COVID-19 Relief

Oxygen Project in Assam, India


Do you drink Assam tea? This special tea is farmed exclusively in a remote region covered in tropical lowlands, nestled in the far northeast of India. Known for its bold, full-bodied flavor and bright amber color, Assam tea is considered the perfect, malty breakfast drink, often served to royalty at Buckingham Palace. 

Assam tea is named after its birthplace – Assam, India – one of the world's most prolific tea-producing regions, generating over half the country’s tea. While Assam exports over 20 million kilograms of tea per month (enough to brew 10 billion cups of tea), Assam also imports a devastatingly high number of human lives, accounting for more than 22% of the total reported cases of trafficking across all of India. Assam lies at the borders of 9 different geographic entities – an interlocked location that, combined with a high demand for tea-harvesting laborers, renders the region an epicenter of trafficking across country borders.




Embers International has partnered with Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA), a highly respected hospital network, to serve the marginalized in one of EHA’s most isolated locations: Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital. A nonprofit dedicated to serving the rural poor and socially disadvantaged in India, EHA’s Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital in Assam provides medical attention to the unemployed, daily-wage workers, and victims of sex trafficking, offering desperately-needed care to those vulnerable to exploitation. No patient is turned away, even if poor and unable to pay.

COVID-19’s massive second wave in India has left the nation in urgent need of oxygen generators to help critically ill patients breathe. In cities, overcrowded hospitals with limited medical-grade oxygen have resorted to giving patients steroids to reduce lung inflammation and ease breathing – a desperate alternative that has led to massive outbreaks of deadly “black fungus” disease. In rural areas like Assam, limited transportation isolates hospitals from receiving the oxygen they need to keep their patients alive.


Embers is raising funds to build a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plant to serve survivors of trafficking and the marginalized in Assam at EHA’s Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital.  Two anonymous American donors have generously pledged to double all contributions from now until July 31st. Starting today, your gifts will be matched up to $50,000. 
 
Will you join our Oxygen Project and help us build the foundation to care for one of the most exploited populations of India ­– to transform an epicenter of human trafficking into a place of hope? 

New Paragraph

Distribution of essentials continues

in the midst of Covid-19's second wave


This week, India surpassed a total of 30 million Covid-19 cases, and it is bracing
for a third wave predicted to hit in October. According to experts, India’s
crowded hospitals have led to an epidemic of mucormycosis – also called
“black fungus” – as it is found on dead tissue. This deadly combination has
rendered the most under-resourced areas even more vulnerable and
requires all of us to step up for one another. 

We want to thank our volunteers on the ground, who have been working
tirelessly to distribute groceries and medicine to the poorest communities of
the slums and red-light districts of Navi Mumbai. The candid footage above
captures our amazing volunteers in action. 

Will you partner with us and help our neighbors through the second wave?

Worldwide, the most under-resourced communities disproportionately experience the wrath of crises and natural disasters. In 2020, India faced the world’s most extensive lockdown in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Embers International was able to respond to this crisis within 72 hours of the lockdown announcement and has worked tirelessly to resource some of the most impoverished communities by providing groceries and essentials.


The pandemic continues—and the work remains. Our Crisis Relief Initiative allows us to respond in real-time when disaster strikes. Will you partner with us and give to those who need it most?

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