A Home By The Rugged Valley

It’s still very vivid, says Kedarnath as he recalls—one day, a man came begging for money on the pretext that his child was sick. Kedarnath didn’t believe him. Obviously the money was for his daily bottle and the child’s illness was the perfect ploy to elicit sympathy, he thought. He scolded the man off. But that quiet voice within prompted him to visit the man’s house. What if his son was really ill...? What he saw there changed his life—there, amid the buffaloes, was a 10-year-old boy, Bittu, lying on the ground frothing. Kedarnath had to do something. Bittu had apparently fallen off a tree some years ago and, ever since, had been beset with problems. His parents sold off their land for his treatment, but doctors were unable to diagnose his ailment.

So Kedarnath arranged for the boy to be brought to Delhi and treated. Bittu and others like him spurred him on to create Adopt. To start with, medical camps were organised in the villages. They approached big Delhi hospitals like AIIMS and Escorts which have community outreach programmes in the rural areas. Specialist doctors were able to identify several serious cases. For instance, some 18 children had heart disorders and required surgery. They were treated in AIIMS or MAX Devki Devi Heart & Vascular Institute or Escorts. Just last month, seven-year-old Sandeep was operated at MAX. His was a case of obstruction to the blood flow to his lungs. Most of these surgeries were done free or at discounted rates. Now, these health camps have become a regular feature.

A field hospital has now been set up at Chharba village. Two doctors here deal with emergencies. With a notice of five hours, they can also take on a normal delivery.Not just health, Adopt is now involved in the overall development of the area. They’ve taken on the task of building 200 toilets in twenty villages. Water shortage is a major issue in Uttaranchal, especially in summer. Only rainwater harvesting can solve the problem. So water tanks have been built in the villages to collect the rainwater for use all the year round. Regular workshops are also held to impart water management techniques to the village folk. Adopt has also undertaken afforestation programmes and set up biogas plants.

Adopt has also been involved in education. It extends support to needy students. Students can also avail of vocational training courses in the fields of computer, plumbing, carpentry, tailoring etc. Bhanu Prakash, one of the students they supported, stood 16th in the Uttaranchal 12th boards. He’s now pursuing his BSc at Delhi’s Hansraj College.

But raising funds has been tough. Kedarnath is a marketing and financial consultant. He says 10 per cent of the funds come from his firm Business Consultants India. In most of the health-related cases, Adopt applies to the Uttaranchal government for funding. The Ramakrishna Mission, Haridwar has also helped them out with eye and general health camps and so has ongc. But often Adopt has to resort to pleading for funds, says Kedarnath.

The Adopt team consists of Sushil Maity, aka dadaji, and Alpana Mukherjee—both based in Chharba. Kedarnath divides his time between his business location and ‘heaven’.

Adopt can be contacted at: 606, Ansal Bhavan, 16, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi—110001, Tel: (011) 23326754, 23313771