In these dreaded times, initiatives taken by citizens personally can help someone cross the line between life and death. One such initiative termed ‘Breathe India’, is being led by a team of IITK Alumni, who are striving in order to help the needy through this campaign, by collecting funds and then using them to provide oxygen concentrators to the hospitals. The hard-working alumni team leading the initiative consists of Ashutosh Ranka (Y13, BT in MSE), Isha Agarwal (Y11,BT-MT in EE), Nikhil Asati (Y13, BT in MSE), Kavya Eluru (Y12, MSc. in MTH), Randhir Shah (Y9, BT-MT in ME), Mounica Sarla (Y11, BT-MT in BSBE) and Gundeep Kaur (Y11, BT in CHE).
We had the privilege of talking to Ashutosh, who answered some of the prevalent questions in one’s mind regarding the campaign.
You partnered with the SaveLife Foundation last year too in an initiative to transport migrants back to their homes. Tell us about the experience and how did the campaign fair?
The motive last year was quite ad-hoc and I got involved with the foundation on a rather short timeline and got to fundraising. We could collectively raise ~INR 20 Lakh which aided in arranging 20 buses to transport close to ~500 migrants back to their home states. While this number is quite minuscule on the scale of the crisis, I got cognizant of the ground realities and the constraints that could arise in a campaign like this. This year, I have a team of alumni onboard that are striving endlessly to make this campaign impactful. So to sum up last year’s initiative, I would say that it sure was impactful, but there was a lot of personal learning for me in the process too that I am applying now.
The first phase of the campaign has been a great success and the team has now proceeded into the second phase of the campaign. How are the funds being utilized and what has the team achieved so far?
The first phase sure has been successful. We surpassed our initial target of INR 1 Crore and managed to raise over INR 2.4 Crore within five days. My team and I wholeheartedly want to thank all contributors for their support of the campaign. Our team has placed an order for 250 Oxygen concentrators (with another 50 in the pipeline) which should be arriving in Delhi by the end of this week. The advantage of concentrators over conventional oxygen cylinders is that there is no requirement of refilling and the concentrators function on electricity. Once received, the concentrators shall be handed over to the Delhi Government and they would provide these supplies to hospitals on a need basis. The current situation is quite volatile and we are hopeful that this initiative should aid in easing out the situation eventually.
Given the overwhelming response in the first phase, what is your team’s vision for the second phase?
The second phase aims to aid beyond Delhi. While Delhi is still nowhere close to self-sufficient in medical equipment, we wanted to move forward and do our bit in other states’ crisis as well. We have now partnered with RightWalk Foundation, an NGO based in Lucknow that works with slum communities in eleven districts of U.P. We have so far raised about Rs 80 Lakhs for the second phase and the orders have been placed with the current funds for supplying to U.P. We have made it a point to dispense the funds on a rolling basis wherein we wait for a certain benchmark to hit and place wholesale orders upon hitting the target. This eases distribution and aids the needy as soon as possible.
What can the general IITK junta learn from this initiative and how do you think they can support in these times, if not financially?
These are pressing times and I feel that every citizen of this country has a duty to perform. While staying at home should be continued as it has been, there is a lot that people can do with the resources they have. The financially independent people, the alumni are encouraged to support various fundraising campaigns that seek to bring immediate medical support to patients across the country. One of the alumni of our institute returned to his hometown, Jhansi, during covid and helped set up a helpline that provided real-time updates to the number of beds and oxygen cylinders in the city. Current students can take inspiration from such initiatives and help in their own way which may not necessarily be monetary. Helping set up oxygen cylinder fill-up stations, helplines, plasma donation camps in your neighbourhood could be your contribution to this mammoth revival mission.
Apart from all this, we need to be there for each other in these trying times, as there is a lot of sorrow and melancholy that has been engulfing each of us individually. This too shall pass and I hope that we all triumph over the virus!
Through the means of Vox Populi, we aim to spread more awareness about this initiative and seek the help of any kind, ranging from donations to expanding our reach. The first phase has already been successful and the same is hoped for the second one, and it would only be possible through the benevolence of the donors and the hard work of all of the people working behind the scenes in this campaign. We encourage our readers to support this campaign at the link provided below. Everyone can help by spreading awareness and making donations of any amount.
Here’s the link for the fundraiser: https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-arrange-oxygen-concentrators-in-delhi
Writing Credits: Lavanya Ingle, Akshat Goyal
