Six student societies from Oxford and Cambridge launched a joint fundraiser on Saturday (01/05) aiming to raise £50,000 for Covid relief in India.

Three Oxford societies - the Oxford India Society, Oxford Hindu Society and Oxford South Asian Society - started an initial fundraiser on Wednesday (28/04) to raise £10,000 in 10 days. When this target was met in under 72 hours, the Oxford societies partnered with the Cambridge University India Society, Cambridge South Asia Forum, and the Cambridge University Bharatiya Society to create the current campaign.

Anvee Bhutani, President of the Oxford India Society, said in a press release: “It feels surreal to have raised the full amount so quickly and I am very excited about our collaboration.”

India is experiencing the world’s fastest growing Covid-19 outbreak, registering over 300,000 new cases and 3,000 deaths a day over the past week, and over 20 million infections in total.

The £10,000 already donated has been donated to four non-governmental organisations working in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bengaluru, and Delhi, and the campaign plans to donate to more organisations as further funds are raised.

Arastu Sharma, President of the Cambridge University Bharatiya Society said: “Smaller organisations and volunteers in the rural parts of India are struggling for resources as they see the state healthcare system collapse around them. We at the Cambridge University Bharatiya Society can’t stress enough about the importance of this fundraiser that will help contribute to alleviate this issue.”