Bengaluru teens raise Rs 3.3 lakh to buy medical equipment for rural PHCs

Bengaluru teenagers raised Rs 3.3 lakhs to buy medical equipment for primary health care centres in rural areas ahead of the third wave of the pandemic in a donation drive on August 7. Under Project Breathe, started by Bengaluru-based welfare organization Bellandur Jothege, a team of grade 11 students from Indus International School in the city gave COVID-19 Medical Kits to PHCs in Anekal taluk. Oxygen concentrators, oximeters, IR thermometers, PPE kits, N95 masks, oxygen masks and training standees were donated with the money collected. The donation drive saw a collaboration of the students with the founder of Bellandur Jothege Kishori Mudaliar, CEO of Bengaluru Urban Zilla Panchayat Sangappa and delegation from Indus school.

Speaking about project Breathe, Kishori told TNM that the organization wanted to help augment infrastructure in rural PHCs and thus worked towards collating information and understanding the needs of the health care centres. She said, “Bellandur Jothege has been at the forefront to help during the COVID-19 pandemic and we thought of expanding the same in rural areas. We started Project Breathe two months ago and under that, we gave PHCs in rural areas medical equipment to manage pandemics better since we had witnessed the shortage of oxygen, we wanted to prevent that in rural areas.”

Kishori says  Aadiv Reki, who was one of her mentees, extensively helped. “I was mentoring the group for about a month after which Aadiv said that he wanted to lead a team himself. He has been a Bellandur Jothege junior volunteer for four years now; he has always stood in solidarity with his community. It is heartening to see authentic empathy and action from youngsters like him. He and his team have done Bellandur Jothege and his school proud.”

Aadiv Reki who led the students’ team said, “We have witnessed the brutal second wave. Rural populations served by PHCs felt life-saving oxygen was out of reach. After shadowing Bellandur Jothege for a month for their main Project Breathe, I felt confident about undertaking Anekal taluk under Project Breathe-Anekal, to identify rural demand, raise funds, procure material and then donate the kits. Community service is a way of life for me and other Indus peers. We will take this further and try to help out if and when the third wave hits. The objective has been to ensure inclusive oxygen access for all.”