RIVERSIDE WINS INTERNATIONAL SISTER CITY AWARD FOR HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS
International Relations Council of Riverside coordinated the
2021 COVID donations to India
Sister City International, the non-profit which coordinates Sister City activities in over 140 countries, announced that Riverside has been awarded the 2022 Humanitarian Award for its efforts to bring help to its Sister City of Hyderabad, India during last summer’s COVID outbreak. That outbreak, which at its worst resulted in 50,000 people dying from COVID weekly, spurred Dr. Vien Doan, local physician and IRC (International Relations Council) member to action.
“I saw what’s happening with COVID-19 in India with people dying in the streets and my heart broke for them,” said Dr. Vien Doan. “Is our Sister City doing anything to help? How can I participate? What was happening there was worse than the tsunami.”
Dr. Doan was referring to a previous 2011 humanitarian effort by the IRC which raised over $500,000 in funds to help Riverside’s oldest Sister City of Sendai, Japan after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that killed over 20,000 people in that region. Dr. Doan is currently the chair of the Can Tho, Vietnam Committee for the IRC, but recognized that humanitarian assistance is not specific to a particular Sister City, and that our connection to all our Sister Cities is important.
Rallying a team of Riverside residents, physicians and IRC members, Dr. Doan set about to raise funds to pay for both PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and oxygen concentrators. The goal was to help in saving as many lives as they were able to with limited funds. In the end, over $65,000 was raised by the community at large for the purposes of helping Hyderabad, India. Local pharmacies and Riverside Community Hospital also donated in-kind items estimated to be worth another $30-$50,000.
Working with Dr. Larry Linamen of California Baptist University and the Healing Train Foundation in Hyderabad, India, the biggest obstacle for Dr. Doan and his volunteers was the exporting of the donations to India. Weeks of negotiations about unspecified tariffs and shipping delays occurred. In the end, the Office of the Mayor in Hyderabad and the Healing Train Foundation received the donations and distributed them equitably to Hyderabad hospitals.
“It is incredible to see the IRC being recognized for this Humanitarian Award,” said Bob McKenzie, President of the IRC. “The City of Riverside is over 325,000 people which is considered a “large city” by Sister City International. It is humbling to have been awarded this honor as were competing against other large metropolitan cities. This is a significant reflection of the Riverside community and its willingness to assist others in time of need and with leadership from the City of Riverside, Dr. Vien Doan and the IRC.”
