Even to those endowed with normal vision, the humanitarian service rendered by a 48-year-old man employed as Class IV employee at the Thodupuzha Taluk office could well be an eye-opener.
Bijumon suffers from partial visual impairment, but this has hardly affected his social commitment. A section of people who frequently turn up at the Taluk office, an hour before the lunch recess and after the office hours, not for official purposes but in search of Bijumon, testifies to this.
Now, one might wonder what his USP is.
Bijumon provides a helping hand to families whose breadwinner or member is afflicted with cancer.
Winner of the Union Government’s Award for the most efficient employee in low-vision category, besides the numerous good service entries and the best employee award of the state government, he gives financial assistance to needy patients every month.
The money needed for this is mobilised from his personal savings and with the help of aid from donors. Currently, 2,000 cancer patients across the state are benefitting from the actions of this kind-hearted man who stays with his family at Kudayathoor village in Thodupuzha.
Bijumon first embarked on this noble mission while working at the Land Assignment office in arimannoor in 2004. As someone who had lost his older sister and her teenaged son to blood cancer, he was moved by the plight of cancer patients unable to find money for treatment“The fact that I couldn’t provide good treatment for cancer to my widowed sister and her son on account of my poor economic condition had always been at the back of my mind,” said Bijumon, who had two other sisters to take care of.
Initially, he started pooling money from his own monthly savings and the amount he got from the government as cash award for outstanding service to help cancer patients. Later, several donors, including the Kuwait-based ‘Santhwanam’ Charitable Trust, extended their support.“The donors credit the amount directly to the accounts of patients and I merely function as an intermediary. Even if the donors are irregular, I manage to help those who approach me,” he said.