// Hlafords donates £100,000 to the Hope hospital in Kolkata, India to help fund treatment for Covid patients
// Kolkata is the principal location for Halfords’ outsourced IT services
// The donation will help contribute towards the vital supplies and running costs needed for the hospital crisis
Halfords has donated £100,000 to the Hope hospital in Kolkata to help fund treatment for Covid patients as India continues to battle one of the worst crises amidst the pandemic.
The donation was made as Kolkata is the principal location for Halfords’ outsourced IT services.
There are now approximately 23 million confirmed Covid cases in India with over 250,000 reported deaths, but it is widely suspected that the true figure is much higher.
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India’s health system is being overwhelmed with countless stories of people being turned away from hospitals as a result of the oxygen shortages amid rising numbers of cases.
The Hope Foundation has been working with street and slum children and their communities in Kolkata since 1999, and has since supported up to 2.9 million people living in dire poverty.
The foundation’s small hospital in Kolkata is treating only Covid-19 patients, converting from a single 10-bed Covid ward during the first wave to what is now three wards with 52 beds.
Many of these patients are people from the streets and slums who would otherwise have no access to healthcare.
Halfords’ donation was in response to Hope Foundation’s Emergency Appeal which was launched on April 16.
The cycling retailer said its donation would help contribute towards the vital supplies and running costs needed for the hospital crisis.
“Like many UK organisations, we work closely with India’s talented and dedicated IT community,” Halfords chief information officer Neil Holden said.
“When the extent of the second wave of Covid in India became clear we felt we had to do something to show solidarity.
“We hope this donation will help provide additional care to the people of Kolkata in their hour of need.”
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