Dr. Luqman Ahmed Khan offered consultations to around 4,000 Covid patient and 2,000 other patients.
Dr. Luqman Khan
New Delhi :
An MBBS doctor in Telangana’s Karimnagar offered online consultation to thousands of Covid patients throughout the country during the recent lockdown. He also trained around 100 doctors for Telangana Covid Task Force.
Dr. Luqman Ahmed Khan, who is a specialist in social and family medicine and diagnosis, has provided consultation through direct Whatsapp Call, video consultation, writing the prescription online and sharing its soft copy. He has also been following up each case for 10 days with Covid-orientated diet and exercise to improvise post-Covid complications.
Khan, who provides online service through his personal contact number, received thousands of calls from all over India. He offered consultations to around 4,000 Covid patients and 2,000 other patients. Currently, he is receiving less requests of Covid patients and more of other ailments, a sign that cases of Covid have come down.
Khan also runs a YouTube channel named ‘Health Tube Dr. Luqman, for medical awareness.
Talking to Clarion India, Khan said he used to run a trust-based hospital for poor people in 2017-18. He later handed over the hospital to the trust and started his own clinic. When the first lockdown was declared in 2020, his clinic was shut down. He took to online consultation. When hospitals were overwhelmed with patients, he developed his own system of online consultation with the help of a task force at his disposal.
He observed that there are multiple reasons why people consult very late, even though with clear associated illness, such as
Some patients were so afraid to confront the disease (seeing the way pandemic caused deaths in hospitals) that they decided not to get properly diagnosed and instead went to quacks.
Some people still argue that corona is a conspiracy and not a disease to worry about
Some patients’ primary concern is their impoverished situation to get treated
Some people opted for some remedial medicines which guarantee treatment of corona without hospitalisation; I believe it’s not just a grave mockery of medicine and health system but a punishable offence especially in times of pandemic
source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home> India / by Waquar Hussain, Clarion India / July 01st, 2021
Mujeeb (left) and Aslam share a laugh with locals along the highway | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The two will cover a distance of 600-odd kilometres on foot, to raise money for children’s education
Ambling through the streets of Kozhikode, a visibly tired Aslam TP and his childhood friend Mujeeb Rahman are intercepted by an auto driver.
He wants to know where they are heading, and why they looked so drained. When Aslam tells him about the cause they are trying to raise money for, the auto driver promptly pulls out ₹100 from his pocket and hands it over.
In just seven days of their walk, Aslam and Mujeeb have been met with overwhelming tales of generosity, and as a result, 62% of their target amount (₹7 lakh) has been raised. They are covering a distance of 600-odd kilometres on foot, from Kasargod in Kerala to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, to raise money for children’s education in Kasargod for the Najath Educational and Charitable Society. With the amount raised, they will buy smartphones for online classes. “We walked from Vadakara to Kozhikode on Monday, covering around 49 kilometres, the longest stretch so far,” say Aslam over a call from Kozhikode, Kerala. A serial fund raiser, Aslam took up a similar challenge in Bali last year, where he cycled 397 kilometres to support the education of 45 Balinese children. Currently, he runs a company called Yourfitrip in Bali, which encourages fitness holidays. These include surfing, kayaking, volcano trekking… activities that have helped Aslam stay fit over the years.
He also runs a community called Cause is Life that connects blood donors to receivers. It kept him and his pan-India volunteers busy through the second wave of COVID-19. Just before the lockdown this year, Aslam was in Nagaland, setting up Yourfitrip there, running up hills and walking from one village to another meeting the locals.
“For this walk, Mujeeb and I trained in Kasargod, our hometown, walking 15 to 18 kilometres everyday. We are training our brain to know that we are good to go, even when we are tired,” he laughs. They prepare a chart, based on which their daily route is fixed. “We average about 30-35 kilometres a day. On somedays, it goes up to 45 to 48.”
They start walking at 6.30am and wind up for the night by 7pm. “In case of emergency, we have a backup car that stays 15 kilometres ahead of us,” he adds. They take the highway, spilling into Tamil Nadu from Nagercoil before heading to Kanyakumari. With everything functional in Kerala and food available for takeaway, things have so far been under control.
Aslam says he will complete the walk in 21 to 23 days. Though planned as a 21-day project, the end date is uncertain as they get enveloped by hospitality from people they come across. So far, the duo has been pleasantly surprised by receptions planned in their honour, invites for meals from strangers, and the willingness of people to contribute even if it means handing over the last penny in their pocket. At one of the villages, a group followed them in a car as they wanted to be part of this mission. “I want people to know that we are collectively strong and can do so many things to give others a better future,” he says as he and Mujeeb stretch, lunge and soldier on, with the rain for company.
