Support the Covid Peace Volunteers!
Donation protected
The current Covid situation in India is catastrophic . No one has a real handle on how many cases and deaths there really are, but the sight of parks and parking lots being repurposed as cremation grounds is horrific.
Many organizations are raising funds for oxygen, treatment medications, ventilators, etc., and governments are beginning to help with more vaccines.
But Covid Peace Volunteers are working at the grassroots. They are not doctors or health care workers, but a loose network of dedicated volunteer social service workers and activists, doing their best, at great personal risk to themselves and their families, to deal with situations on the ground. They come from all over India, many castes and religions, urban, rural, from diverse organizations united in the cause of easing human suffering.
Some of the activities Covid Peace Volunteers are currently engaged in include:
· Bringing oxygen to people’s homes, when available, since there are virtually no spaces in hospitals in much of the country.
· Getting people to shelters, and helping them find medicines. Some religious institutions – Hindu, Moslem, and, especially Sikh - have set up shelters and quarantine locations for people to go to when they can’t go to hospitals. Volunteers are assisting people in getting to the shelters, helping to find medicines when available, and making sure people left behind at home have basic resources.
· Making sure people have enough to eat and drink. Since governments are quarantining entire families at home, Volunteers are making sure they get food and water. Sometimes, they are bringing food to entire communities.
· Helping people get prescriptions filled and get to medical appointments. There are people with other serious medical needs besides Covid. Volunteers are helping them get their prescriptions filled, and get to medical appointments when absolutely necessary.
· Helping arrange care for children when parents/relatives fall ill.
· Assisting families with cremations and burials. There are times when families are in complete shock, and may also be in quarantine, and can’t make final arrangements for their loved ones.
· Listening! The pandemic is tremendously isolating. Volunteers listen to patients and family members, counseling when appropriate, and provide a human touch and a caring ear.
The vast amount of this help is being provided to marginalized communities – Dalits, Adivasis/Tribals, Refugees. Covid Peace Volunteers come from a range of organizations, including (partial list): Social Harmony Federation, Gandhi-150 Neemuch District Team, NAPM Odisha, Aadivasi Athigarr, Rasthriya Yuva Sangatan, Bhopal Awav, Friendly Water for the World-India, Khudai Khidmatgar.
SO THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. Covid Peace Volunteers often need small amounts of funds to do their work – for transportation to bring oxygen or to bring patients to quarantine centers, or simply just get them from place to place, To keep themselves fed and hydrated while on the move. To help get them vaccinated after May 1st (when vaccines theoretically become available to the public, though they must be purchased.) And to keep their morale up, with the knowledge that there are people around the world who stand behind them and beside them.
We have mechanisms in place to dispense funds equitably and accountably. Covid Peace Volunteers is being coordinated by Inamul Hasan, National Leadership Council of Khudai Khidmatgar, and David Albert, co-founder of Friendly Water for the World, with 44 years of experience in India. We plan to post stories of the Covid Peace Volunteers. Now we just need you to do your part.
Donate, of course, and please share this fundraiser around to your friends, co-workers, and families.
Sab kuch sambhav hai! “Everything is Possible!” in Hindi!
Many organizations are raising funds for oxygen, treatment medications, ventilators, etc., and governments are beginning to help with more vaccines.
But Covid Peace Volunteers are working at the grassroots. They are not doctors or health care workers, but a loose network of dedicated volunteer social service workers and activists, doing their best, at great personal risk to themselves and their families, to deal with situations on the ground. They come from all over India, many castes and religions, urban, rural, from diverse organizations united in the cause of easing human suffering.
Some of the activities Covid Peace Volunteers are currently engaged in include:
· Bringing oxygen to people’s homes, when available, since there are virtually no spaces in hospitals in much of the country.
· Getting people to shelters, and helping them find medicines. Some religious institutions – Hindu, Moslem, and, especially Sikh - have set up shelters and quarantine locations for people to go to when they can’t go to hospitals. Volunteers are assisting people in getting to the shelters, helping to find medicines when available, and making sure people left behind at home have basic resources.
· Making sure people have enough to eat and drink. Since governments are quarantining entire families at home, Volunteers are making sure they get food and water. Sometimes, they are bringing food to entire communities.
· Helping people get prescriptions filled and get to medical appointments. There are people with other serious medical needs besides Covid. Volunteers are helping them get their prescriptions filled, and get to medical appointments when absolutely necessary.
· Helping arrange care for children when parents/relatives fall ill.
· Assisting families with cremations and burials. There are times when families are in complete shock, and may also be in quarantine, and can’t make final arrangements for their loved ones.
· Listening! The pandemic is tremendously isolating. Volunteers listen to patients and family members, counseling when appropriate, and provide a human touch and a caring ear.
The vast amount of this help is being provided to marginalized communities – Dalits, Adivasis/Tribals, Refugees. Covid Peace Volunteers come from a range of organizations, including (partial list): Social Harmony Federation, Gandhi-150 Neemuch District Team, NAPM Odisha, Aadivasi Athigarr, Rasthriya Yuva Sangatan, Bhopal Awav, Friendly Water for the World-India, Khudai Khidmatgar.
SO THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. Covid Peace Volunteers often need small amounts of funds to do their work – for transportation to bring oxygen or to bring patients to quarantine centers, or simply just get them from place to place, To keep themselves fed and hydrated while on the move. To help get them vaccinated after May 1st (when vaccines theoretically become available to the public, though they must be purchased.) And to keep their morale up, with the knowledge that there are people around the world who stand behind them and beside them.
We have mechanisms in place to dispense funds equitably and accountably. Covid Peace Volunteers is being coordinated by Inamul Hasan, National Leadership Council of Khudai Khidmatgar, and David Albert, co-founder of Friendly Water for the World, with 44 years of experience in India. We plan to post stories of the Covid Peace Volunteers. Now we just need you to do your part.
Donate, of course, and please share this fundraiser around to your friends, co-workers, and families.
Sab kuch sambhav hai! “Everything is Possible!” in Hindi!
Fundraising team (2)
David H. Albert
Organizer
Olympia, WA
David Blake Willis
Team member