Ozindcare Highlights

Ozindcare committee met on the 6th of May for our monthly meeting. We received several requests, which is not unusual, however, we actioned a record 6 out of the 7 requests which were related severe medical conditions. Team Ozindcare are very meticulous in our selection process, however, we never fail to provide a quick response and helping hand to those in need. Support details as follows : Rishan - Blood Cancer - ₹ 1,00,000 Rajesh - Stroke Patient - ₹ 75,000 Deepa - Blood Cancer - ₹ 75,000 Bijoy John - Stomach Cancer - ₹ 75,000 Gopinath - Tumor in Liver - ₹ 75,000 Ratheesh - Kidney Issue - ₹ 75,000 *Names changed for privacy reasons*

Katha - Chapters of Life, an extravagant dance showcase presented by Nachle Dance School, came to life on April 30th, 2023, at the Riverside Theatres in Parramatta. The event marked a significant milestone as Nachle celebrated its 10th anniversary of bringing Indian culture to the Illawarra and Campbelltown communities. In the spirit of giving back, all profits from the event were donated to projects supported by Ozindcare – Helping the Helpless. The production featured four captivating stories, or "Kathas," portrayed through Indian cinematic, folk, and semi-classical dance performances. Nachle's talented dancers, ranging in age from 3 to 60, brought these stories to life with skilful movements, dazzling costumes, and enchanting music. With over 200 performers, the anniversary show was a remarkable display of the school's dedication to the art of dance. The excitement of the day began early in the afternoon as proud parents and performers arrived at the venue in colorful and dazzling costumes and jewellery.

Unni and Sangeetha are a hardworking couple from Peravur, Kannur, Kerala. They have two children, Appu aged 9 years and Malu aged 8 years. Unfortunately, their lives took a challenging turn when both Appu and Malu were diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at birth. Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture, and it is the most common motor disability in childhood. In addition to their diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy, Appu, who is in the autistic spectrum, is unable to attend a regular school despite several attempts. Malu, however, has better motor skills and is able to pursue her education at a normal school. 

India has the maximum number of recorded cases of Covid infections, second only to US, in the World. The pandemic has had such an adverse effect on its people that what was once considered as ‘normal life’ all over India has been reduced to a distant memory. As in most other countries, the global emergency due to the pandemic has resulted in a complete shift of teaching and learning processes. A number of schools in India have been shut due to the pandemic, and the classes have since then moved to Zoom and such other virtual platforms. This transition from traditional schools to virtual learning has led to unforeseen problems. Particularly in rural India, several teachers and students lacked the basic infrastructure and the means to thrive in a virtual learning environment. In view of this, in June 2021 Ozindcare initiated a ‘Donate for a Smart Phone’ Campaign for the benefit of the underprivileged children, who are unable to attend school as the classes have moved online.

India has a large population of Migrant daily wage workers, who work away from home and generally lead a hand-to-mouth existence. When India witnessed a brutal and incredibly challenging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2021 which cost many more lives and jobs, Ozindcare recognised the plight and needs of the aforementioned segment of people who were quite intensely affected. Due to lock down and with many areas being declared as containment zones, most of these migrant workers had lost their jobs. With only minimal local community support, they have had to go through many hardships during this difficult time. 

Ozindcare successfully completed ‘25 years of exceptional service’ and though we had plans last year to host a major event commemorating this milestone with all our members and supporters, cognizant of the fact that adhering to the public health and pandemic guidelines was much more important than anything else in the COVID-19 situation, we deemed it right to park that aside for the time being.

The appeals that we have seen coming in the recent past have mirrored the need of such vulnerable groups of people. We have with our limited resources been able to support those who have come to us seeking help and thus provide some relief as well. All these gestures, you made possible due to your kindness and support. With the restrictions in-place we cannot organise cultural programs or do massive food sales to generate funds as before and thus now we are solely dependent on well-wishers like you.

We hope each of you are keeping safe and are holding up through the lockdown period and the challenges that it has brought forth into our lives. We are now moving along the phased transitioning phase and so let us also hope, that we will slowly ease back into normalcy in the forthcoming months. Not that long back, we were battling against the catastrophic bushfires and the devastation it caused to people, livestock, wildlife, and nature. And yet again, our morale and resilience is being put to test as we are now up against a Pandemic, working towards curbing the spread of COVID-19, a virus that has threatened our health, life, economic stability and mental well-being. In these unprecedented times, we at Ozindcare remain committed to supporting those in need in any way we can. Bearing in mind the Public health directives, the Emergency Response Plan kick offs, the actions underway and the precautionary guidelines that we all ought to follow, the team at an individual level have been continuing to reach out and supporting people in their vicinity and reach in the best possible ways. Being also mindful of the Australian Government driven timely and well-defined support mechanisms and the provisioning of financial assistance & support payments to aid individuals, households, businesses and most importantly the aged and the elderly, all of which in combination has thankfully provided that much required assurance to many. Whilst that is the case, we are also cognizant of the fact that there may be a few others who aren’t covered under these efforts and so we are continuing to look at avenues to do our bit when it is required as well. To help and to reach out to the wider community space we have extended our support to the Sydney Malayalee Association and will work collaboratively to respond to people’s needs through these difficult times. Apart from the domestic efforts, Ozindcare’s ongoing work to help the less privileged who have reached out requesting support, is continuing as always.

Last few months, we have seen this beautiful country battling against disastrous and unprecedented weather conditions along with the heart-breaking losses of lives, land, livestock & wildlife. In spite of inconsolable human grief, we have seen our people remaining resilient in the face of adversity. Communities across Australia continued to reel under the devastation struck by massive bushfires, sweltering under record temperatures and experiencing severe drought. The scale of crisis that we are looking at, is massive. It is unlike anything we have ever seen before. We have lost many lives, numerous homes have been destroyed leading to mass evacuations and displaced families, millions of hectares of land are completely scorched. The bush, forests and national parks are still burning away, countless animals have perished, many that are injured need adequate care to further survive. The gravity of impact on our wildlife habitat, the flora and fauna and the environment are those that needs to be addressed with utmost seriousness and effective measures and actions going forward.  As a socially conscious and responsible organisation, we at Ozindcare, at this time of crisis are supporting the local communities and this magnificent land through a few selected endeavours.