Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Age is just a number. This common saying is proven once again by four 60-year-old women who travel 5000 kilometers by road to save the lives of children suffering from cancer. These women had started their journey in a car from Mumbai on November 3 and reached Indore on November 4, that is, on Diwali.
Chitra Hiremath, Hansu Pardiwala, Rina Valecha and Micky Bhatia will cover 15 cities in 8 states in 26 days with the aim of raising funds to provide accommodation to the children and families who reach Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai for the treatment of childhood cancer .
The group reached the Indore Cancer Foundation, Rau and met its founder Dr. Digpal Dharkar and learned about the services the foundation provides to the cancer fighters and survivors.
“Although the four of us belong to different fields and families, our goal is one. We are affiliated with NGO Helping Hands and Tata Memorial Hospital and our main goal is to raise funds to provide free accommodation to children suffering from cancer as many people have to live on roads while visiting Tata Memorial Hospital, as well as to provide rehabilitation for those who have recovered from cancer,” Chitra Hiremath, one of the four philanthropists, told Free Press.
Chitra also has a special bond with Indore as she was born in Indore and felt special upon reaching the first destination.
“We aim to raise Rs 45 lakh for the children and we have successfully raised Rs 25 lakh. The entire donation we have received is from our friends, families and connections. We will believe that we will reach the goal at the end of our journey. We bear the cost of our trip alone,” she said.
The group appreciated the efforts of Indore Cancer Foundation for cancer patients and decided to expand support for the foundation next year.
The route
The group has already traveled between Mumbai and Indore and has also left for Gwalior. From Gwalior they drive to Lucknow, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, Jamshedpur, Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Gopalpur, Vizag, Hyderabad and again to Mumbai.
The crew
Chitra Hiremath: She is a Kashmiri but was born in Indore. She settled in Mumbai and worked on several social projects
Hansu Pardiwala: She is a blogger and a travel lover
Rina Valecha: She partners with ChILReachNGO to help children with learning disabilities
Micky Bhatia: She is a psychoanalyst and child analyst by profession.
Published on: Sunday, November 07, 2021 01:36 AM IST
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