Karnataka - Bangalore   

Bringing smile to children

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Spreading Joy: Make-A-Wish Foundation gifted ten-year-old Akhila, who was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis, a colour television set.

Bangalore: It sometimes takes very little effort to bring joy to another human being. But on most occasions there is no effort to even communicate. Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has been making that extra effort to make contact and bring smiles to thousands of children across the country.

Take the case of 10-year-old Akhila whose life changed completely when she was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis.

One day, while lifting a bucket of water, the spinal support gave away. She was later admitted to the Lady Curzon hospital. Doctors advised complete bed rest for two years. Life came to a stand still for her.

She was in the hospital when members of Make-A-Wish got in touch with her. After several interactions, they realised that what it would take to make the girl happy was a television set. Coming as she did from a lower middle-class background, her parents could not even afford it.

So, Make-A-Wish gathered the resources and presented her a 14-inch television set, and Akhila’s happiness knew no bounds. “She was so excited that she did not even know what to say,” says her mother. Ask the little girl what she wants to watch and pat comes the reply: “Cartoons!” Started in India by Uday and Gita Joshi in 1996, Make-A-Wish has played Santa to about 13,000 children over all the years.

The organisation responds to the wishes of only those who are in life-threatening situations. Children aged between three and 18 are chosen irrespective of their socio-economic status.

Many hospitals like Kidwai, Lady Curzon and Narayana Hrudayalaya have extended their support to this organisation.

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