(Left) Santha Jose, president of Asraya at the food festival at Little Flower Parish hall near Raj Bhavan Kaviyoor Santhosh
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: We hear something about cancer every day - a new cancer case being detected or advertisements about insurance coverage for cancer treatment by the insurance companies. The disease is constantly in our mind. For patients and families, it is a grim and bitter fight, with all the resources available, to get back their health and lives.
The cost of cancer treatment looks insurmountable for many patients and many of them discontinue the treatment for want of money. A lending hand at the right time makes a difference and fortunately, the city has a bunch of people who keep aside a portion of their savings for the cause. Lalitha Madhavan, a resident of Poojappura, understood the plight of cancer patients coming to the Regional Cancer Centre. She herself was a cancer patient and wanted to help people from the disadvantaged background. She and her husband Sethumadhavan became regular contributors to Asraya, a voluntary organisation that works for the well being of cancer patients in RCC.
Cancer claimed Lalitha’s life on January 24. To fulfil his wife’s wish Sethumadhavan attended the charity food fest organised by Asraya on Tuesday. He handed over the money which could have been used for her ‘sanjayanam’. “It was her wish the money for post-funeral functions should be set aside for the cancer patients and I feel it is right to do so,” Sethumadhavan.
Sudha, a housemaid, came to know about Asraya through her employer Omana George, almost 10 years ago. Since then she has been a regular at all the charity events organised by the NGO. She prepares all kinds of food items free of cost and contributes a portion of the profit she makes by selling snacks. Omana has set up a snack making unit at her house at Devaswom Board junction for Sudha. Local snack items are delivered to people around. For this year’s food festival Sudha came with puddings and souffles. Sivaraman a Varkala native has been keeping aside Rs 15 per day from his earnings for Asraya. He saved Rs 15,000 from his daughter’s marriage expenses for the noble cause. Cancer survivor and former professor of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Dr Leelamma Varkey not only donates money but counsels patients.
“Asraya runs with the little help we get from people like Sudha,” said the president of Asraya, Santha Jose. She herself founded the organisation after the detection of a cancer case in her family, in 1996. “Back then working for charitable organisations were not considered dignified. But the volunteers comprising mostly of homemakers have made a huge impact on the lives of the patients and their families,” she said.
Asraya is run by close to 400 women volunteers who provide care in the form of guidance and financial aid for cancer patients. It contributes financial aid towards continued medical care, rehabilitation of families, education and marriage of children of the patients. Asraya functions on the donations made by the well wishers. With the number of patients increasing every year, the NGO began organising sales to collect funds to augment its finances. The annual fund-raising food festival at Little Flower Parish hall near Raj Bhavan drew a huge crowd on Tuesday.
