Singapore Universities’ Mission Oxygen (#SUMO), a combined effort by Indian-origin alumni of National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) has raised over USD 128,000 to support COVID relief efforts in India.
SUMO’s goal is to raise USD 150,000 for funding the delivery of 200 oxygen concentrators to organisations in India via Milaap, a charity founded by NUS alum Anoj Viswanathan.
"I am humbled to see the community galvanize around #SUMO. Thank you to every one of the 678 contributors. We are also indebted to Ekta Gandhi, founder of Four Leaves Digital, for designing such an impactful campaign pro-bono," Rahul Singh, an NTU alumnus who kick-started the initiative, said.
One in four reported deaths due to COVID in the world is from India and there have been at least 21,077,400 confirmed cases. Hospital beds and oxygen are in short supply as a consequence of this deadly surge in cases, resulting in people dying in ambulances and car parks and leaving morgues and crematoriums overflowing.
#SUMO’s team is supporting Community Empowerment Lab (CEL), a not-for-profit organisation helping COVID patients in rural Uttar Pradesh (India) and Mercy Mission, a consortium of 20+ not-for-profit organisations aiding needy COVID-19 patients in Bangalore.
"We took on-ground feedback, consulted doctors on technical specifications and spoke with over 40 suppliers to procure and ship the oxygen concentrators. We had overwhelming support from our network and friends to make this happen at speed," Ishita Dhamani, who is leveraging her supply chain and health experience to send oxygen concentrators to India, said.
CEL is led by Aarti Kumar, an NTU alumna and Dr Vishwajeet, a John Hopkins-educated doctor and is a winner of the 2014 Gates Foundation award. #SUMO aims to send 100 oxygen concentrators to CEL to help needy COVID patients in Uttar Pradesh.
"It is overwhelming to see the support and help that has poured in - from donations to procurement and logistics. CEL is working round the clock to provide timely help to COVID-19 patients in underserved areas, and these oxygen concentrators will go a long way," Aarti Kumar, NTU alumna and CEL lead, said.
Bangalore’s Mercy Mission helps the homeless and needy with trained paramedics and volunteers that support COVID patients with medical attention, oxygen, and ambulances. #SUMO aims to send them 100 oxygen concentrators as well.
Other notable initiatives led by Indians in Singapore include Prantik Mazumdar and Dr Dipti Kamath’s dollar-to-dollar matching fundraiser for India that has raised SGD 216, 326, and TiE Singapore’s upcoming digital Bollywood fundraising event with a goal to raise USD 1 Million with a matching donor. This event, to be held on Sunday, May 9 and organised by Lara Dutta, will have Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar, Anil Kapoor, and many other notable Indian celebrities as guests.