For details, check out Aslam’s Instagram handle @aslucha
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Priyadarshini Paitandy / June 30th, 2021
However, the Social Data Initiatives Forum (SDIF) of Hyderabad helped those from rural and tribal places of Telangana.
Khalid Saifullah, a member of SDIF (Photo/ANI) / aninews.in
Hyderabad:
Keeping in view the limited access of medical facilities in the rural and tribal parts of the society amid the COVID pandemic, a Hyderabad based non-profit organization (NGO) has combined both the fields of service and technology together to extend their help to those from inaccessible areas of the state.
While there are several NGOs and individuals who have stepped forward to do their part in the pandemic, most have limited themselves to the cities and urban establishments.
However, the Social Data Initiatives Forum (SDIF) of Hyderabad helped those from rural and tribal places of Telangana.
Speaking about the initiative, Mohammad Azam Khan, the Founder and Director of SDIF said that since the inception of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the organisation had been working at several hospitals and couldn’t help but notice that many people admitted in Hyderabad were from nearby rural areas.
“Looking at the condition of people from rural areas that came to Hyderabad in search of proper medical treatment but were unable to find a bed or Oxygen while their health deteriorated, we decided that medical assistance like oxygen should be provided to them at their place instead of them having to look for it in the cities,” he said.
Azam further mentioned that to achieve this, the NGO publicised their contact and helpline numbers and was able to set up Oxygen banks at several district headquarters and Government hospitals from where those who were in need could collect oxygen free of cost.
“To further speed up the supply of oxygen we requested the people to place a request of their requirement through the organisation’s website so that we can deliver oxygen to their doorstep,” he said. SDIF has recently started collaborating with several other NGOs of other states and at the district, levels to ensure support to the people from the rural backdrop.
Khalid Saifullah, a member of SDIF he mentioned that the organisation developed a digital program that interacts with the Application Programming Interface (API) of Twitter, which works on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to identify tweets that have words like ‘Need Help, Oxygen’.
“Those people are contacted to cross-check the requirement and then we help them in receiving Oxygen from the nearest available source”, he added.
Khalid said, “During the peak days of the pandemic, there were about 150 to 200 requests; we ensured all requests were fulfilled.”
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad News / by ANI / posted by Sakina Fatima/ June 17th, 2021
Volunteers distributing food | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Mohd. Abdul Yousuf and his team of volunteers networked across the nation to help tackle the second wave of the pandemic
When Hyderabad-based Mohd. Abdul Yousuf, a fourth-year student of Symbiosis Law School in Hyderabad and his friends wanted to feed the needy hit by COVID-19, they could not afford to hire a chef at ₹1,200 per day to prepare a meal with 25 kilograms of rice. Undeterred, the boys watched cookery channels to learn to prepare it themselves. Now, the team of volunteers of Helping Humans Hyderabad founded by Abdul, packs 400 dinner boxes and distributes them at Tadbun, Charminar, Government Maternity Hospital in Afzal Gunj, Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad Railway Station at Nampally, Public Gardens, MNJ̥ Cancer Hospital and Niloufer Hospital. “We make kaju, lemon and jeera rice and even made chicken biriyani sponsored by a friend,” says Abdul.
Mohd. Abdul Yousuf | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Helping Humans Hyderabad is among several voluntary organisations helmed by youngsters to verify leads, identify and share information on hospital resources and medical supplies to help tackle the second wave of the pandemic. However, Abdul’s organisation reached out beyond Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Gujarat, Delhi, Patna and Kerala as he networked from his contacts across India.
It started when Abdul posted a friend’s plasma request on his Instagram account. Buoyed by the response and backed by his associates: Lamya Hussaini, Molshree Totla and Ismail Zabiullah, he launched Helping Humans on April 16, his birthday, to amplify appeals for help. “We launched the page at 9 pm and at 1.30 am, we got a request for an oxygen cylinder,” he recalls.
Abdul and four core members of Helping Humans pooled ₹20,000 from their pockets to steer the network. With friends across India, he created a network of individuals to provide info from their cities; volunteers then verified the leads and updated the information on a Google spreadsheet. ‘If you are sitting idle at home, give your time to us,’ was their message on social media, inviting volunteers to be part of the initiative which had more than 200 members from across India. The office of Kavitha Kalvakuntla responded to their tweets for hospital resources; which not only helped in closing the requests, but also airlifting a passenger from Bihar to Hyderabad.
