Feeling the Pain, and Celebrating Happiness too
My dear friends,
This being my first mail to you in the new year, let me wish you a beautiful year ahead in which you find a lot of happiness and fulfilment at the service of others.
For BRIDGE the year began on a sad note. We have been helping a family who had been in dire straits following the accident of their breadwinner some years ago. The family of six including four children (two girls and two boys) had been surviving on what their mother earned working as a maid. The family had been counting on their eldest daughter who had completed her BSc nursing course in Mumbai and had just started to work in a Mumbai hospital. As fate would have it, a few months into her job she was diagnosed with leukemia. Friends, neighbours and BRIDGE chipped in to fund her treatment. She had showed signs of improvement. A very lively girl, she was the life of the ward even when she was admitted in the hospital during which time she spent more time with other fellow cancer patients giving them hope and encouragement. In about a year she was cured, or so everyone thought. She was fine for a few months and had resumed her duties. But just three months ago, there was a relapse and this time it was lymphoma and the doctors said that she would not survive unless a bone marrow transplant, coupled with chemotherapy and radiation, was done, the cost of which would run into around Rs 49 lakh. The once lively and exuberant girl soon fell into depression realising that her family can never raise that kind of funds. But not wanting to give up without a try, friends started a campaign on Ketto a month ago. I was on this case talking to many of my friends and batchmates while appealing to several groups recommending her case. I didn’t want such a positive and lively girl to give up on life without a fight. Many of course obliged and almost Rs 7 lakh was raised in a short span kindling hope of meeting our target. Fate willed it otherwise. Two weeks ago on 31st January, she developed a fever and the next day she lost the battle and left for the painless world leaving us all in a state of shock and sorrow.
As life is a mixture of sorrows and joys, we have had our share of happiness too. You will remember the struggle of a widowed lady and her little daughter on the BRIDGE’s Livelihood rolls to get the death certificate of her husband and how finally she met with success thanks to a benevolent govt officer. She had been constructing a house for herself and her daughter with the help of Panchayat and of course BRIDGE. Finally, the house was completed and they moved into their little abode on 30th January. Having been with this family for the past two years offering them psychological and financial support, BRIDGE can feel proud of the fact that we have been a major reason for the smile on the faces of the lady and her daughter. Thank you friends for your relentless support.
Another widow and her two children from Bajagoli (Dakshina Karnataka) have also moved into their new home two months ago. Even though they have a big loan to pay off, I am not worried as both the children have started to work. BRIDGE had been financing their studies until they secured jobs. Both children, a boy and a girl, are engineers working for Infosys and Wipro.
Another family whose breadwinner was paralysed following a fall from a truck had been on our Livelihood support. The eldest girl of that family has cleared her German language exams and is preparing to go to Germany to pursue her nursing studies.
One of our BRIDGE families has started a small tailoring boutique and is doing quite well. The family had been on BRIDGE Livelihood support for the past 5 years ever since it had lost its breadwinner. Since the lady of the house has started to earn for the family, we have withdrawn our financial aid. That’s yet another happy family BRIDGE has created.
Anila, a girl of 18, from Thiruvananthapuram, has been going through a tough time along with her mother after their father deserted them. She was pursuing a lab technician course which she could not complete for want of money even to meet the bus fare. This was when her teacher contacted me through a common friend and explained the situation. I spoke to the family, and we have accepted them on our rolls and she has now resumed her studies.
Yet another family that is struggling to survive is from Chalakudy. The husband of the lady committed suicide some eight months ago leaving her with a 3-year-old son and a seven-month-old daughter. She had to leave her husband’s home following harassment by her husband’s family. We are still in discussion with the family to demand her rights with the help of police and local Panchayat officials. We suspect it’s not going to be an easy journey.
Friends, just to share a thought with you, having been involved with BRIDGE for the past over seven years, I have found myself in many depressing situations. Living in our comfort zones, little do we realise the existence of another world, a world of abject misery, trauma, emotional stress and cul-de-sac. The kind of problems people face are often unthinkable for us. An amount of Rs 5,000 may be the expense of our weekend dinner, but that could be the lifeline for a family for a full month. It is in this context that I want to thank and salute our steadfast BRIDGE supporters for deciding to keep aside a portion of your earnings and make a positive difference in the society. God bless you all!
Take care
Shibu
A BRIDGE Over Troubled Waters
The Anchor for the Anchorless
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