KOCHI: To have a house of his own had been a lifelong dream for Raveendran Gopalan. Life, however, had other plans for him. After contracting a disease due to which his legs had to be amputated, Raveendran, who lives at Mampuzha in Kanjiramattom, was forced to abandon the construction of his dream house midway.
He also lost his ability to earn a living for himself, which in turn led to him incurring a lot of financial liabilities, so much that he was even unable to pay for his medical expenses. It was Raju Kuruvinnimyalil, Raveendran’s neighbour, who first took notice of his plight. “He was crawling on the rough floor of his house,” Raju said.
A benevolent friend, Raju then decided to seek help for Raveendran from some of his friends in the US. “I told my friends about his situation. They assured me that they will help. Thus, members of the Kerala Samajam in South Florida, along with other well-to-do Malayalis in the US, came together to contribute a sizeable amount to help Raveendran complete the construction of his house,” he said.
The key to his new house was handed over to Raveendran on Tuesday by Fr Davis Chiramel, chairman, Kidney Federation of India. Speaking on the occasion, Fr Chiramel said people would achieve real happiness when they work to make other people’s lives better. “There will always be people who criticise those doing good deeds. But it is important to ignore them and move forward. Being humane is an act of love, regardless of who we are,” said Fr Chiramel.