“Oxygen shortage was a major one during those dreadful two months,” shares Abdul, adding that his phone has not stopped ringing since April. Most of the 400 to 500 calls used to be for oxygen cylinders. The team purchased these cylinders for ₹60,000 from their own pockets. “Now the calls for cylinders have reduced to 50; and enquiries now are for oxygen concentrators.”
Abdul hopes to find more sponsors for their free food distribution programme. “We are glad we were able to make at least a small difference,” he concludes.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society – Relief Work / by Neerja Murthy / Hyderabad – June 18th, 2021
A doting father and husband, a selfless community worker, our dear friend, and a beautiful human being,” is how one message circulating on social media remembers Tippu Adam Khan, a 42-year-old man who volunteered to help many people in different ways during this pandemic. He succumbed to COVID-19 on Friday. Tippu, a former Vice President at J.P. Morgan played an immense role as a community worker leaving a lasting impact on his family, friends, and even on people who had never met him.
Tippu, along with his friends, had set up ‘Oxygen Helpline‘, a volunteer network to help procure and supply oxygen cylinders for free to people in need across the city.
Humer Khan, who started ‘Oxygen Helpline’ with Tippu Adam Khan says they started the service after he saw the crippling health situation in the city and people dying due to shortage of oxygen supply.
The group has helped more than 500 people across the city so far to procure oxygen cylinders, besides educating people and rendering other assistance to patients.
“Tippu bhai was an inspiration to work with. He worked day and night to help people get oxygen cylinders. He had no fixed timings. You could find him on a call with volunteers at 3 in the night trying to procure cylinders. I have not seen another person like him,” he said.
Mohammed Kaif, co-founder of the NGO Small Appeal, and a friend of Tippu says, he was a relentless and an altruistic individual. Days before he was tested positive for COVID, Tippu had arranged for 9000 masks and dispatched them to Lakshadweep. “When he got to know that there was a rise in Covid cases in the islands, and there was a lack of essential medical supply. He jumped right into it and formed a team to procure medical supplies. He got in touch with people in each island in Lakshadweep to try to understand the needs of people there”.
But friends and associates of Tippu say his work goes beyond providing relief during the pandemic.
Abdullah Raj, a revert and a friend describes Tippu as a genuinely loving person, who was passionate about spreading the message of Islam to the world. “He would talk endlessly about Islam to people trying to clear their misconceptions about the faith”.
Raj said Tippu even left his job as a vice president at J.P. Morgan because it wasn’t complying with Islam, which prohibits interest-based banking. “He was committed to Islam, even at the cost of personal loss,” he said.
In an online condolence meet that was organized in Tippu’s memory on Friday by his friend Imtiaz Chowdhry, more than a hundred people gathered to share their memories of him. One friend Aslam, shared an incident of how Tippu had arranged for monthly groceries for a few widows when he heard that they had no one to support them. Aslam said the families wept when they heard of Tippu’s passing away.
From his children’s school teachers to colleagues, there were tens of people who shared their stories of how Tippu had touched their lives and had helped people. One friend mentioned that he was the grandson of Muslim Vellori (Mohammed Abdul Wahid Khan), a freedom fighter, and a prominent social activist of his time, who took part in many anti-colonial struggles and was jailed several times.
The meeting that was started at 11 pm went on till 2 am. His friends said they had to organize another online meeting the next day to accommodate those who couldn’t attend due to Zoom’s participant limitations.
Tippu was admitted to the city’s Shifa Hospital on June 8th, his brother Tippu Ahmed Khan said. But within days, his condition started worsening and his oxygen level started fluctuating. But even in the hospital bed, Tippu did not stop going out of his to help people in need.
“He was texting and calling people to arrange for oxygen cylinders for other patients when his own health was fast deteriorating,” his brother said.
He was put on ventilator on Friday and he passed away in the evening.
Ameen-E-Mudassar, a Covid warrior who started the Covid Helpline Bangalore website said, in his last message to him, Tippu said that he wanted to start a school, as he had seen many people unable to afford school fees during the pandemic.
“If I come back alive, I want you to work with me on a plan for a school,” he had messaged Ameen. He never came back.
For Tippu’s friends, his silent efforts to help people, without letting anyone know about it is an inspiration they say they would carry forward for the rest of their lives. In the online condolence meeting, one constant statement everyone made about him was how despite knowing him for years there were facets of his life they were not aware of. He had touched the lives of many people in so many ways.
