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In January, 2020, right before COVID-19 began sweeping across the globe, Tara Paradie, PT, MS, assistant director of Clinical Education in the Department of Physical Therapy, took her daughter Emma, a research assistant at the Ohio State University, and three students to India for 10 days.

“We stayed on the campus of Christian Medical College in the City of Vellore and interacted with many medical students from around the world,” Paradie explained. “Our students were able to work with physical therapists in various settings. In addition to the medical and physical therapy aspect of the trip, they experienced tremendous cultural components as well.”

After returning to the United States and with COVID-19 beginning to spread, Emma Paradie reached out to a former community partner in India to see how she was faring. Pratibha Milton is the director of Community Health and Development at the Baptist Christian Hospital. The stories she relayed about what was happening in her country were heartbreaking.

Families caring for loved ones stricken by the pandemic were locked down in hospitals with little food or hygiene supports.

“It is hard to explain to those living in the United States how healthcare and environments are different in India than here,” commented Anna Prokity, DPT, ’20, one of the students who traveled to India. “Hospital floors have only holes in walls that lead to the outside. They have only ceiling fans to circulate air. There was only 3 to 4 feet between each hospital bed and a lack of proper personal protective equipment and isolation rooms.”

When the lockdown ended, there were 30,000 cases where the primary breadwinner had died from COVID-19, leaving families destitute.

“The men are the only people who really make the money and bring in the resources, so those families were not able to afford food or anything really,” said Emma Paradie.

Paradie knew she had to do something to help.

“I was devastated when I learned it was starting to get bad, but I knew it would only continue to get worse,” she said.

Paradie went to work and began recruiting the �Թϱ��� students with whom she traveled to India.

“I created a fundraiser, posting it on Facebook and Instagram,” she stated. “I provided information about the situation in India and asked people to send donations.”

“Emma really headed this effort and was able to make arrangements withMilton to find the best way to distribute the funds,” Prokity said. “From there, it was using the power of social media to reach out to those around us to spread the word.”

The group raised more than $3,000 in just three days. The money was enough to help feed 37 families. Ever since Milton allocated the funds, letters from grateful families have been pouring In to Emma and the �Թϱ��� students.

This fall, the effort to help families in India will continue. Doctor of Physical Therapy students taking a Global Health course will take part in projects that will produce deliverables, including small-group efforts, directed by students, to aid those in India.

“Once we experienced India in person, we had a better understanding of how far the US dollar can go,” Prokity stated. “So, it was a no brainer to make the decision to help any way we could.”