Indian Visitors Stranded By Pandemic Find Ally In India Center Partner

A community thrives off unity.

This is the philosophy lived by Kannan Srinivasan ’96 MS, CEO of Global KTech and an affiliate of the UCF India Center. When the global pandemic left Indian citizens stranded in Florida, Srinivasan did not hesitate to help them return home safely.

“We had multiple organizations and wonderful leaders from the community come together for this,” said Srinivasan. “While I mostly functioned as a coordinator between the people and the leaders, seeing the positive impact on others’ lives firsthand through the work done was very rewarding.”

Close to 100 people around the state of Florida found themselves stranded in the face of the pandemic. In Central Florida alone, twelve Indians were left without food, shelter or a plan to return to India.

“Some were here as students, some as visitors,” said Srinivasan. “When Covid-19 broke out and Central Florida locked down, nobody had any clue what to do or where to go.”

Srinivasan worked diligently in collaboration with the Indian Consulate and other influential leaders in Central Florida’s Indian community to find solutions. Organizations involved in helping out such as the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and Gujarati Samaj of Central Florida coordinated with Srinivasan in supporting those stranded.

All of the dozen stranded visitors have since made it home.

“I am glad to have had the opportunity to help out during these concerning times,” Srinivasan said.