His friends are now planning to bring up a biography of Tippu, highlighting his life and contributions. “It will serve as an inspiration to friends and family and it will serve as a memory to his young children on what a selfless and beautiful man their father was,” said Ameen.
Tippu is survived by his wife and three children.
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by Shaik Zakeer Hussain / June 20th, 2021
The world is in chaos. The pandemic happened when none of us were expecting it. It has been one of the most disastrous and depressing things throughout history. It wasn’t in our plans, but it happened. People have lost their jobs and their loved ones. Moreover, people are losing their will to live. The lower class of society is struggling. They are even lacking the necessities needed to survive. However, the pandemic has given rise to people who have come forward to help poor, needy, and unarmed people to fight the pandemic. These people are the warriors of the nation and Sofia Khan is one such warrior.
Sofia Khan cleared School Service Commission in 2009 and was the topper of her zone as well. Then, she was appointed as a government school teacher. However, she is also a social activist, chairman, and founder of the ‘Sufi Humanity Foundation,’ a no cash or fund transfer NGO. She is a very active participant in the improvement of our society. She has been given the post of secretary in the NGO named ‘Udaan Empowering Women’ in the year 2016 and then in the Rotary Club of Kolkata in 2018. Her performance was remarkable in the two organisations. She then joined the TMC Minority Cell, West Bengal, as a general secretary.
Sofia Khan has organized various literacy awareness campaigns in different states of the country as she is the president of the Sarparast Literacy Awareness Movement in West Bengal. She has also participated in many debates in national media as a panelist from the TMC. She conducted campaigns and rallies for TMC during the 2021 West Bengal elections. She has continuously been a keen supporter of girls, always ready to support and empower them. She helped the girls of the Milli Al-Ameen College for Girls by joining their protest against injustice to the college students. These girls were not being allowed to sit for their exams due to the college’s internal disputes. Sofia fought for them and got them justice.
It’s commendable and worth mentioning how she did not waver from her motive of helping the people even in lockdown. Sofia Khan has helped many people by providing them food amidst the lockdown. She sent back numerous migrant labourers to their native places during the first phase of the lockdown in 2020. This year when second wave was on its peak and people were dying without oxygen she was there to help people across West Bengal with free oxygen cylinders. She later extended the help and converted four cars into free ambulance service with oxygen cylinders for Covid patients. When the state was hit by a deadly tropical cyclone called the ‘Amphan’, Sofia Khan, along with her team distributed tarpaulins and ration to almost a thousand families. She also showed her support during the Yaas cyclone. She sent relief materials like biscuits, cakes, drinking water containers each of 20 litres, clothes, etc. to the affected families. Her works and contributions have also been recognized by the Sanmarg Hindi daily, Echo of India, Awami News, etc.
Life has been tougher than usual for all of us but that doesn’t stop some of us from being an inspiration to others. While our nation and the world are fighting against the pandemic, it is important that we stay alert and be responsible for each other. We need to support and help those who are unable to survive on their own. Warriors like Sofia Khan do not wait for a chance rather they create the opportunity to help others because they realize that ‘Warriors are not born, but self-made’.
(The author of the article is a freelance journalist).
source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Featured> National Interest / by Meer Faisal / June 18th, 2021
Relief organizations of Hyderabad, run by Muslims, have come to the rescue of the state and offered help to fight the shortage of Oxygen.
A TCN Ground Report features some of them.
Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Telangana and rise in deaths due to the virus, the severe shortage of oxygen, ventilators and beds in both the government and private-run hospitals exposed the shortfalls of the healthcare system of the state.
Reports said that many patients were turned away from the hospitals due to a shortage of beds and died in their homes. Those admitted to the hospitals died due to lack of oxygen supply and delay in oxygen tankers reaching them. This lead to hundreds of deaths in Hyderabad alone.
Reports also said that hospitals were overcharging Covid-19 patients. These factors contributed to many people choosing to opt for home treatment.
It was then that the relief organizations of the state, run by Muslims, came to the rescue and offered help to fight the shortage of Oxygen.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Shiba Minai, an activist said, “I make at least 50 to 60 calls to get a bed for a patient”.
Shiba helps people by connecting them with groups, hospitals and organizations that have been helping patients with beds and oxygen facilities.
Shiba has been doing relief work since the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic by providing food for the homeless, migrants, poor people in the slums. She has also helped with the funeral services of the victims.
She said that a lot of people reach out to her during crisis time. To help these desperate families, she would seek financial help from friends and family members.
