The Salvation Army in India was delighted to be a recipient of a Charity Match in June 2021, when they received two oxygen concentrators from a company in China.
The medical supplies firm, which wishes to remain anonymous, was impacted by the spiralling number of Covid crisis in India and wanted to help.
They contacted Charity Match partner Global Hand to see if they knew of any worthy beneficiaries.
Global Hand put them in touch with the Red Cross in Delhi, who received 150,000 masks, and also reached out to Splash as they knew the Salvation Army in Mumbai was a trusted partner and would be able to receive goods donations from overseas.
Photo: Major Devdan Kalkumbe, administrator of Evangeline Booth Hospital with oxygen concentrator
The concentrators were sent to the Salvation Army’s Evangeline Booth Hospital (EBH) in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, the state worst affected by the pandemic, and Emery Hospital in Gujarat.
These are two of relatively few non-government-run facilities that have been caring for coronavirus patients since March 2020. The Salvation Army’s response to the pandemic has been particularly praised by local people of all religions and the team have been described as ‘angels of God’.
Captain Manisha, who is based at the Salvation Army’s Children’s Home Sion in Mumbai where Splash ran a project with multinational conglomerate Aditya Birla in 2019, said: “Our concern was that the second wave was more serious and deadly than the first and we needed more oxygen concentrators but they are expensive, so we are very grateful to receive these.”
The Salvation Army operates six hospitals in India, trains hundreds of nurses every year and has many health programmes who are all caring for a large numbers of patients with Covid-19 symptoms.
As well as the oxygen concentrators, Captain Manisha appealed for ventilators, oximeters, thermometers and masks to help in the fight against Corona.
Covid-19 has affected virtually everyone but especially the poor and disadvantaged. Could you or your business help a local community?
Many of our charities need food and medical supplies but are also looking for office equipment such as computers, furniture and stationery. If you can help, please contact Etienne Charpy at etienne@cgvuk.org or call +44 (0)20 3389 7177.
