Indo-Manitobans raise funds to help family, friends in COVID crisis overseas

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This article was published 05/05/2021 (1858 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers concerned about family and friends under siege in India’s staggering COVID-19 battle are pooling funds for desperately needed medical equipment and food relief.

A GoFundMe campaign started by Winnipeg businessman Anil Sedha had raised more than $41,000 as of Wednesday — well on the way to its $50,000 goal — with support from individual donors, restaurants and the India Association of Manitoba.

“We thought it’s a good idea to join all the hands in one corner and start from there,” association president Ramandeep Grewal said.

The funds have so far been used to send 12 oxygen concentrator machines, purchased from a Colorado-based distributor, to hospitals in New Delhi, Mumbai and rural areas. Organizers also hope to send touch-free thermometers.

A lack of manufacturing power and governmental organization has left hospitals in the country without access to dependable oxygen supplies. Each machine costs roughly US$1,500 before shipping and other fees, the GoFundMe page explains.

Grewal said the crisis has had touched anyone with family and friends in India. He said his immediate family, most of whom still live in the country, are safe, but the virus killed a childhood friend and his family’s next-door neighbour.

“In Winnipeg, pretty much if you talk to anybody they know somebody who has passed away from COVID (in India),” he said. “Everybody is affected at this point.”

The Indo-Manitoban community is motivated to help, he said, but with travel bans and an ocean in the way, many feel “helpless.”

“Lots of young people are coming into Manitoba and their parents are back home and they’re worried for them,” he said. “Hospitals are overstretched at this point, no more beds are left… it’s just basically fingers crossed.”

Despite the financial strain on the hospitality industry this year, two Winnipeg restaurants — Charisma of India on Sherbrook Street and the East India Company chain — are participating.

Charisma plans to make a donation at the end of the month that will be used to support food-relief efforts after the current COVID wave subsides, Grewal said.

East India Company owner Sachit Mehra said he’s been overwhelmed by Manitobans’ generosity.

The restaurant donated $5,000 initially and is hoping to add another $2,000 soon with proceeds from takeout and delivery meals, he said.

“The community has been huge,” he said. “It’s heartwarming, it’s touching; you’re trying to do what you can but at the same time any reasonable person will recognize the scope of what is going on: what is happening there right now is a crisis of humanity.”

Mehra’s sister and cousin have kept him updated on the grim situation on the ground in Delhi. His family doesn’t venture outside their homes unless it’s absolutely necessary. He’s told it’s eerily quiet.

“This is a city of 30 million people and the streets are empty,” he said, adding commerce has ground to a halt there.

And all that’s left to see is “dots of smoke all over” from makeshift funeral pyres popping up to cremate the endless stream of corpses around the clock.

To access the campaign’s GoFundMe page: http://wfp.to/GWy

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jsrutgers