|
CARE TODAY: LEST WE FORGET
Sharing The Burden
When INDIA TODAY appealed to its readers to help in the
rehabilitation of soldiers disabled in Kargil and several other operations,
we had not imagined the magnitude of the response. The amount collected
by the "Lest We Forget" fund stands at Rs 1,15,00,526. Of this,
Rs 72,22,440 has already been disbursed to the 30 beneficiaries. Details
of how four of them have used the money are given below.
Ex-Naik Dilip Singh, 18 Grenadiers
 |
| Singh at his new house |
It is difficult to imagine that this man has
had to go through so much at such a young age. Dilip Singh was just 21
when he lost his left hand and left eye and broke his jaw during the Kargil
conflict in 1999. His grit won him the Sena Medal. Singh was boarded out
of the army in May 2000.
Though his career came to an abrupt end, Singh
has been successful in rebuilding his life. He has spent Rs 2,27,980 of
a CARE TODAY grant to build a house in his native Garhi village in Sirmour
district of Himachal Pradesh. The brave soldier has got a permanent job
in the sub-divisional magistrate's office in nearby Rajgarh. He plans
to buy some land in the town with the remaining portion of his support
from CARE TODAY. There is more heartening news. Singh, who got married
last year, will soon become a father. It signals a return to normalcy
for him.
Ex-Gunner Praveen Kumar, 224 MED Regiment
 |
| A Shop on a busy street for Kumar |
Fortune favours the brave. When Praveen Kumar,
24, was brought to the Army Hospital after being hit by a Pakistani shell
during Operation Meghdoot in 1999, the doctors had given him up for dead.
He had splinter injuries, one arm was severed, the other arm was paralysed
and both his legs had multiple fractures. But Kumar fought back, battling
for life over the next two years to finally emerge triumphant. He was
boarded out of the army in March 2001.
Kumar is on the long and painful road to recovery
in his village near Jhajjar in Haryana. Initially he was apprehensive
about his future. But he was able to take care of that by using a CARE
TODAY grant of Rs 3 lakh-and some help from his father-to buy a shop in
a prime location in Jhajjar. After he recovers, he plans to start a small
business there.
Ex-Lance Naik Nazeer Ahmed Mir, 17 JAK Rifles
 |
| Mir has a van for transport |
Nazeer Ahmed Mir, 31, suffered spinal injuries
during an encounter with militants in August 1999 and has since been confined
to a wheelchair. He was boarded out of the army in May 2000 and returned
to his village in Pulwama district of Kashmir. Life has been tough for
the father of four. He suffers from high fever due to recurrent infections
in his wounds and he may never be able to use his lower limbs. Travelling
for treatment is a problem.
In November 2000, CARE TODAY granted Rs 60,000
to Mir for building a better toilet in his home. In April this year, it
spent another Rs 2,19,608 to purchase a Maruti van for the disabled soldier.
This will render him mobile again so that he can visit the Military Hospital
in Srinagar for regular treatment and also follow up on his dues from
the army which are yet to be paid to the soldier. Mir and his family are
thrilled to get the van.
Ex-Rifleman Devendra Singh, 14 Garhwal Rifles
 |
| Singh (right) outside the house he bought |
HIS village is a steep 5-km climb from the road
head in Chamoli district of Uttaranchal. Over two hours for a fully fit
person-and near impossible for a person without a leg. For Devendra Singh,
23, who lost his left leg in a mine blast in the Naoshera sector of Jammu
in June 1999, his village, therefore, became a prison. He could not go
anywhere from his village for six months after returning home in May 2000
on being boarded out of the army. Such was the enormity of his immediate
problems that Singh did not even have the time to consider his future.
The support from CARE TODAY came as a shot in
the arm for Singh. He used a CARE TODAY grant of Rs 3 lakh to buy a house
in Dehradun and has relocated there along with his family. He will be
able to get better medical care in the city, perhaps even land a job.
He will then be able to take full control of his life.
|
METRO TODAY
Web
Exclusives