Vellore, TAMIL NADU :

Shabir and his team stepped in, despite the language barrier, to assist the grieving daughter.

Vellore :

At the chaotic Ariyur auto stand in the heart of Vellore, amidst the blare of honking rickshaws and the buzz of commuters, 39-year-old Mohammed Shabir orchestrates a life-saving mission that few would notice.

With one eye scanning for passengers and the other glued to his phone, he is constantly coordinating urgent blood donations for patients in dire need. For Shabir, it’s more than just a local cause.

His focus stretches across borders and helps patients from as far as West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Assam, who come all the way to Vellore, most of them clinging to the last straw of hope for critical medical treatment.

Since 2019, Shabir has been at the helm of a team of volunteers, racing against time to provide emergency blood donations across the districts of Vellore, Tirupathur, and Ranipet. Their relentless efforts have become a lifeline for patients at their most desperate moments, a beacon of hope in the face of life-threatening crises.

Shabir, a BBA graduate from Vellore, was forced to take up the role of an auto driver in life in 2013 due to financial difficulties at home. However, the course of life changed forever after a personal tragedy struck him.

His father, Ansar Basha, was a kidney patient and was admitted to the Vellore Government Hospital and Medical College. Back then, according to Shabir, the hospital didn’t have a well-equipped facility for dialysis, and despite his desperate efforts, he could not secure a blood donor for his father’s treatment on time.

Tragically, his father passed away within a week due to the unavailability of blood. “The incident shattered me,” Shabir recalls, tears welling up in his eyes. “I couldn’t move on from it for a long time,” he added, reflecting on the event that now fuels his determination to help others.

Driven by this loss, Shabir began arranging blood donations in 2013, focussing particularly on patients from North India, who often face language barriers in Vellore.

Despite financial challenges, Shabir formalised his work in 2019 by rallying a group of volunteers and forming the Nodtigal Trust. Every day, they receive about 10 requests from various hospitals, prioritising the most urgent cases. “We manage to fulfil at least five requests weekly within Vellore,” Shabir said.

The outbreak of Covid-19 added another layer of complexity to their work. Arranging blood donations during the pandemic became increasingly difficult. But Shabir and his team were undeterred, stepping up to the challenge.

In 2020, they encountered a particularly heartbreaking case involving a cancer patient from West Bengal. The patient passed away while her husband was away trying to sell his land to fund treatment. Their daughter was left alone with her mother’s body.

Shabir and his team stepped in, despite the language barrier, to assist the grieving daughter. With the husband’s permission, they arranged for the woman’s burial in Vellore, free of charge. “It was a deeply emotional moment for us,” Shabir said. “The husband saw his wife’s body over a video call and thanked me in Bengali. I couldn’t understand his words, but I could read the emotion on his face.”

What began during the pandemic has now become a regular part of Nodtigal Trust’s work. “We’ve buried over 24 bodies so far, mostly North Indian patients who don’t have any local connections,” Shabir explained. “It costs around Rs 5,000 to bury one body, and we’ve been covering the costs ourselves, with help from friends and well-wishers.” In addition, Shabir also cares for five orphaned girls in Vellore, committing to support them for life.

Looking ahead, Shabir has broader ambitions for the Trust. He is particularly concerned about the lack of awareness and support for transgender people in Vellore. “If any transgender individuals want to study and live a decent life, we are ready to support them,” he said. He also aims to assist mentally ill people found on the streets, helping them reunite with their families.

However, the work is not without challenges. “We sometimes struggle to cover transportation costs for the burials,” Shabir shared. “It would be a great help if the district administration could provide us with an ambulance for these cases.”

(For more details, Mohammed Shabir can be contacted at 9361719520)

(Edited by Sneha Joseph)

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Rajalakshmi Sampath / October 13th, 2024