8. We are all in this together Mr. Gidoomal, CBE Page

Ram Gidoomal CBE *

[An earlier version of this article was published in Christian Manager magazine, Chennai, India, in its June-July 2022 issue.]

My wife Sunita and I were sitting in our living room on a typical Saturday morning in late April last year. All that week, the news broadcasts had been highlighting the Covid crisis in India with harrowing scenes of funeral pyres being put up in open spaces across towns all over India, and those suffering from breathing difficulties queuing up at petrol stations to access oxygen.

My phone rang and it was Mr. Shankar Ramachandran, the Senior Administrative Officer of Kachhwa Christian Hospital in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He was desperate since the UP Government had mandated that his hospital would need to provide at least 10 hospital beds for Covid patients.

Panicking, he said, “But we have no oxygen machines! Covid patients are turning up at our hospital door and literally dying in front of us. It is distressing to see this but there is very little we can do. HELP!”

My wife and I were, of course, very upset to hear such distressing news.

He had done his research and asked whether we had £20,000 (around Rs.20 lakhs) that could be allocated towards an oxygen generating machine. I knew there would be a flurry of orders for these machines from hospitals across India, given the crisis. So, we agreed to help. In faith, he placed an order for one machine believing that God would make sure the funds were available.

Thirty-four years earlier (i.e., in 1987), I had been on a visit to India that I remembered. It was a 10-day business trip seeking prawn suppliers for the factories our family business had acquired in Scotland. At the end of the trip, I had requested a group of church workers, introduced to me by my friend Dr. Raju Abraham in London and his brother Mr. Viju Abraham in Bombay, to show me the work being done among the disadvantaged, and they took me to Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum.

What I saw there shook me to the core and challenged me with one simple question: “What is my responsibility as a follower of Jesus and as a business leader to such scenes of deprivation and poverty?

The story of Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis in the Bible is a great lesson in accountable leadership. God asks Cain a simple question: ‘Where is your brother Abel?”. Cain’s response was: “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”. Reflecting on this challenge, I came to the conclusion: Yes of course! And not only me, but we all are in this together. Each and every one of us has a responsibility.

I was so overwhelmed by what I saw in Dharavi that, on returning to the UK, I resigned from my executive responsibilities as the CEO of the UK Group I was running, a business that employed several thousand people worldwide turning over US$200 million. I had to do something to make a difference.

Following a meeting with a young Baptist Minister, Rev. Steve Chalke (also introduced to me by Dr. Raju Abraham), I was able to respond. My business skills came in handy as I used the franchising principles, I had learned by which I had grown one business to multiple businesses with the same brand. Rev. Steve was running a successful ‘Eat Less, Pay More’ restaurant in the UK. I thought, “Why can’t we replicate that successful idea by franchising the idea to other youth groups? If a brand like MacDonalds can do this, then why not our youth groups?”. So, we set up The Christmas Cracker Trust, a charity that, over a 7-year period, mobilised 50,000 teenagers across the United Kingdom to raise nearly £5 million (Rs.50 crores) to help those in need across the globe.

That was then. Many other adventures had followed. But, now in 2021, with the rapid spread of Covid and the growing distress across India, we did not have the luxury of time. The need was now. It was immediate and it was urgent.

My wife and I had to take a quick decision. What could we do to help? What is our accountability before God for the resources He has entrusted us with? Our resources included trusted relationships with donors and supporters that have been built up over the years. We both simultaneously had the same idea and together we said to one another: “If we do an appeal to all our supporters on the South Asian Concern database, I am sure they will respond! Surely, we are all in this together.”.

It was now Saturday afternoon and, amazingly, I was called by a Christian Radio Station, Premier Radio, for an interview to comment about the Covid crisis in India. I took the opportunity and briefly mentioned our appeal for an oxygen generating machine for Kachhwa. Premier Christian Radio put out a news release of my broadcast on their website right after the interview: Christians urged to pray for ‘a spirit of generosity for governments’ as India’s Covid crisis deepens.

