Together in service, for a noble cause
With a strength of more than 400 people, the Covid Surge Impact Alliance (CSIA) is a group that has been reaching out to people in need, with its volunteers performing various tasks, even if it means standing in a line waiting for a bed at a hospital for a patient.
Raj Janagam, from CSIA, told this correspondent that the group was an amalgamation of more than 20 organisations.
“We have a helpline where people can call
and request medical supplies, or other basic requirements. When people call for medical emergencies, we check the severity and urgency of the request and then send them material, such as oxygen. We have a verified list of suppliers through whom we procure the materials and send. The material is received by our volunteer, who then delivers it to the patient,” he said.
Their army of volunteers comprises business professionals, corporate volunteers and housewives. “To add to our volunteers, we have approached Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge to see if we can encourage more students to join our efforts,” said Raj.
The group says that their aim is to run free isolation centres for patients in
Hyderabad with a capacity of 30-50 beds. The primary beneficiaries will be people from socio-economically weaker backgrounds but not needing hospital care.
While the group is not sure by when it can have these in place, it hopes that once they are up and running, the centres will be able to provide basic care under the observation of paramedical staff to people not needing hospitalisation and thus reduce the burden on hospitals.