Doing one’s bit for a noble cause

IN recent decades, our society has become increasingly materialistic. Ethical and moral values are on the decline. There is a mad race to accumulate money and possessions. A few years ago, I read a news report about a ‘dying’ mission hospital in Ferozepur. I recalled an incident that happened in my home town Jaitu (Faridkot district) when I was about nine years old. I rang up my Mumbai-based elder brother to know the details. He told me that our mother had fallen ill at home and needed urgent attention. No medical help was available in the town at that time. Her condition was so critical that we had no time to wait for a bhoond, a three-wheeler that used to ply between the town and nearby places. So, she was carried in a handcart to the railway station, from where she was taken to the Ferozepur hospital. There, she was operated upon and was cured.

It disturbed me that an institution that had saved my mother’s life was on its deathbed. I wrote a letter to the hospital authorities, offering my assistance. In his reply, the medical superintendent said he and his wife had joined the hospital 26 years ago. The maintenance expenses and staff salaries had increased over the years. The hospital was surviving on the money paid by patients as OPD fee and indoor treatment charges.

I decided to visit the hospital. The opportunity arrived when I went to Jaitu to attend a condolence ceremony. From there, I travelled to Ferozepur, which is about 60 km away, and paid homage to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev at the Hussainiwala martyrs’ memorial. The next morning, I met the doctors at the hospital and took stock of the situation. The 120-bedded hospital, spread over 11 acres, had an operation theatre, ICU, laboratory, X-ray and ultrasound machines and other facilities.

Things went from bad to worse after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the hospital was allowed to spend only 20 per cent of the money received from patients having Ayushman cards. Doctors told me that superspecialists and state-of-the-art equipment were required in every department of the institution. Amid the scarcity of funds, they were pinning their hopes on big donations. I promised to do my bit for giving the hospital a new lease of life. Recently, the medical superintendent provided a list of machines and other items that were needed urgently. I made the purchase and despatched the goods by courier.

It has given me great satisfaction to contribute to a noble cause. Money is not an issue for me since I am getting a handsome pension. Our society would regain its humane essence if more and more well-off people come forward to bail out those institutions which helped them become successful and prosperous.