Kameshwari

Despite the various awareness initiatives taken by the Government and various NGOs...

Despite the various awareness initiatives taken by the Government and various NGOs, many children in our nation are affected with polio becoming physically challenged for the rest of their lives. In spite of the free supply of polio drops, some children are not taken to the centers and have to face the future limping or crawling. It was this very carelessness that affected Kameshwari from Kurnool district. When she was a little girl, one day she had high temperature and her legs got twisted. She was taken to the doctor, and was diagnosed with polio. It seems as if she was sick for a while but a delay in treatment led to such an irreversible turn in her life. “Those days no one was accepting polio drops, they were scared for some ill informed reason. When people came to give polio drops in my village, my parents hid me from them. Thus I was not given the drops and now I suffer with polio” said Kameshwari recollecting those moments which resulted in her present state.

All these twenty years, Venkata Lakshmi, her mother carried her to the school and college for her education; it was only because of her mother’s love and dedication that Kameshwari is now a graduate. She owes her success to her mother and said “Without my mother’s dedication towards me, I would have not reached so far. It obviously was very difficult for her but……”. (Kameshwari’s eyes were filled with tears thinking of those hard times and she couldn’t continue). Her mother took the initiative at this point and said, “It’s really painful to see her this way. I have to carry her everywhere and as long as we are alive, we shall take care of her. All we hope is that she gets a good job and settles well in life”.

Now that she has graduated, she says that her aim is “To become a bank manager and start a trust to help many physically challenged people like me. I want to facilitate free education for them.” With her focus on her vision, Kameshwari attends coaching classes for the bank exams. Even for these her mother has to carry her. Seeing the trouble her mother takes towards supporting her, Kameshwari wished for a wheel chair so that her mobility would not be a burden for her mother. But, that is something they could not afford. Her father works as a barber earning very little, it is barely enough to run the house and support her education.

 
But something good was on the way into her life. Kameshwari did not know that her wish was soon to be a reality. One day she received a phone call from one of the Operation Blessing India’s partner and a community leader Mr. Daniel inviting her to a camp in Kurnool where she would be receiving a wheel chair. Excitement filled the mother and daughter on hearing this news and they eagerly awaited the camp date.

The day finally arrived and her wait ended when she received the wheel chair. Dr.Rajesh, Director, and Operation Blessing India gifted her, the much needed wheelchair and showed her how to use the wheel. He wheeled her in and around the camp.

Kameshwari was all excited to receive the free wheel chair and was filled with gratitude to OBI and said, “I thank OBI for giving me this wheel chair. Now my mother will be relieved of carrying me. I can go to my coaching classes on my own, I’m really happy and thank you so much.”

Probably people who do not need a wheelchair might not fully understand her joy, but the smile on her face is proof of how much she needed this.