A Good Samaritan Work of Indian NGO for the Down-Trodden People

Far from the maddening crowd of Delhi Gurgaon, at the outskirt of  Delhi- Gurgaon Border in Bandhwari Village, 400  mentally and physically handicapped people,- most of the senior citizen abandoned by their families and relatives, and dumped by government hospitals, polices station, are getting free accommodation, food, lodging and medical facilities. This has been possible because of the efforts of NGO Earth Saviours Foundation run by Ravi Kalra and his team of volunteers. Local people popularly call the NGO as Gurukul.   

“All this have been possible because of the efforts of the founder and its volunteers. With no help from the Indian Government , we have to depend on the help from the well-wishers and people from neighboring areas. Residents donate their used clothes, old furniture, and raw food materials. Sometimes residents also sponsor their one-day meals so that the inmates get healthy food. We are very grateful to the residents for their support. Otherwise, it would not have been possible to keep these inmates in our Gurukul” said Rakhi Sharma, manager of the Gurukul working for the last nine years.  

But the greatest hardship the NGO has been facing is the pressure of the underprivileged people for admission. Every day they have to admit two to three people in limited space and facilities.  The NGO has been running on private land. They have appealed to government for land but yet to get the practical response from the authority.   

“It is sad to share that sometimes the abandoned and disabled people are brought to our old age home in critical conditions. Most of them they are bed-ridden, handicapped, on the deathbed or having maggots all over their body. Despite our best care some of them die due to old age or constant long illness. We take such tragedies very seriously and ensure that their last rites are performed with full respect and dignity according to their respective religion. We cremate the dead bodies in electric cremation system and after collecting their ashes, we take them to Haridwar for Asthi Visarjan and Holy Ganga ji snan (Holy Bath) to ensure the divine soul’s peace in heaven,” said Ravi Kalra the founder of the NGO.

What is heartening about these inmates is that some of the inmates are from very good respectable and well-educated families. ” In many occasion, we found that senior citizen are dumped in front of our NGO by their sons besieging their properties.  Those who sons are settled in USA and Canada they even leave  their old parents here and never bother to ask about  their well-being, and offer any monetary help,” said Maheshwari, another coordinator of the NGO.  

Along with the volunteers of  Earth Saviours Foundation, Ravi Kalra has also been pioneering the cause of sound pollution caused by the different vehicles. It was in 2008 the first campaign on ‘Do Not Honk’ was launched in Delhi- Gurgaon national highway India under the aegis of Ravi Kalra and several volunteers from the cross-section of the society. The campaign immediately caught the attention of the media. Subsequently, they campaigned in different parts of Delhi NCR region and  in north Indian cities. Their efforts got huge appreciation. Leading newspaper of the India “The Time of India” gave Ravi Kalra the title of  “No Honking Man of India.”  Never before in India, such campaign on sound pollution caused by un-necessarily vehicular honking was launched. ‘Horn Please’ and “Blow Horn” signs of millions of trucks and cars were removed by NGOs volunteers.