COVID-19 RELIEF

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Surge Impact Foundation took the lead to mitigate the sufferings of millions of migrant workers, socially and economically disadvantaged sections of society, daily wage workers, and marginalised groups. Joining hands with the Government of Telangana, corporate groups, NGOs and a scattered network of good samaritans, SIF ensured that critical aid reached all those who required it. SIF worked closely with organisations such as Akshaya Patra, Youngistaan Foundation, Yuvatha, Rice Bucket Challenge, SAFA India, and SDiF, to respond to every call requesting for dry ration and food supplies.

Throughout the Covid crisis, Surge Impact Foundation, via its T-Social Impact Group, functioned as the executing partner for the state government.

Hyperlink: Click here for a detailed description of our efforts to mitigate the challenges that Covid brought.

Covid-19 First Wave: Relying on a blend of funding from corporates, NGOs, individuals, and crowdfunding, SIF crafted a thorough relief mission to meet the various needs that arose during the first wave in the months of ___ 

  1. Food Distribution: Around 20,00,000 food packets were distributed – on trains ferrying migrant families, outstation students stranded in Telangana, residents of old age homes, orphanages, aid workers, daily wagers, cab and rickshaw drivers. Donations in cash and kind flowed in from individuals, and organisations like Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, The Devarakonda Foundation, Ola, Round Table, Rotary Club and others.
  2. Dry Ration for Migrants and Others In Need: In the 1st Phase, 18,000 people were provided dry ration kits containing essentials such as rice or wheat, dal, sugar, oil, salt, potatoes, onions, and spices. In the 2nd Phase, dry rations of 2,00,000 kgs was disbursed among 35,000 people in need. In the 3rd Phase, 1,10,000 Kgs of dry ration kits were distributed among 13,455 people. Further, tribals, transgenders, sex workers and several other marginalized people were assisted. Timely help from organisations such as Dr Reddy’s Labs, Zomato, Novartis, ITDA, Janagam Foundation, Yuvatha, National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, and many individuals, ensured the success of this mission.
  3. Adab Namaste Community Kitchens: SIF, in association with Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, established community kitchens in four different parts of Hyderabad. Together, the four community kitchens cooked about 1,52,100 meals, serving at least 2,000 people per day for a duration of ___. In addition to this, SIP in collaboration with Akshaya Patra Foundation, distributed around 7,70,000 meals for lunch and dinner during the lockdown period. Distribution of these meals were done in coordination with Mr. Abhishek’s team.
  4. Medical Kit Support: With the help of corporate donors, Seneca Global, Confederation of Indian Industry, and Yuvatha, SIP procured medical protective equipment and disbursed these in hospitals, public utility services in government and charity sectors, and old age homes. Along with Hyderabad, these essentials were also handed over to district-level government hospitals in Mahbubnagar, Kurnool, Nagarkurnool, Gadwal and Narayanpet. The medical protective equipment contained essentials such as PPE Kits, N95 masks, face shields, hand sanitizers, surgical gloves, plastic gloves, soaps, and sanitary napkins.
  5. Migrants Labours Transportation: At the height of the pandemic, thousands of migrant workers were stranded in various places, yearning to return home. During this upheaval, SIP raised INR 25,62,494 through crowdfunding and ensured that 1,033 migrant workers reached their homes in faraway places. This was done by arranging for 23 buses headed to various locations across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Covid-19 Second Wave: For the second save of covid between the months of ___  , SIF built up on ground capabilities by onboarding volunteers across Telangana and other parts of India. Tying up with corporates, health services providers, and logistics partners, SIF established a robust network to handle the then emerging oxygen cylinders and concentrators crisis. Along with corporates like Amazon and DonateKart and development organisations such as RSV  and UNICEF, SIF received immense support from hundreds of individuals, and NGOs.

