Rescue home scouts for its heroes
Home for destitutes is looking to expand to care for 500 more.People who are treated here are either sent back to their families or sent to the shelter run by the same foundation.
BENGALURU: When families give up on a person and abandon him or her, everything seems lost and there is very little hope for new beginnings. In a silent corner near Bannerghatta village stands a hospital set in an acre, only for the destitute.
Ashoka, a 20-year-old, was found lying wounded in Hosur Road two years ago and he was unable to tell people what the matter was or how he ended there on the road. Looking at his infected right foot infested with mites, it was evident that he needed immediate medical attention. The Ashok Nagar police called a helpline number 97395 44444 and he was admitted to the RVM hospital.He was named Ashok, because he was found in Ashok Nagar.
Second chance after recovery
Bannerghatta Village
Ashok was found to be mute and partly deaf. Two years down, he is able to understand five languages namely Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telegu and English. When he recovered he was moved to a shelter-home, a branch of the hospital, which caters to the destitute who do not have anywhere to go to after regaining their health.
Ashok is back at the hospital because he is losing his eyesight. He has been diagnosed with cataract. Ashoka, however, is still the first man to run and collect a destitute person from RVM’s ambulance, sometimes carrying them in with bare arms.
The person who rides the 108 vehicle is Murthy, a 45-year old, who was abandoned by his family because of his alcohol addiction. As of today he earns Rs 15,000 per month and stays a mile away from liquor. “I am a changed man, a happy man,” is all he says. It took him only 15 days to recover from years of addiction.
Helping others helps Lokesh
Lokesh, a man in his 30s was brought to the hospital by his family when he was diagnosed with psychosis. At the hospital he was prescribed anti-depression drugs. “Activity is necessary for the mentally challenged,” says Sulakshana, who heads the hospital. “If they only eat and sleep, it only worsens their condition.” Once Lokesh got in different activities including bathing patients and taking care of others, he has made a faster recovery. Would he like to go home? And he emphatically says ‘no’. He says he feels good being at the hospital and taking care of the patients. “Ashok is my best friend,” Lokesh says.
The security guard who mans the gate was once a TB patient who has now recovered. The patients treated at the hospital either get reunited with their families or head to shelter homes or is given an employment. The destitute earn a minimum of Rs 9,000 working in-house.
“The hospital has been silently operating for 18 years, but very few know about it,” says Nanda Chandrika, co-chief of fund-raising department of the RVM Hospital. The fund raising department was recently opened because the hospital is planning on expanding. “We need to build a third floor so that 500 more destitutes can be cared for,” says Sulakshana. “We need donation, more in kind than in money,” adds Nanda.