Community Organizations Help Houstonians Recover from Deep Freeze
From left — Raghav (Silver Heart Care volunteer coordinator), ICC Director Hemant Kumar, TX State Rep Gene Wu, ICC President Jasmeeta Singh, ICC Trustee Manisha Gandhi, ABC channel13 Miya Shay and ICC Director Dr. KD Upadhyay.
Houston: Several South Asian community organizations gathered their resources to help the needy of Houston to survive the challenges of the Texas deep freeze last week. Among these organizations included India Culture Center, Sewa International and Dawoody Bohra Community of Houston.
India Culture Center addressed the need to help Seniors by providing about 400 hot lunches from two local Indo-American restaurants and distributed among the neediest people at Bellerive Senior Apartments, Lafayette Plaza Apartment Senior living, and at a local school where ICC leaders and volunteer members joined the local State Representative Honorable Gene Wu along with channel ABC 13 reporter Miya Shay, who lead this initiative to ensure that any and all who needed food got served which was sponsored by ICC. ICC President Jasmeeta Singh said, “We were glad to be part of this big initiative in a small way. ICC is playing a meaningful role in the local community.”
Sewa International, which had already mobilized to help the commnity to meet the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, quickly rose to help with problems arising from the frigid weather. Sewa created an area-specific list of plumbers to fix burst pipes. Volunteers were able to fix 13+ homes on at least temporary basis.
In other specific instances, Sewa volunteers helped a young couple in west Houston with loss of electric power. The woman was 8-months pregnant.
A lady from Phoenix asked for assisstance with her senior parents who had no electric power or water. Sewa arranged for the seniors to stay with another family, which had the necessary utilities. Temporary accommodations were found for several other families.
Sewa also assisted a 90-year-old couple. The husband was on oxygen support with his life in danger without power and oxygen cannisters. Sewa also set up food and water distribution sites.
Consul General Aseem Mahajan joined Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in food distribution drives organized by the Dawoodi Bohra community of Houston. Many Indian-Americans in the Houston area helped each other and their neighbors in coping with the challenges of frigid weather.
ICC President Jasmeeta Singh (second from left) with teenage Silver Heart Care voluntters at a local senior facility.
CG Aseem Mahajan speaking at the food distribution event organized by the Dawoodi Bohra community. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee also spoke (right).