Progeny chip in to keep city woman’s altruistic spirit alive

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 15

Having donated all her savings (nearly Rs 50 lakh), a 70-year-old retired government employee has now found support in her progeny to continue with the noble cause of helping poor and downtrodden.

Harbhajan Kaur’s NRI son and grandsons are supporting her financially so that the good work she initiated does not stop.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Harbhajan Kaur, a resident of Sector 46-C and a retired Markfed employee, says her son Amanpreet Saini, who works in the IT sector in Australia, gave her money for donation, wherever required. “He recently gave a cheque for Rs 5 lakh and it has been donated to the poor patients’ welfare fund at the PGI,” she shares.

Informing that her altruistic act encouraged her NRI grandsons, she says, “When they heard of how I have been helping needy people, they got motivated. Upinderjit Singh (19), son of my elder daughter Gurjit Kaur in Australia, donated Rs 50,000 he earned from his part-time job while doing BTech. The amount funded the treatment of two poor patients at the PGI. One of them had a kidney transplant.”

“Sunil Arman (15), son of my younger daughter Navneet Kaur, on his birthday asked others not to give him presents, but money. He collected Rs 25,000 and bought goods for a general shop, which I had set up for a family whose two male members were rendered bed-ridden due to paralysis after an accident in Kharar,” she adds.

The septuagenarian says she gets calls from people who need help as a routine. “I visit their house and verify whether they are genuine cases. I help them if they are,” she adds.

Earlier, she had donated nearly Rs 22 lakh for the treatment of 37 patients at the PGI.

In recognition of her selfless service to the society, the PGI had honoured her this year on July 16, the foundation day of the institution.