BELLEVUE, Wash. — With the COVID-19 crisis in India continuing, those with loved ones continue to do what they can to offer support.
Fundraisers, donation drives, and other unique ways of reaching out are becoming common among the large Indian community in western Washington.
Durga Nair created a website last year with basic information about COVID-19. Recently, the 16-year-old high school junior focused on helping low-income students in India tackle remote learning.
“We raised enough money to support 16 students there," Nair said.
As the death toll in that country climbs, she’s added to it again to try and help connect resources.
“Getting information on who needs help - and where and what - and trying to put that into a database so we can see what needs to go where,” she said.
Her grandparents live in India and she said they spend their days in virtual isolation.
“I’m just trying to help in whatever way I can,” she said.
Meanwhile, the owners of Bellevue’s Roll Pod restaurant are donating 5% of the money they earn to help.
“We have a lot of common friends and we are hearing about one serious patient or somebody has died,” owner Parimal Kumar and his wife Anu Singh explained.
It has been a tough year in the restaurant industry and the couple has seen a huge drop in business, but they’re determined to help as much as they can.
“So we are doing whatever we can do. You know, this is pretty small, but we'll keep on doing it every week - however much we can - even in these tough times,” Kumar said.