“I get calls from people who are unable to find a bed or oxygen if they are already in the hospital or are under home treatment. Then, I call up hospitals and once I get the right hospital, I then connect the patient or the attendant to that hospital,” she said.
Shiba said the work she does is exhausting. “Making several calls to hospitals that want to know how much can the patient be able to pay and meanwhile handling calls from attendants of patients is taxing,”.
Talking about an incident wherein a 45-year-old woman whose saturation levels dipped low and her family could not find a hospital with a bed, Shiba said that she tried her best but “the hospitals refused to admit her after coming to know that her oxygen levels were quite low and she had fewer chances of survival.”
The family of the patient roamed to 6 hospitals, who earlier had assured of the availability of bed refused to admit her once they saw the saturation levels. The woman was taken home where she later succumbed.
“I tried to help this lady from 9 p.m. till the wee hours of the morning when it was time for Suhoor (early morning meal during the Muslim month of Ramadan). Sadly, she could not be saved,” Shiba said in a sad tone.
Although Shiba has helped sixty persons with beds with oxygen facilities, what makes her sad is that the “number of patients who I could not help is higher than the ones I helped.”
Shiba is not alone in doing Covid-19 relief work. Like her, several organizations have helped Hyderabad overcome the Covid-19 crisis from the last year. This year too they have come forward to battle the oxygen shortage in the state.
‘Oxygen on Wheels’
Mohammed Asif Hussain Sohail, the chairperson of Sakina Foundation, who is popularly known as the ‘Hyderabad Hunger Warrior’ for feeding the hungry for more than 10 years, has been receiving close to 200 calls every day from patients who are being treated at home. He also gets calls from hospitals especially Osmania and Gandhi General Hospitals requesting him for oxygen facilities.
“The price of oxygen cylinders is quite high at Rs 30,000 and the cost of refilling has gone up to Rs 2500 which a common man cannot afford,” Sohail said.
Md Asif Hussain Sohail of Sakina Foundation
Sohail said that as hospitals are running out of oxygen and due to black marketing, he has to verify if the patient needs oxygen or not before helping.
“Sometimes, they don’t need oxygen and we have to counsel and advise them not to give in to their fear and explain to them that a needier person requires it more,” he explained.
Sohail claims that he has “spent more than Rs 10 lakhs from his pocket to buy cylinders and send them to the homes of the needy.”
“Every day, in Hyderabad itself, my Foundation has provided more than 200 free cylinders. We have reached out to at least 2000 people so far,” he said.
Oxygen on Wheels is another initiative of the Sakina Foundation. As part of this initiative, oxygen cylinders are provided to patients who are on their way to the city for treatment from their towns and villages.
“Many people were dying on the way to Hyderabad. Not being able to get proper treatment in their villages they would travel to advanced hospitals in the city. The patients would only be saved if they arrived on time and if the hospital had oxygen,” he said.
“I wanted to save lives so I came up with this idea to provide emergency oxygen cylinders on the highway,” Sohail said.
As soon as they receive an SOS call, his volunteers drive to the spot where the patient is and help him/her with the oxygen.
Sohail said that they have driven up to 200 kilometers to provide oxygen to a patient on the highway.
“Patients were coming not just from the districts of Telangana state but also from Bhopal, Maharashtra, Karnataka. We met them all on the highway and immediately helped them with the oxygen if their saturation levels were low,” Sohail said, adding, “Nearly 150 persons were helped on the highway.”
Sohail said that “love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.” “Without it, humanity cannot survive,” he added.
700 people given oxygen aid by Helping Hand Foundation
With the oxygen crisis in the state, volunteers of the relief organization Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), headed by Mujtaba Aksari, have been at the forefront.
The group distributed a flyer with their contact numbers for people to seek help in cases of Covid-19 emergency. The group also provide help with giving decent funeral services to Covid-19 victims deaths irrespective of religion.
Mohammed Fareedullah, who heads the project told TwoCircles.net, “When we receive a call for help, our doctors consult them online and based on the doctor’s recommendation, if the patient needs oxygen, we advise the attendant to come to our godown and take the oxygen cylinder without paying any advance or rent.
A patient receiving oxygen help from HHF | Photo by HHF
Fareedullah said that the families of the patients just have “to pay the refilling charges.”
“The plant where we get the cylinders refilled have begun to charge double of what they used to charge earlier. But we charge the people a nominal amount,” he said.
