“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” ~ Mahatma Gandhi |
It is not everyday we find meaning in the things we do and the things we own. Most of the time we find it in the happiness of others. And, Life gives us the purpose and sense of fulfillment when the happiness is due to an act of kindness from oneself. That fulfillment drives us to do much more to fill happiness in the world. That is what we at Ashvattha are always striving for. We appreciate all the support we are getting from you, in our journey. Here is the story of Deepak and Jayashree trying to save their 9 months old baby boy Ranveer Singh. Ranveer was admitted to Nice Hospital under critical conditions with nasal bleeding, blood in stool, skin rashes and skin infection. The little one was monitored for manifestations of thrombocytopenia and bleeding. And, he needs a bone marrow transplantation. The treatment would cost more than Rs.15 Lakhs and the family is not in a financial situation to bear such expenses. They reached out to Ashvattha for help and one of our volunteers visited Deepak, the boy’s father, at the hospital to donate a check of Rs.25,000. It was heart-breaking to see the pictures of the baby in his father’s phone. Hard to imagine how the little one is surviving the treatment. All we can do is provide some moral support to the family and pray that the baby boy gains the strength to survive. We hope Ranveer recovers soon to live a normal healthy life. Thank you donors and volunteers for your help! |
News
January 2020 Update 1
“Keep putting one foot in front of the other. That’s all you need to do right now” |
And that is how one can fight Cancer, the monstrous disease which frightens and weakens us. We just need to keep fighting with it each and every day and never give up to become a survivor. Team Ashvattha, supports the fighters and admires the survivors of Cancer. We are trying to be there for them and help them not give up their hope. Here is another story of a woman suffering from Breast Cancer. Shashikala, 40 years-old, was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and was admitted to KIMS. The diagnosis indicated a lobulated solid lesion outer quadrant of the right breast. As we are all aware that treating any form of cancer costs a huge deal. Also, it is exhausting both physically and emotionally. Team Ashvattha reached out to Shashikala’s brother Nagababu and handed over a check of Rs.30,000 for the chemotherapy and the treatment. We hope and pray Shashikala gains the strength to fight this monstrous disease. Thank you donors and volunteers for your help! |
December 2020 Update 2
“We rise by lifting others” ~ Robert Ingersoll
Never underestimate the difference you can make in others lives. Team Ashvattha is always willing to take a step forward, reach out to someone that needs a lift. And, we are proud to have volunteers and donors who help us achieve those goals.
This is one more request from our volunteer to help a young man, Naveen, from Khammam who met with an accident. He fell off the bike trying to avoid hitting a dog. Unfortunately, the accident caused severe head and spinal cord injuries. The doctors said the situation was critical and he also could have a blood clot in his head. The 24-year was working at a printing press to feed his family. He or his family was not in a position to bear the expenses of the treatment. Our volunteers went all the way to Khammam and handed over a check of Rs.20,000 to the family.
We hope he recovers soon to take care of himself and the family. Thank you donors and volunteers for your help!
December 2020 Update 1
“We rise by lifting others” ~ Robert Ingersoll |
Never underestimate the difference you can make in others lives. Team Ashvattha is always willing to take a step forward, reach out to someone that needs a lift. And, we are proud to have volunteers and donors who help us achieve those goals. Here is a request that Ashvattha acted upon to give that lift and make that small difference in the lives of others. We got a request from Subramanyam who is the father of an 8-year-old daughter Shena Sameera. She was diagnosed with Wilson’s Disease where her liver was decomposed and she had to undergo a Liver Transplant Surgery. She was admitted to Rainbow Children’s Hospital and the treatment cost about Rs. 18 lakhs. Subramanyam is a farmer and the family couldn’t afford such a huge amount for treatment. Back in 2015, his elder daughter suffered from the same disease where he spent all the money he had but, unfortunately, couldn’t save her. Now, he is going through that pain all over again with his second daughter and reached out to Ashvattha for help. A volunteer from Team Ashvattha reached out to the family and donated a check of Rs.20,000 for the treatment. We hope Sameera recovers soon and the family is happy again. Thank you donors and volunteers for your help! |
November 2020 Update
“One day at a time, one step at a time. Do what you can, do your best. Let God handle the rest.” ~ Michelle Jones. |
