Final Covid-19 Response

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 has worked tirelessly to resource some of the most impoverished communities by providing groceries, essentials, and medical relief.

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

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Oxygen project in Assam

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Slum outreach in Mumbai with meals and medicine

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Oxygen concentrators sent to Bihar, Gujirat, and Uttar Pradesh

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PPE Kits sent to West Godavari (district in state of Andhra Pradesh), and Kanniyakumari (district in state of Tamil Naidus)

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Vitamins sent to Umerkhadi, Mankhurd, and Matuna

Impact by the Numbers

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

Embers International launched its Oxygen Project in July 2021 to build a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plant providing COVID-19 relief to survivors of trafficking and poverty-stricken members of the Assam community. Since Assam produces over half of India's tea, the high demand for tea-harvesting laborers combined with its interlocked geographic location renders the region as an epicenter of trafficking across country borders. The province imports a devastatingly high number of human lives, accounting for more than 22% of the total reported cases of trafficking across all of India. Embers’ oxygen plant is a critical foundation to care for one of the country's most exploited populations.

Through Embers' partnership with Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) and through the mighty generosity of Embers' faithful supporters, Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital (BMCH) is now equipped to serve a population that has not had access to medical-grade oxygen due to their isolated location in rural northeast India. The inauguration of the plant was featured on the news – tune in for a word in English from the hospital administration in the clip to the left.

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"We want to thank Embers International from the bottom of our heart," says Johnson Singson, Senior Administrative Officer at BMCH. "We would like to thank our donors because our hospital is located in a remote and far-flung area. This is the only oxygen plant that we have, and this oxygen plant will benefit the care of the peasants. We are going to take care of the poor and marginalized communities who will be coming to our hospital [to receive] treatment."

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