“The cylinders provided by HHF are usually for home patients but if the patient develops complications and their saturation level drops despite the oxygen therapy then we help them reach the hospital where again our counsellors in the hospital help them with other needs. When the patient recovers and is discharged we ferry them home in HHF ambulances. If they do not recover the volunteers help the family with the last rites too,” explained Fareedullah.
Helping Hands Foundation owns about 15 ambulances which are free for all patients. The group has 100 cylinders and a luggage trolley to transport the cylinders to the houses of people who cannot come to their go down.
To date, HHF claims to have helped more than 700 people covering the entire old city and many other localities.
Humanity First Foundation: from feeding hungry to procuring Oxygen
Mohammed Shujatullah,founder of relief organization Humanity First Foundation has been feeding patients and their attendants at three government hospitals for the last 5 years.
One day when Shujatallah received a call requesting help with oxygen, he decided to buy cylinders and give them for free to patients and then refill the empty ones and help whoever needed them. “Prices had doubled for both the oxygen cylinders and for refilling but through donations to Humanity First, I continued helping people every day with the 110 cylinders we have,” he said.
Md Shujatullah of Humanity First Foundation checking oxygen cylinders | Photo by HFF
His organization has an ambulance, which carries the oxygen cylinders to hospitals and homes of patients.
In the month of Ramadan, Shujatallah said that his foundation received good donations and he managed to help as many people as was possible for him.
Patients at the gate of a hospital supported by SDIF | Picture: SDIF
‘Our motive to save lives keeps us going’
Another local initiative known as Social Data Initiative Forum (SDIF)founded by Azam Khan and Khalid Saifullah started oxygen services during the first wave of the pandemic with their stock of 15 cylinders.
During the second wave, as the oxygen crisis has only gone worse, the group has been adding to their stockpile of oxygen cylinders.
The founders said that they had to pay more than the normal price for both purchasing and refilling the cylinders.
“Our services are not restricted to just providing oxygen cylinders. We also set up an oxygen bank at Government notified Covid-19 hospitals where usually the poorest of the poor come to access health care. People from the rural parts come to Hyderabad with hopes of quality treatment and they face a lot of hurdles waiting to get admitted after already having travelled a long distance,” Azam Khan said.
“The waiting period at the hospital and the travel time further delays the process of the treatment, which is why we opted to help in the government hospitals,” he clarified.
In Gandhi Hospital alone, which is the largest Covid-19 hospital of Hyderabad, Azam Khan said they have “20 oxygen cylinders in circulation which are serving at least 400 patients per day.”
“This supply of oxygen is crucial to their recovery,” Khalid added.
Apart from the 20 cylinders, they have 100 more cylinders at the other two government-run Covid-19 hospitals of Hyderabad.
They said they have helped more than 100 people so far.
Azam Khan narrated an experience that made them realise the significance of their work.
The King Kothi Government hospital had requested SDIF to set up an oxygen bank.
“I felt we had to start the work immediately and even though it was Sunday, our team went to the hospital. As soon as we reached the hospital, we saw four dead bodies being carried away. We were told the hospital had run out of oxygen causing the death of these four persons. We immediately set up our oxygen cylinders. Later the doctors informed us that our timely help had saved three persons who were critical and would not have survived had we not reached on time. This experience both saddened us and also made us feel happy that we could at least save the lives of other three persons,” he said.
“Our motive to save lives keeps us going,” the duo said.
The SDIF is helped by two other charity organizations from Hyderabad namely Safa Baitul Maal and Access Foundation, who work in close collaboration with them.
Pre and post-Covid care given by Al Hamd Foundation
Al Hamd Foundation, a charitable trust that helps widows, students and the poor, took up Covid-19 relief operations during the last year’s lockdown.
Amid the ongoing second wave, the foundation is continuing with online consultations of patients with doctors.
When patients contact them online, they are connected to doctors who advise home treatment keeping in view the severe crunch in the hospitals and also the fact that many cases can be treated at home with proper medications and care.
Al Hamd Foundation Covid relief services
The foundation has provided home treatment to fifty-two patients, who had reported low oxygen levels.
The founder of Al Hamd Abdul Azeem Mohammed told TwoCircles.net that the treatment cost they incurred for each patient would have run up to Rs. 7 to 8 lakhs had they been treated in a hospital.
“The team of AL Hamd ensures that the patient does not panic and develops a strong will to fight the disease and survive. The team also helps with the oxygen cylinders, the medicines and regular monitoring by the doctor who visits the patient. At times when the patients are poor and the team notices that they need provisions apart from the medical assistance, Al Hamd provides the family members with rations as well,” Azeem said.
