DATELINE DESI
COVID CRISIS: TCF HELPS THOSE IN REAL NEED
At this time of COVID-related crisis in India, the Toronto Calcutta Foundation (TCF) has received many proposals seeking financial help.
TCF’s goal is to help those in need with particular attention to the fact that the assistance reaches those in real need. After due diligence, the following organizations and initiatives have received support from TCF.
Oxygen on Wheels is an initiative to create a fleet of oxygen-concentrator-equipped ambulances. These ambulances circulate throughout Kolkata, Howrah and the surrounding areas. TCF has launched a project to fund a node in North Bengal with Siliguri as the centre. The project is being led by Dr. Abhijit Chowdhury through his non-profit Liver Foundation (www.liverfoundation.in). The COVID Care Network (www.covidcarenetwork.org), which has been providing peer-to-peer support through their helplines, will coordinate and triage calls to direct the ambulances to areas of need. The Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, will provide the ambulances.
GlobalMedic is a registered Canadian charity with almost 20 years of experience providing humanitarian aid in the wake of disasters and conflicts. They are currently organizing shipments of quality PPE and medical supplies like pulse oximeters and oxygen concentrators to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan as they struggle with a new wave of infections and overwhelmed hospitals. At the request of TCF, they sent a shipment of medical supplies worth $50,000 from New Delhi to Kolkata. The supplies will be distributed to different hospitals in Sundarban area where they are needed the most.
Heart Society of Calcutta is a reputable organization that is creating a new ward for covid-19. TCF sent them Rs.300,000 to support the infrastructure project.
Antara Hospital is a hospital for the mentally ill that is treating mentally ill patients with COVID. With the number of patients going up, so have their expenses for sanitization, defoggers, equipment, protective gear and medications. TCF has sent funds to alleviate this need.
Change Initiatives, a grassroots NGO in Kolkata, plans to provide oxygen cylinders, pulse oximeters, thermometers, PPEs, masks and sanitizers to densely populated communities in and around Kolkata. They are also helping people affected by Cyclone Yaas in the Sundarban area by running a community kitchen. TCF is providing a grant for this initiative.
Moitrisanjog supports individuals in the LGBTQ community in Cooch Behar. This community earns a living by attending weddings, births, etc., but, due to the COVID crisis, their earnings have dropped drastically. An initiative to supply food to this community was funded by TCF.
Madhabpur Vivekananda Sarvik Seva Kendra (MVSSK) provided meals to local villagers by running a community kitchen as these marginalized people were not able to go to work during the lockdown as well as cyclone Yaas. TCF funded a program to provide meals to villagers in Sundarban, South 24 Parganas, for 25 days.
TCF distributed 50 tarpaulins, 300 mosquito nets and 100 phenyl bottles to six villages affected by Yaas cyclone.
Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) Seva Pratishthan in Kolkata needs to purchase a portable Echo Cardiogram which will help both COVID and non-COVID patients. TCF has given Rs. 25 lakhs to Ramakrishna Mission to acquire the equipment.
Canning Sondhi is working with TCF for the past several months and running the TCF Education Centre in Bolpur. TCF partnered with Sondhi to facilitate the purchase of three biPAP ventilators for Canning Hospital.
Canning Sondhi also organized community kitchens in Sundarban area and distributed BiPAP machines and oxygen cylinders to Gosaba Hospital in addition to Canning Subdivisional Hospital. It will also distribute mosquito nets and phenyl bottles to villagers.
TCF has distributed food packets to many villagers as well as to the children of TCF Education Centre in Bolpur during this Covid Crisis.
The foundation has also been funding Shri Shri Sarada Ramakrishna Ashram-Hotar since 2019 for providing coaching classes to underprivileged students in Hotar and its surrounding villages. TCF also funded for food distributions to 10,000 people during first pandemic and during Amphan cyclone, the distribution being organized by the ashram. During the second wave of Covid-19 and the effect of Yaas cyclone they distributed 1000 food packets containing non-perishable food items and masks with funding provided by TCF. These benefited 4000 individuals.
To learn more about TCF’s other initiatives, or to donate, visit www.toronto-calcutta.org.