  1. Covid Surge Impact Alliance (CSIA): SIF set up a 24*7 Personalised Patient Request Management System to ensure that patients or their attendants receive quick, efficient and personalised service – saving them the trouble of wading through the clutter of unreliable information that was surfacing at the time. In little over a month, CSIA built up an inventory of 2,672 resources and tackled 5,040 requirements on behalf of 4,414 patients from 115 districts in 19 states.
  2. COVID Command and Control Centre: A testimony to CSIA’s efficiency was that the Government of Telangana replicated the model in its COVID Command Control Centre. To do this, Surge Impact played a critical role through the T-SIG project.
  3. Oxygen Plants: SIF facilitated the setting up of an Oxygen Plant in Chityala, Jayashankar Bhupalpally district in collaboration with AssoCham and Bhupalpally District Hospital. Surge Impact also supported in establishing and operating an Oxygen Centre in Jeedimetla, Hyderabad, with 600 Oxygen Cylinders and 200 Oxygen Concentrators.
  4. Isolation Centres: SIF facilitated dialogue and coordination between different organisations to set up Project Ashray, a COVID isolation facility and directed patients here. SIF also helped in setting up 3 isolation centres – a 50 bed centre in Golconda, a 25 bed centre in Malakpet and a 50 bed centre in Musheerabad, providing end to end support for more than a month.
  5. Medical Equipment: SIF coordinated the distribution of 250 Oxygen concentrators and 30 BiPap units from Amazon and more than 50 oxygen concentrators through the DonateKart platform in the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Surge Impact also coordinated with donors for distributing Medical Supplies to Asha Workers at Khammam, Suryapet, Adilabad, Bhupalapally, and Sirpur Kagaznagar districts. In addition to these activities, SIF supported TSRTC Hospital in Tarnaka in establishing a Covid Care Centre by providing about 40 beds, stretchers, wheelchairs and other necessary infrastructure.
  6. Safety Essentials: Safety essentials such as surgical masks, N95 masks, hand wash, sanitisers, surgical aprons, surgical gloves, head caps, PPE kits, pulse oximeters and thermometers were donated to beneficiaries. Some of the beneficiaries included Asifabad District’s tribal community and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives and Primary Healthcare Centres in Mancherial District.
  7. In-Kind Donations: Ready-to-eat meal packets and grocery kits were distributed in collaboration with Kriya Sangh Society and Yuvatha NGO. Through T-SIG, immunity boosters were donated to beneficiaries in Nirmal District and police officers of Cyberabad and Rachakonda precincts. SIF also arranged supplementary food and energy drinks for healthcare workers in King Koti Hospital for a month and donated essential grocery items to COVID affected families in Leprosy Colony, Secunderabad.
  8. Monetary Support: Donation requests for patients were verified and matched with donors or passed on to the SIF finance team. Three patients were aided with monetary support for medical care. Two patients received one lakh rupees each while the third patient received ten thousand rupees. Two other beneficiaries were provided with rental support of seven thousand rupees each.
  9. Augmentation of Healthcare Infrastructure in Aspirational District: Surge Impact Foundation worked with District Medical and Health Officers in Bhadradri Kothagudem, an Aspirational District in Telangana with a high Scheduled Tribe (ST) population, to augment the response of 29 Primary Health Care centres to a potential COVID Third wave. This project was taken up with support from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL).
  10. Support provided to Sattva: SIF coordinated with Warangal Urban District collector, Mr Rajiv Gandhi Hanumanthu, IAS, and his team for providing assistance to Sattva’s Dignity in Death initiative by arranging volunteers and safety equipment such as masks and PPE kits and by coordinating stakeholder permissions and ambulance support.
  11. Ambulance Support for Gandhi Hospital: T-SIG, through CSR collaboration of Celon Laboratories, supplied Gandhi Hospital, ___ with a Basic Life Support Ambulance to ensure adequate care to patients even in case of critical imaging equipment failure.
  12. Amplifying Needs of Patients and Families in Dire Conditions: SIF used social media, NGOs and personal connections to identify people in need and leveraged its network and connections to advocate for said people. Emergency requirements were flagged on Social Media platforms and the extensive network of SIF and its partners were used to meet patient needs swiftly. SIF also coordinated and worked with the Government for emergency escalation with respect to any critical cases and resource sharing for covid relief.
  13. Medical Advocacy: SIF coordinated with the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governments for mapping channels for medicine routing, assessed the medical needs of Adilabad & Mancherial districts and supported in gathering healthcare infrastructure requirements for the 10 districts of Siddipet, Adilabad, Sangareddy, Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar, Vikarabad, Wanaparthy, Bhongir, Jagityal and Mancherial. SIF also engaged in context setting with District Medical and Health Officers (DMHOs), compiled infrastructure requirements of hospitals and supported the Siddipet Area Hospital by collecting the requirements and connecting them with the donors, The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) member companies.
  14. Vaccination Support: SIF coordinated with Mr Rajender Aluvala, AD, Disability Department, regarding vaccinating disabled people in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts. A vaccination drive was facilitated for the disabled people in Sangareddy district with the support of Sahara Foundation and Round Table India. SIF also advocated for and facilitated the vaccination of 2000+ on-ground volunteers and their immediate families.
  15. Advocacy on Behalf of Women and Children: SIF engaged with the Women Development and Child Welfare Department (WCD) of Telangana and provided external support in various ways. The first was by giving feedback on the checklist for orphans and interventions for them, the second was to discuss probable and required areas of interventions and facilitating connections for the mapping of COVID widows and semi-orphan cases to appropriate institutions. Thirdly, SIF advocated for including all the children under the Arogyasri Scheme, arranging for accommodation in child care institutions.
  16. Support Provided to Ground-Level Volunteers: SIF arranged for passes for volunteers on the ground through coordination with Police Departments of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana.
  17. COVID-19 Warriors Recognition Event: On 8th November, 2021, The ‘T-SIG COVID-19 Warriors Event’ was organised by T-SIG on behalf of the Telangana Government to recognize individuals and organisations who tirelessly worked towards alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Telangana. The exemplary work of 13 Corporates, 25 NGOs, 30 Exceptional Individuals and 7 enablers were acknowledged by Mr. K.T. Rama Rao, Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (ITE&C), Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD) and Industries & Commerce Departments, Mr. Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Principal Secretary of the Information Technology (IT), Industries & Commerce (I&C) Departments and Mr. Sonu Sood, noted philanthropist and actor. In addition to those recognized at the event, 1,100 more institutions and individuals were appreciated through e-certificates for their exceptional efforts in providing relief to those affected.