Al Hamd has given 300 oxygen cylinders and 6 oxygen concentrators to other organizations that are helping people affected with Covid-19.
They have four oxygen hubs and seven ambulances in Hyderabad-Secunderabad and a fifth one is coming up soon.
“We have ordered 25 oxygen concentrators from the UK which is likely to arrive by in the last week of May. Each oxygen concentrator of 5-6 litres costs around Rs 46,000. We have also ordered 5 C PAP machines that cure respiratory disorders. And since we are not a hospital, we intend to donate these C PAP machines to the hospitals where there are facilities to treat patient with respiratory disorders that are linked to Covid” explained Azeem.
“We also give post-Covid care by giving immunity-boosting drugs and foodstuff,” he added.
Al Hamd is run with funds from family and close friends.
50-bed oxygen therapy centre set up by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind
Well-known socio-religious organization Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Telangana has also set up a 50-bed oxygen therapy centre in Wadi-e-Huda near Shaheen Nagar, Hyderabad. JIH’s sister concern Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) supports recycling the cylinders, rifling them, coordinating with other organisations for availability.
Post Script
To support Helping Hand Foundation, you can make a GooglePay donation here: 8125203286
Dr Muhammad Yazin is a member of the Covid control room at Vattiyoorkavu
Thiruvananthapuram :
A few days ago, Dr Muhammad Yazin and his team at the Covid control room run by Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth broke into a house. Their intentions, however, were honourable. A call had come from a 55-year-old Covid positive woman and she had fallen so sick that she couldn’t even open the door eventually leaving the medical team with no other option that breaking the door open. “We could save two patients, the woman and her 95-year-old mother. They were shifted to ICU at the medical college hospital, we hope they will recover,” says Yazin who has so many similar experiences to recount, including dealing with a snake in the house of a Covid patient.
The 26-year-old doctor, a former student of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, was working at a private hospital in Coorg till recently.
He quit the job to work with the medical team without any remuneration. This is not the first time he is volunteering.
During the 2018 floods, he had joined the same medical team as a student. That was just the beginning.
Later in 2019, when many people were buried alive in a massive landslide at Kavalappara near Nilambur, Dr Yazin was there with the medical team.
Also, he was among the volunteers when Cyclone Ockhi hit the coast in Thiruvananthapuram.
Besides volunteers and nurses, there are four doctors in the medical team of the Covid cell at Vattiyoorkavu. “We provide tele-consultation for the patients. Medicines are sent through the volunteers of the rapid response team. Our team consisting of a doctor, a nurse, and a volunteer also visit patients needing home care. We would shift them to hospitals if required. Our schedule is not at all hectic . We usually work for eight hours,” Dr Yazin adds.
“I had tested Covid positive while working in Coorg. After getting cured, I rejoined duty and resigned two days after knowing about this initiative. After having worked together during the flood and now, the team has become just like a family,” he says.
In the future, Dr Yazin is expecting to be a part of the medical team of Vattiyoorkavu Youth Brigade, an initiative of MLA Prasanth. The plan is to focus on the economically weaker sections. How about earning something to live? “Well , I plan to work in a private clinic and side by side find time for voluntary medical service,” he says.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Thiruvananthapuram News / by TNN / June 11th, 2021
Thaikkadappuram (Neeleswaram Municipality), KERALA :
Madrassa and the Thaikadappuram Jama-ath Mosque. Photo by R Ayyappan
Since early March, when the vaccination drive began, municipality and health authorities were worried about the crowd in front of Thaikkadappuram Family Health Centre (FHC) along the coast in Kasaragod’s Neeleswaram Municipality. More than 350 people, most of them over 60 years of age and years of age and with comorbidities, came for vaccination daily to the Centre that was only recently elevated to a FHC.
But at that point, when Kerala was gearing up for an intense election campaign, there was a general impression that COVID-19 was on the wane. It was easy to brush aside worries.
However, when the second surge began in the middle of April, old worries returned. When the rains intensified by the second week of May, more space became a necessity.
“Along with those coming for vaccination, there were the regular patients. When it is windy and raining, which was almost always during the last fortnight, we could not let them stand outside. But it was also not right to let these two groups mingle,” said Dr Sarada, the FHC’s medical officer. Most were poor folk from the fishermen community.
Interiors of the madrassa being rearranged for the vaccination drive. Photo from R Ayyappan
Social distancing paradise
She asked the municipality for a place nearby to carry out the vaccination drive so that social distancing could be adhered to effectively. Many places, including an aided school, were identified. But all were slightly distant. “We wanted a place nearer,” Dr Sarada said.
