Indore: As the city faces an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases with a shortage of oxygen and beds, the Dawoodi Bohra community in Indore is mobilising relief efforts to provide beds, oxygen and essential medical supplies to those affected by the virus.
The community’s Saifee School in Chhatribagh has been converted into a Covid Care Centre to provide OPD and IPD facilities to patients.
Dr Mufaddal Rassiwala, under whose supervision the Covid Care Centre operates, said, “We used to get daily 100-120 calls from people in Indore and neighbouring districts asking for help with bed and oxygen in hospitals. Many of them couldn’t afford hospital services. That’s when we decided to convert Saifee School into a Covid Care Centre to help economically weaker sections of the community.”
Initiated as part of the Dawoodi Bohra’s global philanthropic effort, Project Rise, the centre is managed by volunteers from Saifee Ambulance, Burhani Diagnostic Centre and HSB Alumni group.
In addition to the Covid Care Centre, volunteers from Saifee Ambulance have been on the frontline providing oxygen and other medical supplies to locals since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Last year we had about 10-15 oxygen cylinders in rotation, however, due to the growing impact of the second wave, we have scaled up our operations to include nearly 100 small and jumbo oxygen cylinders along with nebulisers, BIPAP machine, oxygen concentrators and other medical equipments,” said Sakina Pardawala, Divisional Commander of Saifee Ambulance in Indore.
“Since the last three months, our teams have been working round the clock to serve over 500 Covid-19 patients and provide vaccines to more than 4000 people,” added Pardawala.
Besides medical attention, the community also continues to serve cooked meals and dry rations under the banner of Project Rise which is also addressing issues and challenges faced in the fields of environment, water, education and healthcare.
