Unsung Heroes in India Group salutes you Biro Bala Rabha

 

Unsung Heroes in India Group salutes you Biro Bala Rabha for demolishing witch hunting practices in her area…..

Witch hunting is a social stigma in tribal North East India. If a child has ongoing health issues, many vulnerable mothers are accused of witchcraft, tortured and publicly humiliated. Not many women live to take a stand; between 150 to 200 women are condemned to death in a gruesome manner every year. Hailing from Golpara, a small village in Assam, Biro Bala Rabha is the exceptional crusader defending innocent women against this ill-fated superstition. Many years ago, a village doctor declared that her mentally ill son as possessed by evil and Biro was branded a witch. Concerned for her son, Biro went to see a doctor versed in modern medicine. As a result, the village turned against Biro Bala torturing her before forcing her to leave the village. A victim of this superstition, Biro now works with incredible determination to eradicate witchcraft from people’s mind through logic, sharing knowledge and and promoting education. Biro’s commitment to the cause and fearlessness are her most powerful weapons. She successfully enables other women in similar predicaments to fight this stigma and lead a normal life.

Operating with support from the Assam Mahila Samata Samily, Biro travels between villages, holding public meetings to convince communities to take collective decisions against the barbaric practice. Some cases of witchcraft, a result of land feuds, alcoholism, etc. have been settled in court. However, Biro’s hardest struggle is convincing the innocent women that they are not witches at all. With support from local police and district administration, she keeps track of witchcraft cases and works tirelessly to rehabilitate the victims.

 

Great job of Headmaster

Headmaster of Puchla street Primary school in Koraput visiting house to house, shop to shop searching for any new child who might have been left out from being enrolled in the school. It was nice to see her commitment to serve the cause even when others enjoyed holidays by staying back at home.

Salute....

कार मकैनिक ने जीवन भर की कमाई से गरीबों के लिए हॉस्पिटल बनाया

एक शख्स ने जीरो से शुरुआत कर जीवन भर जी-तोड़ मेहनत करके खुद अपनी हस्ती बनाई और जब समाज को देने की बारी आई, तो वह जरा भी नहीं हिचकिचाया है। मामला है गुजरात का, जहां पर एक अनपढ़ कार मकैनिक ने अपने जीवन भर की कमाई से अपनी पुश्तैनी जमीन पर गरीबों के लिए हॉस्पिटल बना दिया। हॉस्पिटल भी ऐसा, जहां पर इलाज कराने के लिए मरीजों को उतना ही पैसा देना होगा, जितना उनका सामर्थ्य है।

अहमदाबाद के बाहरी इलाके में साणंद के पास तेलाव गांव में 'आदर्श हॉस्पिटल' नाम से हॉस्पिटल बनाने वाले मोमीन हुसैन ने 20 साल की उम्र में परिवार का पेट पालने के लिए गांव छोड़ दिया था। कुछ हफ्तों तक इधर-उधर काम की तलाश में भटकने के बाद गांधीनगर में उन्होंने गाड़ियों की रिपेयरिंग का काम सीखना शुरू कर दिया। 15 साल तक वहीं काम करने के बाद उन्होंने गांव लौटने का फैसला किया। जेब में 7 लाख रुपये लेकर वह गांव लौटे और यहीं पर रिपेयरिंग वर्क शुरू कर दिया। काम जम भी गया, लेकिन उनके सिर पर अपने गांव में एक हॉस्पिटल खोलने की धुन सवार थी।

मोमीन के पास कुछ पैसे थे और पुश्तैनी जमीन का एक टुकड़ा। यह प्लॉट प्राइम लोकेशन पर था और उन्हें खरीददारों से 10 करोड़ रुपये तक मिल रहे थे। वह चाहते तो आराम से इस जमीन को बेचकर आराम की जिंदगी जीते, लेकिन उन्होंने जमीन नहीं बेची। करीब 2 साल पहले 1200 स्कवॉयर यार्ड की इस जमीन पर उन्होंने हॉस्पिटल तैयार कर दिया। इसके बाद उन्होंने अहमदाबाद के जाने-माने ऑर्थोपेडिक सर्जन कार्तिक शुक्ला से मुलाकात की। डॉक्टर शुक्ला ने हॉस्पिटल में सेवाएं देने के लिए हामी भर दी और सेटअप करने में मोमीन की मदद भी की। उनके साथ कुछ और डॉक्टर्स की टीम भी बिना शर्त हॉस्पिटल में सेवाएं देने के लिए तैयार हो गई। अभी एक दर्जन से ज्यादा अलग-अलग स्पेशैलिटी वाले डॉक्टर्स इस हॉस्पिटल के साथ जुड़े हैं।

