Rotary Clubs from Ontario and North-Western Quebec have joined a major humanitarian project with Rotary clubs across Canada, the United States and worldwide to bring help to COVID-19 ravaged India. Twenty-two Rotary Clubs and one Rotaract Club in District 7010 (across Central and North-Eastern Ontario) teamed up with Rotary Clubs in South-West and Eastern Ontario as well as hundreds of individual Rotarians and family members to purchase Oxygen Concentrators.
Due to the huge number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations India has been facing shortages of medical supplies including medical oxygen, which is needed to keep those struggling to breathe. The initiative seeks to establish Rotary oxygen concentrator banks in India. To create these banks the rotary clubs need to buy oxygen concentrators, each of which costs about $1,000 U.S.
COVID-19 has for more than six weeks been burning its way through India, with around 4,000 people dying daily. The oxygen concentrators we have and will be purchasing will help ease the Covid-19 crisis and saves lives by filtering noxious gases from the oxygen used in the treatment of persons with the infection.
Our Rotary District 7010 has to date raised $37,500. which is absolutely amazing and most gratefully received. Most of this money has already been sent to the Essex Foundation and by now most of the tax receipts for individuals have been issued. The Rotary Club of Essex Foundation is now also working with a large international humanitarian non-profit service organization SEWA that will be purchasing the Oxygen generators/concentrators and shipping them to India. All the money our District has sent and is sending will be matched 1:1 by SEWA.
Our Rotary District has also decided to expand the project for one more week until June 8th. If you know of anyone or if your Club wishes to give or give more, please have them contact Rotarian Dawn Straka at straka@nexicom.net.
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