Community Service

December 2021 Fundraiser: Virtual Toy Drive for Boston Children's Hospital

ICON is thrilled to have partnered with the UIANE for the Boston Children's Hospital Virtual Toy Drive during the month of December 2021. Our community was successful in raising $1,350 for this effort. Thank you to all those that contributed and shared about this important cause!

Letter to ICON Community from Dr. Kiran Martin of Asha

Dear Indian Community of Needham,

 
The pandemic and its horrific effects began in India in March 2020, and here we are today, 18 months later, having fought valiantly to save lives and to stand with the poor during the worst crisis of their lives. You have been loyal and true to our friendship and to our shared vision. Your love for the poor is pure, and you have stood with them steadfastly and unswervingly over these 18 months. What a wonderful way to live. 

I can tell countless stories of lives saved and lives changed. 39 year old Phool Kumari, whose husband left her, was struggling to take care of her three young children on her own. She was working as a maid, and the moment the second wave began, she was told her services were no longer required. Asha came to her aid with funds and groceries at a time when she was distraught and penniless. She then got Covid, and became very ill. The Asha Health Team stepped in, and began treatment immediately. However her condition worsened, and there were no hospital beds available. Asha changed the course of treatment, gave her oxygen, and monitored her rigorously at home many times a day and through the night. It took her three weeks to recover. Asha’s treatment, financial aid, and groceries continued. She is now well, and grateful to Asha from her heart. Where would she have gone without your support? I don’t think she would have made it. 

Phool Kumari receiving parcel from Asha warrior 

Pooja, a 24 year old mother of a daughter, was married at the age of 19 to a man who was short tempered and violent, and often beat her mercilessly for no reason. She was living in Kashmir with him. After the birth of her daughter, she was found to have Juvenile Diabetes, and was started on Insulin. Her husband continued his cruelty, and made her work and cook for him all day, leaving her completely exhausted. Suddenly there was a lockdown due to the pandemic, and her husband lost his job as a shop assistant. Food became scarce at home, and his beating and abusing became worse. Pooja became weak and sick, and began to lose weight rapidly. Her husband and mother in law said to her she was lying because she wanted to avoid her daily chores. When her sister realised how sick she was, she brought her back to her maternal home in an Asha community. The Asha Health Team immediately took charge. On investigating her, not only was she found to have Covid, but also pulmonary and abdominal Tuberculosis. She was put on oxygen straightaway, and we began treatment at her home since hospitals refused admission because they had no oxygen. Through the sheer dedication of the Asha doctor, nurses and warriors, she began to improve at home. After some time, she was admitted at the TB hospital through Asha’s networks. She was discharged after 3 weeks, in a much better condition. The road to full recovery is a long one. You saved her life. 

25 year old Savita lives in a tiny, damp, one room shanty behind a smelly public toilet block in an Asha slum community. She was diagnosed with Diabetes in her village during her second pregnancy, and her son was still born. Savita became pregnant again during the lockdown due to Covid. Her husband immediately lost his job. So no money, and a pregnancy with nowhere to go for the delivery. The couple were desperately worried and feared for their unborn child. Asha immediately rushed to the family’s aid by providing food parcels and prenatal checks. We then gave her insulin to bring her Diabetes under control. She went into labour when Covid was at its peak and the hospitals were in a state of complete chaos. She was able to get her baby delivered somehow at a public hospital, and was discharged within a few hours. Asha took care of her and her baby boy for many weeks while she was at home during her postnatal period. We continue to give her financial aid and food parcels to this day. You not only saved her life, but the life of her new born baby. 

17 year old Sunny grew up in a shanty the size of a small bathroom, by the railway tracks in an Asha slum community. Foul smelling air, the constant noise of trains passing by, a leaking roof, this was the life he and his family lived. When he was 12, his shanty caught fire and was burned down. The family was homeless and slept along the railway tracks for many days. They were once thrown out of their shanty by the authorities. Sunny met the Asha family shortly thereafter, and felt he had finally found the place where he wanted to be. He went to Delhi University through Asha. The Covid pandemic hit when he was in his second year of university. Colleges closed overnight, and teaching suddenly went online. Sunny did not have a smart phone and faced great challenges. Asha opened an IT Lab with high speed internet in his community, and everything changed after that. He now had a wonderful place to study, as well as help younger students.

Sunny enlisted himself as soon as Asha gave a call for Corona Warriors. He exhibited exemplary bravery, never once hesitating to go into the homes of Covid patients and provide them care under the direction of the health team. He sat by the bedside of patients, nursing them, monitoring them, and went to every home in his community sharing key messages on Covid. He got numerous residents vaccinated, took care of the elderly, and tirelessly gave out grocery bags to each family. His father had lost his job as a driver during the pandemic, and while he was himself one of our finest warriors, he and his family had no food and no money. He kept quiet about his troubles, never saying a thing and never asking for money. Asha found out about his situation, and immediately helped him with finances and food parcels. His financial difficulties continue, but Asha will stand with him, giving him all the help he needs, for as long as he needs it. 300 young people from the slums like Sunny have been enlisted as Asha Corona Warriors. They overcame their fear and moved forward, standing tall and strong, and risking their lives to save the lives of others in the slums. How would we have ever formed and trained a team of warriors without your generosity? 

So thank you for staying committed and faithful to the poor under our care through these 18 months. Although the number of Covid cases have come down in Delhi, there is no work for thousands of people. There is nowhere they can go for health care. Some are seriously ill or suffering from debilitating chronic ailments. Asha continues to provide them with finances, grocery parcels, and health care for the vast majority of patients. The pandemic has taken its toll on women and children, leaving thousands malnourished for want of enough food with essential nutrients. Girls don’t have enough money to buy menstrual hygiene products. Students don’t have money for data on their phones. Asha is the only caregiver for hundreds of elderly folks. 

How wonderful it is that we are in this together, and that we can fully trust you to be filled with love and compassion, for that is in your very nature. May we continue save lives, and to bring hope, Asha, to each one under our care. They need us now more than ever. 

Here is the country wise donation information. Please feel free to share this mail with your family, friends and other networks who might be interested. 

Great Britain: https://asha-india.org/get-involved/donate/great-britain-donations/
 Ireland: https://asha-india.org/get-involved/donate/ireland-donations/
 Australia: http://www.australianfriendsofashaslums.org.au/donation/
 USA: http://www.asha-usa.org/donate.html
 India: https://asha-india.org/product/india-donation/

 
With much appreciation for all that you have done and are continuing to do. 

Kiran Martin 

Dr. Kiran Martin
Padma Shri
Founder & Director
Asha Community Health & Development Society
Ekta Vihar, R.K. Puram, Sector 6, New Delhi - 110022, India
Phone: +911126716409
Website: www.asha-india.org 

Blog: drkiranmartin.wordpress.com 
Twitter: twitter.com/DrKiranAsha 
Facebook: facebook.com/ashasociety