I spoke to my colleague Mr. Robin Thomson and sent him as much information as I could with a request for his help to draft an appeal to our supporters as a matter of urgency. Mr. Robin responded with a draft Press Release based on the interview I had done with Premier Radio

almost immediately, even though it was a Saturday. Not only Mr. Robin, but also Ms. Celia Avinash, our Mission Coordinator, also made herself available on her day off. By midnight that day, she had emailed the Press Release to all our supporters. The following was the press release that was sent:

“As India battles a resurgent coronavirus, with a desperate shortage of hospital beds and oxygen, a small rural hospital in north India is appealing for help to buy an oxygen generating machine.

“Kachhwa Christian Hospital, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, has just been appointed a Covid hospital, as the officially designated hospitals have been overwhelmed. Facing an acute shortage of oxygen, they have applied to purchase an oxygen generating machine that will save lives.

“Mr. Shankar Ramachandran, the Senior Administrator, writes: “We are now officially a Covid hospital providing a minimum of 10 beds. We have had meetings with district administration. We have an acute shortage of oxygen. Last night we ran out of oxygen. By the grace of God, two patients managed to get a cylinder through their contacts from four hours away. We have again sent our vehicles with cylinders this morning. Yesterday, we had the first Covid related death. She was critically ill and came with an oxygen saturation of 20%. The hospital has applied for an oxygen generating machine. They are locally available, costing Rs. 20,00,000 (£20,000).

“KCH is one of many small hospitals now drawn in by the government as the country’s health system is on a meltdown. People are dying in ambulances because hospitals have to turn them away”, says Dr. Ram Gidoomal, chairman of South Asian Concern, one of the charities supporting the hospital’s work.

“These hospitals have been serving their communities, especially the poor and neglected, for many years. Now they face this frightening new challenge with no oxygen. Shankar’s wife has Covid and his children have tested positive. But he has left home during this period to lead the response. We believe the oxygen generating machine will make a significant difference and save lives”.

The following morning, in church, several members who are supporters of our ministry, told me how moved they were by reading the press release. They too had been watching the terrible news about the Covid crisis in India. They were struggling to know how best to respond to the crisis that was filling our Radio, TV and social media. They were relieved that they could provide their support through a trusted channel where they knew the gifts they sent would go directly to where the need was and would get there promptly. Many responded and the leadership of the church also committed to give a generous amount. It was unbelievable and so heart-warming to see how generously and promptly they responded. When we checked the bank account on Monday evening, we could not believe the pace at which funds were flowing into the account. We knew that we would most probably hit the target of Rs.20 lakhs that very day!

I called Mr. Shankar and gave him the exciting news and asked, “How many machines do you really need to help support the number of Covid patients who may need care?” He started by saying two. We discussed the matter further and eventually agreed that three machines would be a dream come true as that would help them take proper and timely care of the Covid cases expected to come through the doors of the hospital.

I also committed to give any further funds that might come, in excess of the Rs.60 lakhs needed for the three machines, to neighbouring hospitals who were part of the Emmanuel Hospital Association network. Finally, we raised nearly Rs.230 lakhs and this was more than enough for what Shankar had requested with the surplus helping other neighbouring hospitals and beyond

What lesson did I learn from the experience of responding to the Covid crisis? I learnt that no crisis is too big. Seeing on TV and social media the reports about the enormous needs and suffering of so many people right across India could easily have made me think “What can I do to make a difference? The challenge is too much!”. But I have learned from my earlier experience of responding to the needs in Dharavi and now during the Covid crisis in India, that our God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Eph 3:20). Each of us can take initiatives according our gifts, abilities and calling. Because we are in this together.

*Ram Gidoomal is the Chairman of Cotton Connect Ltd. and of South Asian Concern, and a Vice President of the International Advisory Council of the Institute of Business Ethics. He was a candidate in the London Mayoral elections in 2000 and in 2004. Author of several books, including Sari n Chips, The British and how to deal with them - Doing Business with Britain’s Ethnic Communities and How Would Jesus Vote? His memoir ‘My Silk Road – The Adventures and Struggles of a British Asian Refugee’ is launched by Pippa Rann Books & Media in August 2022 to coincide with the 75 years celebrations of Indian Independence.