COVID-19: Indian-origin nonprofit group distributes over 45,000 kgs of food to needy in US

By Seema Hakhu Kachru

Houston, Jun 24 () An Indian-American nonprofit organisation has distributed over 45,000 kgs of food in the Greater Houston area by partnering with 15 community groups during the coronavirus pandemic in the US.

Sewa International's Houston Chapter, entering the second phase of the COVID-19 relief efforts, distributed food kits containing essentials like fresh vegetables, beans, pasta, sauce, rice, sugar, fruits, hundreds of gallons of milk besides masks and gloves.

During the food drives in apartment complexes and through various drive-through events, Sewa has distributed more than 100,000 pounds (45,360 kgs) of food in the Greater Houston area.

"Sewa organised 15 food drives in the past seven weeks in Houston's various low-income neighborhoods and served more than 3,400 families by giving them food kits containing 30 pounds or more food.

"We are conducting our food drives in the apartment complexes where the most vulnerable communities live," Gitesh Desai, Sewa's Houston Chapter President, told .

Consul General of Houston Aseem R Mahajan, who has been coordinating and actively participating in various community activities during the pandemic, said that it is impressive to see the amount of dedication and commitment to help the needy at the critical juncture by Indian-American organisations and SEWA for last 12 weeks has been on its feet, despite health risks and challenges, helping the needy people throughout Texas.

"Nationally, Sewa has distributed over 635,000 masks and other protective materials to physicians, healthcare staff and to the first responders such as police officers and firefighters in the last 12 weeks.

"As hunger spreads through the communities due to the economic impact of the pandemic, we are moving into the next stage to ensure that people do not go hungry," said Achalesh Amar, Sewa's Director of Disaster Relief.

Sewa's Houston Chapter Coordinator Nikhil Jain said: "The kind of support we are getting from the Indian-American community organisations for the food drive is phenomenal, reflecting the age-old Hindu tradition of 'Anna Daan' (providing food to the needy), many Hindu temples, religious and cultural organisations and altruistic individuals from the community have joined hands with us to serve the underserved at these challenging times".

According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the contagion has infected over 9.2 million people and killed more than 477,000 across the world.

The US is the worst affected country with over 2.3 million cases and more than 1,21,000 deaths.

The COVID-19, which originated in China's Wuhan city in December last year, has also battered the world economy with the International Monetary Fund saying that the global economy is bound to suffer a "severe recession".

Scientists are racing against time to find a vaccine or medicine for its treatment. SHK CPS