PUDUCHERRY: Joseph found the good samaritan in him on seeing the plight of an aged blind person one day. The elderly man was weak and fell on the road when Joseph found him. The next day onwards, he dedicated a portion of his time to help the poor and downtrodden. Joseph also allocated a part of his earnings to spend on various social causes.
45-year-old Joseph is a differently-abled person from Ariyankuppam in Puducherry. He is affected by a kind of dwarfism. His condition never stopped him from leaning forward to help those in need. Recently, he was seen spraying mosquito repellent in his neighbourhood here.
"Through news, I came to know about the spread of dengue and people dying as a result. So, I decided to spread awareness about it and also planned to spray mosquito repellent in the neighbourhood. I rented a sprayer and bought mosquito repellent. Till Sunday, I have covered Sakthi Nagar near Saram. Since I have to spend Rs 600 a day on the sprayer and mosquito repellent, I am not able to do the job daily as my meagre income is restricting me," he says.
Joseph says he was the fifth among nine children of his parents. He was stopped from schooling when he was in class IX he then joined a shop making rubber stamps and worked there till 2011. That year, with the help of his friend Kannan, Joseph set up his own stop at Saram. Now, he does printing, book binding works and makes rubber stamps in his shop.
He is not charging poor students for binding works. He has also made it a habit to wear a self-designed badge with captions on awareness.
Joseph recalled the incident of an aged blind man falling on the road. After finding that the man was hungry, Joseph got him food. “The next day onwards, I made it a habit to visit and donate clothes and food for differently-abled struggling. Once I was earning Rs 5,000-8,000 a month. Now, I’m not. I will do my best to serve the poor whenever I make good money.”
Joseph carried out a door-to-door campaigning to create awareness on the importance of voting during Nellithope by-election on 2016, parliamentary elections and Kamarajar Nagar assembly by-election this year.
He also conducted a free health camp for poor with the support of a dentist and is now planning to conduct a free eye care camp.
The man says a company has offered to make a special bike for him. “I will save money to buy it and will help differently-abled and aged persons by taking them with me. My wish is to help people in need till my last breath.”