Networking & Planning
One of our volunteers at Aspire n Inspire had met Noori (name changed) at an award ceremony a year back. Noori runs an NGO in Mumbai, which focuses its efforts on assisting cancer patients and their accompanying relatives with any administrative and non-medical issues. Due to her noble cause, she had easy access to some of the key cancer hospitals in the city. Noori must not have been more than 26 years old and had pledged to dedicate her time and effort towards this noble cause.
We expressed our interest in paying a visit to one of the cancer hospitals in her network to interact with the patients. We were keen to understand the challenges in the lives of cancer patients and their immediate families. Noori agreed to take us to the children’s ward of one of the cancer hospitals. We agreed to bring some fruits, chocolates, and snacks for the kids to bring about a small smile on their faces – even if it lasted only for a few minutes.
About 5-6 volunteers from Aspire n Inspire reached the hospital, and Noori’s team of volunteers helped us to gain access to the ward seamlessly, which otherwise would not have been possible. We were super impressed; their work spoke volumes without any further introduction.
Interaction in the Waiting Area
As we assembled in the waiting area, kids who could walk joined us. Some joined us while they were on saline with the moving stand tagging along, some needed assistance to walk, and couple of them joined on their parents’ backs. We were totally moved seeing the conditions of the kids and the sadness on their faces. This was the age when they should have been in open fields – shouting and playing with their friends. Most of the kids were below the age of 14 years, and most of them had come from far-flung places – as far as a remote village in the state of Bihar.
Not only had these families come from far, but they were also very poor with very little resources. They would keep their belongings next to their kid’s bed and sleep on the floor besides them. If there were more than one accompanying parent/relative, the other one would sleep in the open within the hospital campus. The situation was grim.
Nevertheless, we were there to listen to the parents hardship stories and play with the kids for a few hours. At times, all one needed was someone to talk to and vent their feelings. The parents were strong and saw a sign of positivity in getting a chance to access good medical treatment. Some of the family members, who were sole breadwinners, had quit their jobs and were focusing on the treatment of their child. This was the situation for those who could make it this far in Mumbai; I’m sure there are countless others who would have resigned to their fate back in the village.
We played a game of basketball, where the kids sitting on the bench had to throw the ball into a basket. We had set the basket at waist height and kept it a meter’s distance from the kids.
The incentive was they got as many chocolates as times they put the ball into the basket. Each kid got 10 chances. Regardless of their success, they all got ten chocolates each. They all had smiles.
Some wanted to try again and beat their previous score, not out of greed for chocolates. After playing with them for an hour, it was time for them to go to their respective beds for their medication.
We decided to meet some of the kids who could not join us. As we moved around, we talked to the parents and kids and heard their stories. Some of them had come back to the hospital after a gap of a few years due to a relapse of their medical conditions.
We met a family from Bhopal, where they had lost their elder daughter to cancer a few years back, and their second daughter was admitted to the hospital for the same medical condition. It was difficult for me to comprehend the situation of the family. But the kid was super confident that she would recover and wished that she could roam around the world upon recovery. She was undergoing some tests where the hospital needed volunteers to donate blood. The parents had already done so, and they needed additional help. They hardly knew anyone in Mumbai to mobilize resources. One of our volunteers agreed to donate.
Noori and her team are doing a great job. Getting things done in city like Mumbai when one’s resources are thin, requires help and guidance.
We clicked photographs and shared some lighter moments with the kids and their parents. All we had to do was lend our ears and spend some time with them.
It’s on my mind to visit them again sooner rather than later.
If you feel like contributing to such noble causes, you can reach out to Aspire n Inspire. You can contribute by way of money, time or effort.
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Sukumar Jain, a Mumbai-based finance professional with global experience, is also a passionate traveler, wildlife enthusiast, and an aficionado of Indian culture. Alongside his career, which includes diverse roles in international banking and finance, he's working on a wildlife coffee table book and enjoys sculpture and pottery. His interests span reading non-fiction to engaging in social and global networking.
