PPE from Munster nursing homes donated to India to fight Covid-19
His Excellency Mr Sandeep Kumar, Indian Ambassador to Ireland with Laura Power, centre, representing the Hope Foundation, and Sandra Farrell, right, a nursing home operator from Co Tipperary who co-ordinated the delivery of donated PPE to the Hope Foundation, at Dublin Airport Monday. Picture: Moya Nolan
Almost 50 tonnes of PPE donated mostly by Munster nursing homes is being sent to India with Cork charity Hope Foundation to use in the fight against Covid-19.
The nursing-home community rallied around when the manager of a Co Tipperary home called for help, just as Irish homes were helped at the start of the pandemic here.
The Hope Foundation's chief fundraising and communications executive Charlotte Nagle said medical experts in India are predicting a third wave of infections from late August.
The foundation cares for people in their own small private hospital and a step-down facility in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, she said.
That PPE will be distributed not just to our hospital, but any healthcare providers throughout West Bengal who are in need of it, and that will be done by our logistics manager Gora Das on the ground,” said Ms Nagle.
This means the PPE can be delivered directly to sites that are most in need, she said.
Manager of Patterson’s Nursing Home in Tipperary, Sandra Farrell, said this project is about paying forward the kindness done to local homes last year.
As the pandemic hit Ireland, donations of over €100,000 worth of PPE arrived in Tipperary from Taiwan, thanks to a friend of Ms Farrell’s who works in healthcare there.
“Fast forward to the middle of May when I saw on TV what was happening in India," she said. "The only thing I could think of to help was to send PPE to protect them.
“I knew that the nursing homes had surplus PPE here around the country.
Volunteer bikers from the Brave Tango Charlie group, in a reversal of their work delivering PPE to Irish nursing homes a year ago, travelled to collect donations for India.
Tipperary companies including Banaghans & Co assisted in storing and transporting the massive haul to Dublin.
Monday saw the final shipment leaving Dublin Airport.
International shipping costs were sponsored by Qatar Airways. Ms Farrell was put in touch with the airline by Kapil Jain and she said Jenkinson's Logistics Dublin was a great support. The embassy of India in Dublin supported the project, particularly ambassador Sandeep Kumar.
Mr Kumar said the project is "reflective of the quintessential generosity of the Irish spirit". He praised the volunteer work, saying people understand that no one is safe until everyone is safe.
"I want to extend my heartiest gratitude to every one of you for making a difference to the lives of people on the ground in India," he said.
Ms Farrell said: “I’d say at least 30 to 40 nursing homes in the country donated. A lot in Tipperary, a lot in Cork and Limerick also, and in Dublin; predominantly the Munster homes supported this initiative.”
Donations came from homes with a surplus of PPE, and Ms Farrell said this is a huge change from 2020 when even 50 gowns were “like gold dust” in Ireland.
Ms Farrell also fundraised €30,000, and any money not used for local delivery costs will be given to the Hope Foundation for Covid-related aid work.
The foundation distributes food to thousands of labourers who usually get paid per day of work, but now due to the Covid-lockdowns have no income at all. There are no social welfare payments.
They also work with people affected by Cyclone Yaas, which left about 150,000 homeless in the region last month.
In May, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid gave funding of €120,000 to the Hope Foundation for its work.
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