Health & Wellness
First-aid kits for families who have never owned one
Prayagh Prabhakar founded AccessAid in Cypress, TX, after his grandfather died with no emergency supplies nearby, and it has since collected 20,000 first aid supplies and distributed 14,300 of them in Houston and internationally.
20,000 first aid supplies collected, and 14,300 of them distributed to underserved populations in Houston and internationally. Those are the current numbers for AccessAid, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Prayagh Prabhakar started in 2026, which has raised $3,500 and partnered with 9 organizations to expand the reach of its resources.
He founded it in Cypress, TX, after losing his grandfather to cardiac death in India. "He had no emergency supplies nearby," he says. "A $2 kit might have changed things. That stayed with me."
“I hope to keep expanding this organization and maximize the impact we can have on the world by giving access to basic healthcare supplies to as many people as possible.”
Prayagh Prabhakar
The early count, since the start of 2026, was over 2,000 first-aid kits collected for underserved families in the greater Houston area, 500 of them distributed across two community events in June, over $3,000 raised in community donations, and 8,500 masks from a corporate partner. AccessAid works with Cy-Fair Helping Hands and CyHope locally, and ships internationally through Medical Bridges to communities in 90+ countries.
The most recent run was the fall distribution with Project C.U.R.E. in September, which sent over 300 first aid kits and 5,000 medical masks to countries including Bolivia and Venezuela. More are booked, among them distributions with Sander’s Hand and the Texas-Oklahoma Key Club.
Prayagh is founder and president, and two friends run the other halves of it: Rishit Shinkar as director of finance and Samarth Muralidhara as director of technology. Prayagh is a student at Bridgeland High School.
The loss of his grandfather, he says, "made me realize that no family anywhere should face an emergency without the tools to respond". Every kit contains 42 pieces of basic wound care supplies.
A fall drive is planned for October 2026. Across its upcoming events, he says, the target is 150 families, families in Houston "who have never owned one".