Teenager makes the lame walk

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore

A fatal car accident fractured his thigh bone and tied the five-year-old kid to bed for days. Reeling in pain, Veer Agrawal couldn’t walk about like his companions.

Later, the grown-up Veer was reminded of the agony he had experienced whenever he saw any lame child. His parents could treat him; but what about those who cannot afford to pay?

Veer learnt that in India there are three crore people affected with physical disabilities; nearly 70 per cent of India’s disabled live in villages; most of them suffer from a high level of stigmatization with poverty and that disabled children are five times more likely to quit school than the national average.

The involvement of his grandparents and parents in social action influenced him. Veer was also inspired by the support given to needy students by Brother Joseph of St Catherine of Siena Orphanage, Bandra West, Mumbai. Why can’t I too do something for those who can’t walk, wondered the ninth grade student of American School of Bombay.

Veer learnt about the Jaipur foot from a distant relative, and that one foot costs around Rs 5,000. His father and friends assisted him in starting the website vhelptowalk.org for crowdfunding. He was surprised to see funds flooding in aid of the economically disadvantaged handicapped persons — a whopping 14 lakh rupees!

Subscribe to The Teenager Today print / digital editions to read the full article.