Wular Foundation provides medical support, PPE Kits, daily meals to COVID19 patients

Malik Nisar

Sopore: While the coronavirus has indiscriminately wreaked havoc across the globe, it has also paralysed already tottering the health system. In Kashmir, the COVID19 outbreak is believed to have caused a huge dent in the already sinking economy due to continuous lockdowns from the last few years.

Over the years, local charities in Kashmir have played a key role in helping the needy by providing meals, medical assistance, and other key services to low-income groups. Started by some local residents, Wular Foundation is one such organisation operating from apple town Sopore. Over the last 40 days of the lockdown in Kashmir, Wular Foundation is providing meals to COVID19 patients in SDH Sopore, besides its regular charity work. The organization is feeding 124 families for the last 5 years.

“We are operating for the last 5 years, but most of our members want to remain low key. After the outbreak of the second wave of COVID19 we started to provide meals to the coronavirus patients in SDH Sopore due to which our organisation was noticed by the public,” said Shanawaz Nabi Marazi, general secretary of the Wular Foundation. “Initially, we had identified 87 needy families and provided them food items on monthly basis.  Now, we are feeding 124 families on monthly basis, we do it just for the sake of Allah, on a humanitarian basis.”

Since the consecutive lockdowns affected the livelihood of a huge number of people on one side and on the other side there was a surge in daily cases of COVID19 cases. The death and the discrimination faced by the people who were suspected to have the virus added to their struggle. It was only due to the public support that needy people could get some support to sustain themselves and their families. With this spirit, Wular Foundation provides daily 150 meals to COVID19 affected people and their attendants.

“People from the marginalised sections and far-flung areas face immense hardships in difficult situations like the current pandemic. A similar situation we witnessed at the SDH Sopore. It would be very difficult for the people, who would come for the treatment from various far-off areas, to arrange food and other basic needs during the lockdown in the town,” said chairman Wular Foundation, Khursheed Ahmad. “That is why we decided to help such people, besides supporting the needy families. Now we are also providing medicines, PPE kits, medical equipment and ambulance services to help people come out of this pandemic.”

“The most wonderful thing was how the community around us responded,” said Mehraj-ud-Din Patni, Vice president of the Foundation.  “Initially people would be reluctant to donate to our organisation, but that changed when we started to work in the hospitals and provide the basic aids. People came out to support and the whole thing became a community effort rather than an organisation.”

Wular Foundation is based in Sopore but is now expanding to other parts of the Baramulla district with each passing day volunteers and donors continuously joining hands. The organization acts upon calls they receive on daily basis.

“From last two months we have spent good amount for distributing meals, PPE kits, medical equipment and ambulance services, all this was not possible without the passion, determination and drive of the hundreds of volunteers who came from different corners to lend a hand to the forgotten, the ignored and the marginalized,” said a member of the foundation, Waseem Beigh.

The foundation is now providing free dialysis to patients, as well as, organising blood donation camps and cleanness drive in  Sopore city.  Last month, the Wular Foundation with Dia Foundation arranged money for the surgery of a girl in Khyber Hospital, Srinagar.

“Wular Foundation mostly deals with marginalized people. So, in whatever way we can, we provide help. Last month a girl from Sopore was suffering from chronic heart disease. We tried our best in whatever way we could. However, we need the support of the people so that we can help more and more needy ones,” said Shanawaz.