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“My elderly father and I work around the clock, making small paper bowls for weddings and other occasions. This is not because we want to keep aside some money as savings; it is because if we don’t do so, we won’t have enough money to take my poor young boy to the hospital to get him his regular blood transfusions and medicines.” - Lakhan, father
Lakhan, his wife Babli, their two children along with their elderly grandparents live together in a small hut. They hardly have enough room in a physical sense, but they have room for each other in their hearts. Poverty has never bogged them down, as they learnt to live with minimal resources. However, now a difficult situation has come upon them, which they are finding very difficult to navigate.
‘He has been very ill since he was small, cannot even play like a normal child’
When the couple’s younger son was born seven years ago, he seemed fine and did not look ill at all. But his problems began when he turned six months old. He started getting regular fever and cold, and Lakhan and Babli would always have to take him to the local clinic in the village. This continued until he was two, when blood tests revealed that he had a condition called Thalassemia, in which the body does not produce enough haemoglobin, thus affecting oxygen supply to organs.
“His whole body would become pale, but because we are not very educated, we never took it to be a problem. From the age of two however, he has been getting blood regularly - without it he faints and cannot eat. There are so many needle marks in his arm, and yet he faces it all with a smile. He tries to join in when other kids play, but he starts panting soon after so we don’t let him.” - Lakhan
Only an urgent transplant can give him a new life, but they can never arrange it
In addition to making paper cups and bowls at home, Lakhan also does odd jobs like construction work and farming on other people’s lands to make ends meet. And despite doing so much, he is only able to make money to keep his son surviving on his blood transfusions.
“My son needs transfusions once every 20 days. We have to travel 50 km - up and down- from the hospital to our village. I take my poor tired son on busy buses where he cannot even sit after the needles have pierced through his skin so much. I want to end his suffering. But I can only do it with your help.” - Lakhan
This poor boy needs an urgent transplant. Click here to contribute.
The identity of the child is protected in adherence to government guidelines
