Elisha Chadha (right) and Ishmeet Saran (left) pose for a portrait at University of Ottawa campus on May 17th 2021. Chadha and Saran are raising money for victims of COVID-19 in India [Photo By: Spencer Colby/Charlatan Newspaper]

A pair of students at the University of Ottawa (U of O) have launched a fundraiser to raise $10,000 in support for India as the country grapples with a deadly second wave of COVID-19.

Elisha Chadha, a second-year health sciences student at U of O, said she started the Let’s Help India fundraiser earlier this month because the healthcare crisis “hits close to home.

Elisha Chadha poses for a portrait at the University of Ottawa campus on May 17th 2021 [Photo By: Spencer Colby/Charlatan Newspaper]
“My parents were both born and raised in India and my family is all from India,” Chadha said. “I’m very privileged to not deal with this situation firsthand since I’m in Canada, but I wanted to do what I could to help, so I started this initiative.” 

 

The COVID-19 crisis in India is reaching new heights with the daily death toll crossing 4,500 on May 19, according to combined reports from the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Times of India. 

Because of the volume of cases, hospitals in India have been facing shortages of vaccines, oxygen cylinders, hospital beds and plasma. 

With the goal of raising $10,000 via GoFundMe, Chadha said all donations will be directed to SEWA Canada, a registered non-profit organization. Chadha said the organization will help provide kits of essential supplies which include masks, sanitizers, rations, basic medicines and oxygen concentrators. 

Organizers said the supplies will be distributed to eight Indian provinces—Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur & Punjab. 

Chadha said she chose SEWA Canada as the recipient of the proceeds because of the credibility and reliability of the non-profit.

Currently, the fundraiser has raised $5,985 with 116 donors. 

Ishmeet Saran, a second-year health sciences student at U of O and team member on the fundraising initiative, said the group is pleased with the progress they have made so far.

Ishmeet Saran poses for a portrait at the University of Ottawa campus on May 17th 2021 [Photo By: Spencer Colby/Charlatan Newspaper]
“We hit our halfway point and are really proud of ourselves for that. We’re really doing our best to raise awareness about the fundraiser in the Ottawa community,” Saran said. 

 

Local businesses are sponsoring the fundraiser, including Ottawa restaurant Host India and the pop-up restaurant After Hours.

Let’s Help India also recently partnered with Mindful Self Seekers, a non-profit organization geared towards raising awareness about mental wellness. The two groups will be hosting a free mental healing session via Zoom on May 23 in order to help those who are reeling from the impact of COVID-19 on their loved ones in India. 

Chadha said she and her team plan to continue the fundraiser past the $10,000 goal given the ongoing developments in India. 

“We want to keep raising money as much as we can. Our goal is $10K but we will keep receiving donations so that we can keep helping India during this time,” Chadha said.

Featured image by: Spencer Colby

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