It was then that the Muslim League’s Thaikadappuram Sea Road ward councillor Anwar Sadique suggested a madrassa nearby: Thaikadappuram Jama-ath Nusrath Madrasa of the Thaikkadappuram Jama-Ath Mosque. It is a large two-storeyed structure near a newly constructed beige-coloured mosque with pastel green domes.
Anwar talked to Neeleswaram Municipality chairperson T V Santha and vice-chairman P P Muhammed Rafi, both from the CPM. All three agreed the Nusrath Madrassa, run by the Thaikadappuram Jama-ath Committee, was the right place. It was near and spacious. Importantly, the Jama-ath members were were progressive.
Secular abode
“Last year, they had willingly agreed to convert the ‘madrassa’ into a quarantine centre for migrant labourers and those returning from the Gulf,” Anwar Sadique said. “We did not use it as the need did not arise then,” he said.
This time when they asked, the Jama-ath committee was more than willing. “We did not think twice when the health and municipality officials came to us with the request,” Jama-ath secretary A Mohammed Shafi, a retired postmaster, said. “The children were not coming anyway, of COVID. But even if there were classes, we had more than enough space in the building to accommodate the children,” Shafi said.
The Jama-ath has now left the entire ground floor, over 2000 sq ft, for the vaccination drive. “It is a large space of five classrooms and we have asked them to use all our facilities,” Shafi said. Dr Sarada said that the madrassa had enough room and chairs for people to be seated at a safe distance from each other. “It has a drinking water facility and also parking space,” she said.
The madrassa is also just a five-minute walk from the FHC, diagonally across the road from it. “It is easy to carry supplies from the FHC to the madrassa,” Dr Sarada said.
Thaikadappuram Jama-ath Nusrath Madrassa. Photo from R Ayyappan
Melting pot of faiths
The Jama-ath is particular that its gesture should not be seen as some kind of a favour. “We have told Jama-ath members not to exhibit any behaviour that could even remotely be considered as patronising or dominating. People from all faiths come for vaccination and we want all of them to feel at home here,” secretary Shafi said. “Moreover, there is nothing more holy than this. It is our duty. It does not cost us any money either,” he said.
The Jama-ath members were also not comfortable with a public function to mark the handing over of the ‘madrassa’ for the vaccination drive. “We didn’t want such a function but the municipality authorities lovingly insisted,” Shafi said. A small function, with municipal councillors and health workers in attendance, was held on May 25.
The Nusrath Madrassa will be used for the first time on May 29, when the FHC has scheduled 300 shots. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during his customary sunset briefing on May 27, spoke of the Thaikadappuram model as an example of religious generosity.
source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> News> Kerala / by Ayyappan R / May 28th, 2021
As many as six graduates have volunteered to work with the MHV, attending calls and assisting the needy.
Vijayapura (Bijapur), KARNATAKA :
For representational purposes
Vijayapura :
A 33-year-old techie from Vijayapura has set up a 24X7 helpline to assist Covid-19 patients in finding beds, oxygen cylinders and medicines. Zahoor Kazi, who works as a software engineer at a private firm in Bengaluru, started ‘Mercy Helpline Vijayapura’ (MHV) on May 14 in collaboration with doctors, activists and other software engineers.
As many as 10 doctors, settled abroad (the USA, the UK and the Middle East) and in the state, have agreed to provide free tele-consultation to the patients, mainly for those in home isolation.As many as six graduates have volunteered to work with the MHV, attending calls and assisting the needy. The team has set up a helpline number — 7848025025.
The MHV works round-the-clock and, on an average, receives 30 calls each day from Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Belagavi. It also collaborates with at least five NGOs that help people by supporting them financially in paying hospital bills, supplying grocery kits, cremating unclaimed bodies of Covid victims and other help related to Covid and black fungus.
Speaking to TNIE, Zahroor Kazi, said, “Our main objective is to help the needy in such tough times. We are working in coordination with district officials. We are also creating awareness on Covid-19.” The MHV has so far helped at least 15 patients in getting oxygen beds and about 10 people in getting ventilators. Also, 10 patients have availed the free tele-consultation services.
“Most people who call us are from urban areas. We want to reach out to those in villages too as they have limited knowledge of the disease. Now, frequency of calls to MHV has reduced owing to a dip in cases,” Kazi added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Mahesh M Goudar / Express News Service / May 29th, 2021
