COVID-19 Relief

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. Our team on the ground in India has worked tirelessly to resource some of the most impoverished communities by providing groceries, essentials, and medical relief.

The pandemic continues—and the work remains.

Our Crisis Relief Initiative allows us to respond in real-time when disaster strikes.

Impact by the Numbers

950

PPE KITS PROVIDED

OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS DISTRIBUTED

68,000

LITRES OF OXYGEN A DAY NEEDED BY COVID PAITENTS

1,15,200

LITRES OF OXYGEN PER DAY GENERATED BY THE OXYGEN PLANT

1,578,828+

MEALS PROVIDED

COMMUNITIES REACHED

800

CHILDREN RECEIVING MEDICINE/VITAMINS

Distribution of Essentials

India has surpassed a total of 30 million Covid-19 cases, and it is bracing for a third wave predicted to hit in October. The poorest communities were hit the hardest – limited access to medical care, clean facilities, and supplies make surviving the pandemic a battlefield.

Embers thanks 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 Mumbai. Each essentials kit contains essentials like rice, flour, beans, tea, and various sanitary items. Take a peek at this candid footage capturing our amazing volunteers in action.

Partnership with CMAI

Embers’ partnership with Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI) allows us to reach hospitals in the southern and south-east regions of India. CMAI is an extensive network of over 200 hospitals providing relief to underserved communities. 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. Every healthcare professional must wear protective clothing, face shields, gloves, and other equipment to keep the spread of infection at bay, and PPE kits are in high demand. Working with CMAI’s Star Hope of Hospital and CSI Mission Hospital, Embers has provided 950 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to healthcare workers serving the most vulnerable communities.

Partnership with EHA

Embers has partnered with Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA), a highly respected hospital network across India, to serve the poor in some of the most isolated and rural locations. A nonprofit dedicated to serving the rural poor and socially disadvantaged in India, EHA’s Burrows 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. Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital holds 10 beds designated for COVID-19 patients in addition to 4 beds for intensive care and 2 for emergency care. No patient is turned away, even if they are unable to pay.

Oxygen Project

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 partnership with a grassroots medical response led by teams in the U.S. India, and Singapore, Embers sent oxygen concentrators and essential medical gear to rural areas with limited access to supplies, including Bihar, Gujurat, and Uttar Pradesh.

Embers International launched its Oxygen Project in July 2021 to build a medical-grade oxygen plant providing COVID-19 relief in the remote province of Assam. Assam produces over half the country’s tea, exporting enough tea monthly to brew over 10 billion cups. The province 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's high demand for cheap labor for tea farming and its shared borders with neighboring countries make Assam one of the busiest hubs for human trafficking.

Backed by your gifts, together, we reached our goal of raising $80,000 to fund the construction of one oxygen plant in Assam. In rural areas like Assam, limited transportation isolates hospitals from receiving the oxygen they need to keep their patients alive. Embers’ pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plant will serve survivors of trafficking and the marginalized in Assam at EHA’s Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital.

Volunteer Highlights

“We never expected that we would work with corona patients… we handled more than 25 corona patients, giving them medicines, making food for them, serving them. That experience was the best experience.”

– Roshni, Legacy Education nursing student