Khalsa Aid is fucking amazing. They're who you want to donate to, period.
This is one of the few cases where I advocate donating to organisations rather than individuals, because right now, in India, the breakdown of medical infrastructure is so bad that money won't help you. The effort is being carried out now by volunteers who are coordinating resources.
Khalsa Aid is a very old and proven and beloved organisation with absolutely no ties to the hindu government. In fact they have extensive ties to the still-ongoing farmer's protests. They are effective, established, trusted, and sound.
I live in India. If any of us needs medical attention if infected, I'm quite sure we won't survive. Delhi is a large capital city, MP's have to tweet and beg to get medical attention for their loved ones. We have the record for highest single day infections.
This video by the BBC India bureau is pretty distressing and summarises the issue quite effectively: supplies, infrastructure, vaccines.
A crowdsourced list of fundraisers to donate (<FF> for campaigns that accept foreign funds, I'm also matching donations upto Rs 20000, DM)
If you have time this weekend: volunteer to collect information of the status of beds
Unfortunately, money will not solve all of India's problems. This is the activism I'd encourage you to pursue if you're not Indian:
1. The United States refuses to lift a export raw material ban on vaccine products even temporarily. Note that India exported 60 million doses of Astra Zeneca abroad before this crisis.
2. Angela Merkel threatens future retaliation against India for focusing on domestic vaccines.
3. There's also a WTO bill that would waive patent monopolies *temporarily* in addressing COVID
I call all of this genocidal colonialism by another name. Please organise. India is the producer of vaccines and pharma that is intended to go to middle and low income countries, as long as the crisis continues here, it will have knock on effects in South America and Africa. The virus mutating through 1 billion people will get deadlier and find you too, so it's probably in your self interest.
Campaign #PeoplesVaccine to support the WTO bill
Countrywise:
If you live in the US: find your reps here & email them, alternatively (thanks @ataratah) Text "SIGN PKSLVL" to the RESISTBOT (50409) to get on the petition and send a letter to your reps to lift the embargo. It's super quick and you don't have to be eloquent or talk to a single human!
If you live in Australia: find your reps here & email them
If you live in Canada: find your reps here & email them
If you live in the UK: petition to sign (on 500/10000 signatures)
If you are a citizen of the EU: (thanks @kureha-fujishima) Sign this initiative before 1/05/2021, more details here
I'll update with resources for more countries as I find them. Generally calls work better than emails, so do try calling your representative directly if you can.
Look, I know a good number of you are from the US and things aren't amazing there either, but my country is literally on the brink of collapse. So I'd love it if we could talk about that for a minute.
If you can't do anything else, please just read and reblog.
A second COVID wave has taken out the healthcare system. There are no more hospital beds. There's an oxygen shortage. There's a critical vaccine shortage. The Central Government has thrown its hands up and is passing the baton to the State Governments to do what they can.
There are over 16 million covid cases. A record 330,000 new cases reported yesterday - comparable to the US at its peak. 187,000 dead as of today.
There is no plan.
Mass cremations are taking place. The cremation grounds are running day and night and they are short on wood. People are watching their loved ones die while waiting for a hospital bed, and then they're unable to give them the proper burial rights.
Hospitals are overwhelmed. Patients are being confined, two to a bed. They're the lucky ones.
We are on the verge of people dying in the streets.
This is the second-most populous country in the world. The largest democracy. A country that encapsulates over 15,000 years of recorded human history and has endured everything from famine to invasion to colonisation.
We might be at the end. This might be the thing that does us in.
People are dying.
People are dying.
People are dying and there is no plan.
More good news? Variants are popping up. A double mutation strain has shown up. It is resistant to current vaccines. This will not go away. This is the devastation they warned of when the anti-maskers were out protesting the minor inconvenience of covering their face in public.
My country is on the verge of an emergency state. Our government has failed us. This is as dire a situation as it ever could be.
Look. I don't do much with my life. I write fics, some of you have read them and that's pretty much it. I spend my days with my head in the clouds because that's where I like to be.
But two days ago, my grandmother tested positive, had to be taken to hospital and the ambulance caught fire.
She barely made it to the urgent care she needs.
So, here I am, using whatever meager platform I have to cobble this request together. Because I have to do something.
Even a small amount of 5 or 7 or 10 of foreign currency will help a lot. Our government has essentially abandoned us. People have turned to social media for help. WhatsApp groups and DMs on twitter/insta is where we find help. Our helpline is a Google doc. Situation is so dire that hospitals are discharging patients due to lack of oxygen. Every night the same story, oxygen running out in hospitals, citizens running around to somehow arrange for oxygen with minutes to spare. Last night, we had manged to get oxygen to a hospital with 14min to spare.
Reblogging with more links. Listen to @groundzero-and-deku ☝️ they know what they're talking about.
Some of you in the US have asked what else you can do. I'm not the best person to answer this since I'm not from there, but I do know that Biden is being urged to ship supplies to India. Maybe a more informed person can chime in with how best you can help but calling your representative and registering your concern sounds like a good starting point.
From one democracy to another, thank you. Please keep this going, you're all amazing.
EDIT: Reblogging with some more donation links from @spacegirlstuff
Here and Here
Y'all, this is a good time to mention that I am not affiliated with any charity or donation centre, and am not receiving donations on behalf of anyone.
This is a list of resources compiled by me and more importantly, other people who have a better grasp on the situation than myself. They are to the best of our knowledge great resources but
I still encourage you to do your research and put your money where you believe it will be used best.
If you find more ways to help or donate, add them in a reblog - let's get as much information out there as possible.
Much love and please stay safe
PLEASE BOOST THIS VERSION OF THE POST WITH THE EXTENDED LIST OF LINKS TO DONATIONS AND RESOURCES
jacobvanloon
andulkaphoto
theartofmadeline
annaxmalina
snowghoul
baratheonpilled
germansingergirl
kianamaiart
dailybridgerton
tangentwithtanner
