Ram Singh, a 75 year old man, originally from the state of Uttar Pradesh, moved to Delhi in 1986 along with his wife and adopted son in search of better employment opportunities.
Ram Singh used to work in a Bidi (locally produced cigarette) factory. The regular consumption of tobacco caused him to suffer from Asthma and Tuberculosis. This led their son, a school dropout, to work at a general store to provide for the family and ensure that they could arrange medication for his father’s treatment.
Ram Singh’s health further deteriorated with the passage of time and he could not do much work physically. He became extremely fragile and was completely dependent on his son. His son then began misbehaving with the parents, to the extent of locking them up for days, giving limited food, abusing them and not letting them talk to anyone in the community. He also stopped getting Ram Singh’s medicines for Asthma and Tuberculosis.
The pandemic further aggravated their miseries after their son lost his job during the first wave of COVID-19. During this time, Ram Singh also lost his wife and was emotionally devastated. Their son did not care about Ram Singh, so much so that he was completely dependent on the neighbours for food. As soon as the Asha Warriors found Ram Singh, and came to know of his circumstances, they informed the Asha team. The Asha team immediately did a health assessment, and started his treatment, completely free of charge. They began giving him a grocery bag every week to take care of his need for a nutritious and balanced diet. They also gave him vitamins and minerals that he badly needed because of all the deficiencies he was suffering from. This was all because of a poor diet due to lack of food. The Asha Warriors visited him everyday to make sure he took his medication on time, ate nutritious food, and that his other needs were taken care of. They provided him with desperately needed emotional support as he was so lonely and sad.
“The Asha family has given me a new life. Had it not been for them, I would be dead by now. I can never thank them enough for reaching out to me during the worst time of my life, when even my own family abandoned me,” says Ram Singh.
This story is being written with heartfelt gratitude to all Asha friends and supporters who have been so generous all these years, towards the poor living in the Asha slums.
