Sewa International Commended by White House for Vaccination Efforts

An Indian American volunteer with Sewa International helping with Covid-19 relief efforts. (Sewa International photo)

India-West Staff Reporter

President Biden has commended Sewa International for its efforts in “getting out friends, neighbors, and loved ones vaccinated and protected against the deadly coronavirus” in a letter dated Aug. 23, 2021.

According to a press release from Atlanta, Georgia, Biden wrote, “We need your support more than ever,” recognizing that Sewa International volunteers have given their time, energy, and money traveling across the country to help in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s drives to get people vaccinated, as well as helping local authorities – from mayors and state representatives to city council members – in getting senior citizens to signed up to get vaccinated and taking them to medical centers for their vaccinations.

Sewa’s volunteers have included school children and college students, and their efforts in getting people to sign up to get vaccinated is one of the highlights of the work over the past six months this year.

“We owe our gratitude to our volunteers, first. Their dedication to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of people is an indication of their belief that the world is one. In these times of the coronavirus pandemic, we cannot sit back and let only the frontline workers – doctors, nurses, health professionals, the police and emergency medical staff – do all the heavy-lifting. We want to help them, and we want to work with public officials to ensure that our communities are safe,” said Arun Kankani, president of Sewa International.

“Indeed, this commendation from the White House therefore is a recognition of the efforts of our volunteers,” the Indian American leader said.

“As the second, and more dangerous, wave of COVID-19 swept across the U.S., federal and state officials sought help from individuals and organizations to help spread the word about the importance of vaccinations to help safeguard against contracting the virus. It was a call to duty to protect the most vulnerable in our communities against this global pandemic that has challenged us all,” added Kankani.