kits were bought for distribution.
RC Nagercoil South, 3212
Rice and grocery bags worth ₹53,700 were distributed to 192 Sri Lankan families living as refugees at a camp in Kottaram village in Kanyakumari district. Most of them are casual labourers, daily wagers and severely impacted by the lockdown.
