A month back, I visited a few rural areas near Kolar to identify suitable candidates for a certain project involving distribution of LED lamps and batteries for those who are wheel-chair bound. The concept, developed by Mr. R.S. Kalawar, an 83 year old retired railwayman, was intended to help out those people who used to be bread-winners, but a spinal cord injury has left them unable to do even the most basic work.We took the help of the Association for the Physically Disabled (APD) located in Banaswadi, Bangalore for shortlisting and identifying people who would suit our criteria.
I set off early one morning with another volunteer and Mr. Palasami from APD and visited 4 people, 2 from Hoskote and 2 others from Bangapete and KGF (Kolar). All of them were aged between 22 to 35 years, and were perfectly normal until an accident caused a severe spinal cord injury. I was really surprised to learn from APD that only about 10% of Spinal cord injuries are due to specific diseases, and the remaining 90% of these injuries are caused by entirely preventable accidents such as falling off coconut trees, or falling off a roof top, and in one case, poor management of the patient after an accident thanks to the mob who gathered to help!
Most of those I met and some others I spoke with later on were all identified by APD when they made rural visits. Before APD came along, these people were entirely bed-ridden, most often their bodies covered with bed sores and they had completely lost all hope in life. They never imagined that life could ever go back to normal, or that they could ever be independent again. Must say, APD does amazing work in rehabilitating people with Spinal Cord injuries in just about 3-4 months, by the end of which the same bed-ridden person is completely independent thanks to his wheel chair, walker and lessons learnt at APD. Many of them cook their own food, take bath themselves, even travel from place to place all by themselves.
Most of the people I met were trying to get over the fact that they are no longer as they used to be, and were very emotional about how their life turned around after the accident. One person, however, was different. Henry.
Henry, unlike the others, came in the 10% bracket where he suffered from TB of the spine when he was in std 8. Since then, he was bed-ridden for 6 painful years, before APD found him. After rehab, at the age of 20, he got back to his schooling, completed it, applied for PUC and also applied for ITI training. His college is located 8 kms away, but that is not a big problem for Henry, as he covers that distance every day on his wheel chair! Henry also travels to Bangalore whenever he needs to visit APD. He does this without any assistance, by a train, and even by a bus if needed. He frequently acts as a communication channel between the local villagers and the Panchyat. People go to Henry for any problem, and he always finds ways to help them. When we proposed the idea of the LED lamp to him, his first question was "Can I give you names of some more people like me who could benefit from this? There are 35 others like me in this village."
Henry lives in a small little house, given by the government, with his mother and younger brother. Earlier, he used to rent out bicycles to children, and earn a decent amount from that. Then along came a Chief Minister and distributed free bicycles for all, leaving Henry with hardly any clients. His tiny house is full of interesting things - 3 piggy banks, each saving money for a different purpose, some mobile phones which he sells and others which he repairs, some "inventions" he keeps trying out. When I asked Henry, what do you want to do in life, his immediate answer was "I want to do something that will be of help to others"
Was he always like this? In his own words "No, I was never like this. The problems I've been through have given me a new courage, and a new way of looking at life. My old friends and those who knew me before my injury are surprised at the change."
Henry stood out from the others because he had gone beyond trying to get used to his situation, he had gone way beyond feeling sorry for himself. He confronted his situation, took it head on and decided that the best way to deal with it, is to make something positive out of it.
Hats off to Henry!
I set off early one morning with another volunteer and Mr. Palasami from APD and visited 4 people, 2 from Hoskote and 2 others from Bangapete and KGF (Kolar). All of them were aged between 22 to 35 years, and were perfectly normal until an accident caused a severe spinal cord injury. I was really surprised to learn from APD that only about 10% of Spinal cord injuries are due to specific diseases, and the remaining 90% of these injuries are caused by entirely preventable accidents such as falling off coconut trees, or falling off a roof top, and in one case, poor management of the patient after an accident thanks to the mob who gathered to help!
Most of those I met and some others I spoke with later on were all identified by APD when they made rural visits. Before APD came along, these people were entirely bed-ridden, most often their bodies covered with bed sores and they had completely lost all hope in life. They never imagined that life could ever go back to normal, or that they could ever be independent again. Must say, APD does amazing work in rehabilitating people with Spinal Cord injuries in just about 3-4 months, by the end of which the same bed-ridden person is completely independent thanks to his wheel chair, walker and lessons learnt at APD. Many of them cook their own food, take bath themselves, even travel from place to place all by themselves.
Most of the people I met were trying to get over the fact that they are no longer as they used to be, and were very emotional about how their life turned around after the accident. One person, however, was different. Henry.
Henry, unlike the others, came in the 10% bracket where he suffered from TB of the spine when he was in std 8. Since then, he was bed-ridden for 6 painful years, before APD found him. After rehab, at the age of 20, he got back to his schooling, completed it, applied for PUC and also applied for ITI training. His college is located 8 kms away, but that is not a big problem for Henry, as he covers that distance every day on his wheel chair! Henry also travels to Bangalore whenever he needs to visit APD. He does this without any assistance, by a train, and even by a bus if needed. He frequently acts as a communication channel between the local villagers and the Panchyat. People go to Henry for any problem, and he always finds ways to help them. When we proposed the idea of the LED lamp to him, his first question was "Can I give you names of some more people like me who could benefit from this? There are 35 others like me in this village."
Henry lives in a small little house, given by the government, with his mother and younger brother. Earlier, he used to rent out bicycles to children, and earn a decent amount from that. Then along came a Chief Minister and distributed free bicycles for all, leaving Henry with hardly any clients. His tiny house is full of interesting things - 3 piggy banks, each saving money for a different purpose, some mobile phones which he sells and others which he repairs, some "inventions" he keeps trying out. When I asked Henry, what do you want to do in life, his immediate answer was "I want to do something that will be of help to others"
Was he always like this? In his own words "No, I was never like this. The problems I've been through have given me a new courage, and a new way of looking at life. My old friends and those who knew me before my injury are surprised at the change."
Henry stood out from the others because he had gone beyond trying to get used to his situation, he had gone way beyond feeling sorry for himself. He confronted his situation, took it head on and decided that the best way to deal with it, is to make something positive out of it.
Hats off to Henry!
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