शुरुआत में मोमीन नहीं चाहते थे कि इलाज के बदले मरीजों से पैसा लिया जाए, लेकिन बाद में हॉस्पिटल चलाने का खर्च निकालने के लिए यह नियम बनाया गया कि मरीज जितने पैसे देने की हैसियत रखता है, अपने मन से वह उतनी ही फीस देगा। इंग्लिश अखबार 'डेली मेल' की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक हॉस्पिटल के हेड डॉक्टर कार्तिक शुक्ला ने बताया, 'पैसों की वजह से अक्सर गांव के लोग इलाज कराने से कतराते हैं, जिससे छोटी-छोटी बीमारियां बड़ा रूप ले लेती हैं। बाद में इससे खर्च भी ज्यादा होता है और केस भी कॉम्प्लिकेटेड हो जाता है। मगर हमारे हॉस्पिटल में पैसों की वजह से मरीजों का इलाज नहीं रुकेगा। वे अपनी हैसियत के हिसाब से पेमेंट कर सकते हैं।'

http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/other-cities/ahmedabad/illiterate-mechanic-builds-a-hospital-from-his-life-savings/articleshow/20523458.cms

Kedar Indurkar - Victory on Ability

Henry David Thoreau once said, “Men are born to succeed, not fail.” And with display of courage, strength, patience, and controlled aggression, an individual can create wonders by emerging victorious against all odds. One such example of human valor is Pune-based 33-year old Kedar Indurkar. Lack of education, facilities and necessary support for children with cerebral palsy did not prove to be a hindrance for Kedar, who bagged the National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. He was felicitated by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment with the additional national award in the self employed-cerebral palsy category in Delhi on the World Disability Day on December 3.

Kedar has typed and translated twelve books in three languages into Braille. His works are proving extremely beneficial and are adding to the knowledge and education of the visually impaired in institutes in Karnataka and Maharashtra. The translated works include eight books of a noted writer and social worker, Sudha Murthy, and few other books in Hindi and Marathi.

Kedar won this award for translating his interests in computers into an avenue for earning with his hard work and determination. Kedar’s journey with computers began when his father Vasant Indurkar, a chartered accountant, and mother, Dr Suhasini Indurkar, a pathology professor, introduced him to the computers when he was a child. “He was always very good in languages and we decided to concentrate on improving his mental and thinking capacities. He has passed the 10th std exam quite satisfactorily,” said his father.

Kedar, pretty early in life, got hitched to the computers and after learning typing, he typed out his mother’s pathology notes. For typing he uses only three fingers of his right hand.

“I was reading Sudha Murthy’s – Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s wife – book ‘Wise and otherwise’ and thought that Kedar could translate it into Braille. So we decided to contact her, and after hearing our idea, she readily agreed,” said Suhasini Indurkar.

This was way back in the year 2006 and since then using different software, Kedar has translated into English Braille, eight of Murthy’s books and he also went ahead to learn Devnagari script to translate two Hindi and Marathi books, respectively into Braille as well.

“I don’t usually like reading for I tend to forget what I read, but I do like working on the computer a lot,” said Kedar. The translated books have been given to various blind schools in Pune.

“We are extremely proud of Kedar. He has tried his level best to learn what was taught to him and the exposure he got did help him a lot. Still, commuting is one of the major problems he faces in this country. The disabled are not integrated into the mainstream here and the attitude of people is also a bit prejudiced. Furthermore, there are no ramps in our buildings and buses or care provided for them unlike what we experienced during a visit to the United States,” said Vasant Indurkar.

Kedar has made friends all across the globe through social networking sites. When he is not working on the computer he is busy watching cricket or a movie. He loves non-vegetarian food and he was very impressed with the facilities available for the handicapped in the US, which he experienced during his family tour and wishes that it happens in India too. His favorite cricket player is Rahul Dravid, whom he has met in person.

http://abilitytowin.blogspot.in/2011/08/kedar-indurkar.html