At a time when the second COVID wave kept most of us indoors, drove up fatalities and the number of people infected like never before, Isha volunteers are braving all odds to offer nutrition, medical equipment, care and support to frontline workers, patients, tribals and other vulnerable communities in various parts of Karnataka .

Caring For COVID Warriors

To boost morale and soothe the hunger pangs of medical teams during their inordinately long hours of work, Isha volunteers in Karnataka are distributing nutritious snacks and beverages to patients, medical fraternity, healthcare teams of government hospitals and COVID Care Centers in Bengaluru, along with other frontline workers who are tirelessly and selflessly caring for COVID patients,

4500 food packets were delivered to the Traffic Management Centre, Bengaluru City Police, for distribution to traffic personnel. Dr BR Ravikanthe Gowda, Addl Commissioner of Police Bengaluru, & Eshwari received them#IshaCovidAction #BeatTheVirus #COID19 #covidaction pic.twitter.com/djO6XJgumq

— Isha Foundation (@ishafoundation) May 19, 2021

Volunteers are offering food packets to 55 major government hospitals in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Mangaluru, Udupi, Chikmagalur, Chikkaballapur and Chamrajnagar districts. Over the last 45 days, volunteers have distributed over 4.46 lakh food packets among doctors, hospitals and police personnel.

In the initial phase, the distribution of food packets was scheduled to continue till 1^st July 2021. However, gauging the urgent need for help and care, Isha volunteers have decided to keep up their efforts to offer food and support to the frontline workers and vulnerable communities well after the lockdown is lifted.

To ensure that more people get quality medical care and treatment, Isha has provided medical equipment and hospital care items including ECG machines, multi-parameter monitors and other medical services equipment to an upcoming hospital in Chikkaballapur.

A hospital was inaugurated in Chikkaballapur district by Dr. K Sudhakar, Health Minister, Government of Karnataka, and the deputy commissioner of the district R Latha. Isha is one of the sponsors of the hospital. #IshaCOVIDaction #BeatTheVirus @mla_sudhakar pic.twitter.com/zBa86lW0d5

— Isha Outreach (@Isha_Outreach) June 14, 2021

Ration Kits Distributed in Villages

The pandemic has also dealt a heavy blow to the rural economy. People in the villages of Karnataka are struggling to make ends meet since livelihood options have dwindled in the COVID era. To help the rural populace tide over this period of uncertainty and paucity of resources, Isha volunteers last week, while adhering to all safety and social distancing norms, traveled to remote villages and distributed ration kits among 685 nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes in Chikkaballapur and neighboring taluks.

The kits containing essential food items were given to the tribal community members in the presence of Dr. K Sudhakar, Health Minister of Karnataka, the Deputy Commissioner of Chikkaballapur, R Latha, and other government officials. Isha aims to distribute 1600 ration kits to the people staying in villages of the Chikkaballapur district.

To help rural people during COVID, Isha has begun distributing ration kits in 12 villages and among 550 nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes of the Chikkaballapur district. The distribution drive was flagged off by @mla_sudhakar, Health Minister, Govt of Karnataka.#IshaCovidAction pic.twitter.com/XUhnkDp4UI

— Isha Outreach (@Isha_Outreach) June 8, 2021

Online Assistance

Going beyond physical assistance, Isha is also supporting government hospitals and civic bodies in reaching out to patients and their family members to help deal with the pandemic crisis. Since the last month, more than 250 doctors who are volunteering with Isha have been coordinating with the BBMP and the State Health Department to provide online assistance to COVID patients and their families.