At 90, UK's Jean Bennatt keeps husband’s legacy alive in Punjab
In the UK, nonagenarian Jean Bennatt lives a short distance away from Yarmouth, the same place which symbolises working-class warmth in Charles Dickens classic David Copperfield.
Bennatt, who has been visiting Dhariwal, 10 km from Gurdaspur, for the last 28 years, has been exuding the same warmth and compassion by serving patients in the Salvation Army Mac Robert Hospital.
Bennatt says, “I take care of the needs of the poor and needy because the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service of others. This is my way of remembering my husband, Col Arnold, who served as hospital’s administrator from 1973 to 1980. There is no workout better for yourself than reaching down and lifting people up.”
Incidentally, the Colonel breathed his last at the very institution which he served so diligently. Jean said she was “broken into a thousand parts” when her husband died.
“However, I did not lose hope. I felt an intense inner urge to keep on serving patients in Dhariwal. This is my way of staying in touch with my husband,” she said.
This year, she was accompanied by her son, Peter. Like every year, this year too, the duo was hosted by philanthropist Romesh Mahajan in his hotel.
In England, she lives in Lymington with her family.
“I will keep on coming to the health facility till my last breath. If I can touch someone and create a lasting impression, what else do I need? Medicines do not cure a patient, love and care do,” she added. Jean and her son returned home yesterday.
She recalls that during the time she spent in Dhariwal with her husband, she would often go to nearby villages and reach out to people who could not afford their treatment. “Those memories are my greatest treasure. Those were indeed the golden years of my life,” she said. Jean always donates generously for the welfare of the hospital.
“Make no mistake, I will be here next year too,” she says.
Mahajan says he always accords a red-carpet welcome to her and never charges a penny for her stay. “I do so because humanity is sustained by deeds of people like Jean Bennatt. The world is full of suffering but people like Jean teach us how to overcome it,” he remarked.
