CORK: Ireland’s support to India continues, as the country recovers from the second wave of coronavirus and prepares for the third wave in the coming months. About 50 tonnes of PPE kits are being sent to India by nursing homes in Ireland in collaboration with the Cork charity Hope Foundation to help India in the fight against COVID-19.
The nursing-home community rallied for India in the same way that it aided Irish families in the early days of the pandemic, responding to the call of Sandra Farrell, manager of Patterson’s Nursing Home in Tipperary.
Ms Farrell said at least 30 to 40 nursing homes in the country have contributed to the mission. “A lot [nursing homes] in Tipperary, a lot in Cork and Limerick also, and in Dublin; predominantly the Munster homes supported this initiative,” she added.
The collected PPEs were shipped from Dublin Airport yesterday. Shipping costs were sponsored by Qatar Airways. Ms. Farrell said the Indian Embassy in Dublin, especially Ambassador Sandeep Kumar, had given full support to the project.
Mr. Kumar said the initiative is “reflective of the quintessential generosity of the Irish spirit”. He praised nursing homes and the Hope Foundation for their volunteer efforts, saying that people understand that no one is safe unless everyone is safe. “I want to extend my heartiest gratitude to every one of you for making a difference to the lives of people on the ground in India,” he said.
It all started with the intervention of Sandra Farrell
Ms. Farrell said that she decided to help after witnessing the dreadful situation in India on television. “The only thing I could think of to help was to send PPE to protect them. I knew that the nursing homes had surplus PPE here around the country. I thought we would have about 10 pallets to send out. In the end, we had 150 pallets. That is about 50 tonnes,” she said.
Volunteer bikers from the Brave Tango Charlie group, which spearheaded the supply of PPE to Irish nursing homes a year ago, travelled to collect donations for India. Several Tipperary companies, including the Banaghan’s Office & Distribution Centre, assisted in storing and transporting to Dublin.
Ms. Farrell also raised €30,000, and any funds not needed for local delivery costs will be donated to the Hope Foundation for Covid-related assistance activities.
Hope Foundation and India
Health experts predict a third wave of COVID-19 in India by the end of August, said Charlotte Nagle, chief fundraising and communications executive at the Hope Foundation. The Foundation provides care in their own small private hospital and a step-down facility in Kolkata, West Bengal.
However, Ms. Nagle said the collected PPEs will be distributed not just to their hospital but also to any hospital across West Bengal as and when required. She also said that the PPEs can be delivered directly to sites that are most in need.
The foundation provides food to thousands of labourers who are usually paid per day of work. They have no income and no social welfare payments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The foundation also helped more than 150,000 people in the area who were left homeless by Cyclone Yaas last month. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid contributed €120,000 to the Hope Foundation’s activities in May.
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