PUNJAB: Words have the strength to transform people, with the richness of heart that can oxygenate our inertia into action. What else can you see when you are let inside the Hall of Kindness? It has clothes, toys, furniture and home appliances – all donated for the needy, gratis. Shed a bit of the weight of your being, you would find a lot more to admire in this part of Punjab, in Hoshiarpur – 'the land of saints'.
Hoshiarpur’s Red Cross Society has come a long way in the last six years – ever since it rediscovered the meaning of the sense of giving. Like, this 85-year-old UK-based NRI, Pyare Lal Saini, would tell you, if he could. He has so far donated around Rs 1.70 crore to the society. The Society runs around 15 projects; the latest is the Hall of Kindness. Naresh Kumar Gupta, Divisional Soil Conservation Officer (DSCO), has agreed to run the society voluntarily.
"I had no experience in managing such work. I had my office work to do, but then I looked at it as a challenge. So, in 2014, my first assignment was to straighten out the society’s fund management," recalls Gupta.
To begin with, all payments - rent of shops and buildings, fees received from students of the vocational training centre and donations from public and membership fees - were directly deposited into the society’s account to ensure every paisa is accounted for.
The next year Gupta started the Red Cross Poor Patients Fund. "We were ready to bear half the cost for the poor patients who had kidney ailments and needed dialysis. We looked for private hospitals who would offer the rest of the cost. So far 62 patients have got free dialysis services," says Gupta. The Society then set up Red Cross Funds for Deformity Correction for poor patients.
"Three years back, we started Red Cross Funds for Poor but Meritorious Students. So far the fees of 200 such students have been paid. Besides financial help, the toppers in medical and engineering streams and those from Class X and XII are given a merit certificate, a medallion and an autobiography of a successful person. These awards are started by citizens in the memory of their near and dear ones in collaboration with the Society," says Gupta.
In 2017, the Society had its first air-conditioned Sanjhi Rasoi for the poor and needy. Gupta also saw the real spirit behind celebrations. "Anyone wanting to celebrate one’s birthday, marriage anniversary or any other memorable day with us can donate Rs 5,000. This has worked wonders – we have a rush of bookings," says Gupta.
Daily wager Jamna Dass has words of gratitude. "Luckily, we found this Society. I have been getting free dialysis treatment for my 22-year-old daughter for the last two-and-a-half years," he says.