Rajesh is a daily wage labourer. The father of twin sons, he lived in the small village of Panchlokhi in West Bengal. Earning Rs 150 a day, the couple tried their very best to make ends meet. Once the children were born, the family income was slashed into half with Sumana (Rajesh’s wife) staying at home to take care of the kids. When their sons were three, Rajesh ran into some unexpected struggles. 

One of his sons Aritra, would cry all night despite being fed multiple times. After a month of sleepless nights, he began throwing up everything he ingested. This left the baby weak and dull. Only when the doctors of the local government hospital gave little Aritra an injection would he finaly et better fine. 

Little did the parents know that this remedy was just a band-aid on a very grave ailment. Over the years, Rajesh made multiple visits to government hospitals across Kolkata to find a cure for his son’s repeated episodes of fever and subsequent illness. Finally, the doctors told him hat his son’s heart valve had a hole and needed to be fixed urgently. 

Today, Aritra is 3-and-half-year-old and needs open heart surgery for his valve replacement. The cost for the surgery is close to Rs 3 lakhs. The government- aided surgery has a waitlist of 3 years. 

Aware that little Aritra might not have three years, Rajesh borrowed Rs 7,000 and came to Bangalore with his son and wife, all his hopes invested in this trip. "Doctors are confident they can cure my son with one surgery. But I don't know how will I arrange for 3 lakhs. We are living in a small room in Kadugodi. I cannot even afford to pay the rent at the end of the month. But I have to free my son from disease and pain," he says.

Rajesh makes only Rs 150 per day as a daily-wage worker in West Bengal. Even that income has run dry as he does rounds of hospitals in Bangalore instead of work. He has no savings or land to sell. The treatment for his son costs Rs 3 lakhs. With little hope left from his family, Rajesh desperately needs help to arrange funds. Aritra has fought to live every step of the way and so has Rajesh. 

Your contribution can help this family save a child. With your support, a father can take his son home. Let lack of funds not be the reason why a father could lose the most important thing - his son's life.