Manitoba organizations joining forces to send medical supplies to India

Volunteers with International Hope Canada prepare hospital beds on May 19, 2021, to be loaded into a shipping container that will be sent to India to help in the fight against COVID-19. (Source: Kevin Stewart)

WINNIPEG — Multiple Manitoba organizations are teaming up to help support India in its battle against COVID-19 by sending medical supplies.

On Wednesday, The Shola Agboola Goodwill Ambassador Foundation, along with the Indian Association of Manitoba and International Hope Canada, joined forces to help fill a shipping container full of medical supplies.

Kevin Stewart, the president of International Hope Canada, said the groups are sending a variety of supplies.

"The personal care home in Altona had a number of beds for the patients that no longer meet the Canadian standards, and so they were replacing them," he said. "These beds that they had were going to go to scrap metal."

Instead of being turned into scrap, Stewart said International Hope asked if they could take the 49 beds so they could be sent to India.

Along with the beds and mattresses for the beds, the shipping container is being loaded with 2,500 medical isolation gowns, bandages, surgical equipment, infant incubators, nursery bassinets, medical scissors, urinary supplies, suture material, and other supplies.

Stewart says it is important to provide support to India, which has been struggling with COVID-19.

"We had someone (come to us) a few years ago and was looking for hospital beds. We had mattresses here that we would consider garbage here. They were more than happy to accept them. The reason they were happy to accept those mattresses from us was because currently, the patients were sleeping on the floors in the hospital and at night, the snakes would crawl over top of them."

He said any bit of supplies they can send to India helps those who are struggling right now.

All of the supplies will be going to two different hospitals and the shipping container will be sent to India on Friday.

Stewart said this will be the 103rd container that is being shipped overseas to help less fortunate countries since 1997.