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Hurt in body, soothing anguished minds
By Sushil Manav
truck by paralysis in 1997,
Gurvinder Singh of Sirsa has
made it his mission to help road
accident victims and has set up
an ashram for mentally
challenged women.

A road accident that left the lower

half of his body paralysed changed

his outlook towards life completely.
Like any other businessman, Sirsas
Gurvinder Singh, a building
contractor, had a dream to make as
much money as possible to secure Gurvinder Singh (L), and mentally challenged inmates at Bhai
Kanhaiya Ashram, Sirsa.
the future of his family. But life had
other plans. While travelling from Rania to Sirsa, a truck crashed into his scooter and
dashed all his dreams. Any other person would have spent the rest of his life on bed or
the wheelchair cursing his destiny, but Gurvinder resolved that he would not be put
down.
Today, he runs Bhai Kanhaiya Ashram, a home for mentally challenged women. Over 40
women have been getting food, shelter and medical treatment free of cost at the
ashram. The organisation also runs three ambulances that help road accident victims
and provides help to patients.

Twist of fate
The transformation in Gurvinders life occurred when he was shifted to Dayanand Medical
College, Ludhiana, after the accident in 1997. He had suffered a fracture in the spine,
multiple injuries and had to remain in the hospital for several months.
While in the hospital, I noticed that members of an NGO used to come every morning
and evening to serve milk and bread to patients. I always thought that if I survived, I
will start this service in Sirsa, Gurvinder says.
His treatment continued for years. He lived, but the lower part of his body was
paralysed. Gurvinder often thought of doing something to help the sick, but was unable
to give a concrete shape to his thoughts.
I was sitting at my friends shop when we noticed a man lying on the road. He was
alive, but was not moving. I asked my friend to help me shift the man to hospital. I had
a scooter with an attached trolley. We put the destitute man in it and took him to the
General Hospital, Sirsa. When I was taking him to the emergency ward of the hospital,
he could not speak, but I could see the expression of gratitude in his eyes. It was on that
day that I reminded myself of the commitment I had made to myself when I was in
Ludhiana, he recalls.

From January 1, 2005, he started providing milk to patients admitted at the General
Hospital. He, along with some volunteers, would collect milk from benevolent people and
distribute it among the patients. On September 28, 2006, the milk service was extended
to the hearing and speech-impaired children studying at RKG Shravan Vaani Nishakta
Kalyan Kendra, Sirsa.
However, due to the paucity of funds, he had to discontinue the service at the hospital
after running it successfully for over eight years.
In 2006, his NGO organised its first blood donation camp and since then, 18 such camps
have been held.
It was in 2008 that he purchased an ambulance for his Bhai Kanhaiya Ambulance Sewa.
Now, four ambulances provide services free of cost to road accident victims, pregnant
women and victims of medical emergencies. So far, it has helped 978 road accident
victims. The organisation has also bought three mobile water tanks to serve people cold
water during summer.

Reaching out to all

He set up his ashram on 200 yards donated by a farmer Gursharan Singh Kalra. Later,
the NGO purchased 400 yards adjoining the ashram and Sanjeev Jain, a philanthropist,
donated 400 yards more to the NGO. The ashram was inaugurated in 2012 by Dr Inderjit
Kaur, chairperson of All India Pingalwara Society, Amritsar.
The ashram houses 39 mentally challenged women and three children. About 30 women
have left the ashram after recovering from their illness.
Among the inmates is a sexagenarian woman, who speaks fluent English and claims to
have taught in Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. When they are brought in, they have no
idea of their past, their families and are even clueless about their names. But once they
start getting food, medication and proper care, they start recovering and are able to
recollect their past, he says.
In most cases, their family members come when informed about their recovery and take
them away.
Scarcity of funds is the biggest issue that faces Gurvinder. Though we have appointed a
permanent staff nurse and some attendants, we need the services of a permanent
psychiatrist as every time there is an emergency, we have to rush to the hospital.
Further, with the increasing number of inmates, the space is falling short, he says.