CHENNAI: Amudha Pandiarajan* wakes up at the wee hours, says a prayer, lights a candle and gets ready to tend to the patients in a COVID-19 care unit. “The prayer is for the living and those who are struggling; the candle is for the ones we’ve lost in this fight. This little ritual every morning gives me the strength to get out of bed and meet the patients. From providing comfort through words during isolation to reassuring their families of their safety and return, elame pananume (we have to do everything). Humanity needs such selfless support and I am glad that I am among the many frontline workers, who’ve been fighting this battle for everyone,” says the nurse at a government hospital.
To give thanksgiving, showcase gratitude and appreciation for those like Amudha who constitute the city’s health workforce, 20-year-old Bhoomika Trust, through its True Gifts initiative has launched a campaign to provide refreshment boxes for the medical staff of Chennai’s government hospitals. “These frontline workers have tirelessly risked their lives through the pandemic, and the initiative is a way of sending them a little token of appreciation. Through contributions for the boxes, the citizens of Chennai can directly thank their healthcare workers,” says Aruna Subramaniam, managing trustee.
The initiative was launched on May 12 to mark International Nurses’ Day. For every contribution of Rs 50, Bhoomika Trust will send a box of refreshing snacks to a frontline healthcare worker. “The boxes will reach government hospitals twice a day and be distributed among the workers across the morning and evening shifts,” she shares. This initiative aims to send 5,000 boxes a day until June 12, 2021.
With the country in need of as many as 2,00,000 oxygen concentrators to meet the current demand, the Trust has also been rendering its support by procuring and distributing the O2 concentrators to government hospitals in Tamil Nadu.
“Most concentrators are imported. The 5-litre and 10-litre concentrators are procured and dispatched to hospitals based on the requirement. We’ve also been distributing oxiflow meters and supporting hospitals with ventilators, BiPAP and CPAP machines,” she shares.
The Trust was also part of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd’s Covid care initiative, wherein 450 oxygen concentrators were delivered to GHs and GCC-run Covid care centres, in a bid to help the state’s fight against the pandemic. “We helped in arranging and distributing them. Our team has been working round the clock to ensure that these concentrators reach those who need them in time.
We have a team exclusively working with the collectors of different districts, understanding their needs and chalking a plan based on the data. Vehicle movement is a logistical challenge now. But we have been tackling them,” she explains. Currently, 650 concentrators have been distributed and 450 concentrators will be dispatched soon.
*Name changed
To contribute, visit https://pages.razorpay.com/TRUEGIFTSBT. For details, call: 9444451268