Once cancer happens, it changes the way you live for the rest of your life. But, with the people you love and support standing beside you, there is always hope for a happy future. Team Ashvattha is always willing and ready to be a small ray of light in the lives of such people fighting the cancer demon. Prasad and Lalitha are elderly couple who were school teachers. Lalitha is suffering from breast cancer. She had surgery done and is taking post surgery medication which includes chemotherapy at MNJ Cancer Hospital. As it is a government hospital they were able to manage the expenses for most part. However, they still need some financial help with the post surgery medication and the remaining 6 chemos. The couple doesn’t have any children to take care of them, so they are looking for some help. One of our volunteers spoke to both Prasad and Lalitha to get the details. Team Ashvattha donated Rs.20,000 to help with Lalitha’s medication. We hope Lalitha recovers soon to live a happy life with her husband. Thank you donors and volunteers for your help! |
October 2020 Update 2
“Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws” ~ Barbara Kingsolver. |
The struggle that parents go through to save their children just cannot be explained in words. And, a mother’s pain is unimaginable. It is her strength and hope that gives life to a child. Here is a heart melting story of a mother who is trying to save her newborn twins. After a long wait Sachin and Deepali were going to be parents and were very excited to welcome a new member to their family. To their pleasant surprise the doctor said they are going to have twins and they were really happy. However, throughout the pregnancy Deepali had several issues. She was admitted to the hospital thrice and she lost a lot of blood. The pandemic made it even more difficult to find hospitals and they even had to travel to Mumbai to get her admitted. And, at the time of delivery her uterus was infected and she needed an emergency C-section as the infection had reached the babies lungs. The babies were born with lung infection and were struggling to breathe with their weak lungs. The doctors are trying their best every single day to cure the babies. The family is doing everything possible to bring the babies home healthily and start living with them. But, they were zapped with the hospital bills and the treatment cost about 40 lakhs. They spent the last rupee they own and used all the help they can. One of the donors of Ashvattha referred this request to us and our volunteers talked to Deepali. She broke into tears while explaining their situation. It was heartbreaking to listen to her pain. Team Ashvattha donated an amount of Rs.50,000 to help save the twin babies. We recently heard from Deepali that one of the twin babies has recovered and is home. The family is very happy to welcome the baby home and hoping the other twin also will recover soon. The parents thanked Team Ashvattha for all the help. Let’s pray for the speedy recovery of the second twin as well. Thank you for all the donors of Ashvattha for being a great help for this family! |
October 2020 Update
“And sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we still hope.” ~ unknown |
Life is unpredictable. It throws different puzzles and problems at us each and every day and we struggle to solve them by gathering all the strength day after day. Sometimes, it takes more than strength, more than courage to face it. It is ‘hope’ that we need to push ourselves a little bit more each day. Here is the story of Naveen who is fighting with that hope each day. Naveen was first admitted to Renee hospital (Karimnagar) with the symptoms of high fever and severe hair fall back in Dec 2019. He was also finding it difficult to swallow food with throat pain. So the doctor has done USG for the neck and identified some lymph nodes. He was immediately admitted to Yashoda Hospitals Secunderabad where further diagnosis was done and it was identified that Naveen was suffering from Castleman disease with lupus (Autoimmune disease). Naveen’s wife, Bhavani, was the only breadwinner in their family and had no other financial support to help with Naveen’s treatment and medication. They used all the insurance money and their savings. Doctors suggested 2 chemos sessions which cost around 1 lakh per chemo. Later Naveen had more issues like blurry vision and loss of consciousness. He has to consult a Neuro Physician to undergo more tests. They spent almost 6 lakhs just for the diagnosis and tests. He was taking treatment at the NIMS hospital and needed help with chemos and further treatment. They reached out to help from charity organizations, at last. A volunteer from Team Ashvattha was able to visit Naveen and his wife at NIMS Hospital to get more details on his current state and donated a check of Rs.30,000. We hope that Naveen is recovering now and the family is coping up with the emotional and financial stress. They thanked all the donors of Ashvattha for coming forward to help them! |
September 2020 Update
“Never let the things you cannot do prevent you from doing the things you can.” ~ Coach John Wooden. |
Yes, we may be confined to our houses, not to meet others, not to travel and many more things. But, no one can stop us from talking to our loved ones, providing emotional support to friends and family, making someone smile with a little help. Team Ashvattha is constantly trying to do that little help to make people smile. A couple of requests came to Ashvattha to help little babies fight for their life within days after they were born. All we could do is provide a little financial help and say some kind words to their families. That was enough to make them stay strong during the tough times they are facing. It was heart melting to see the pictures of these babies on the hospital bed. We hope and pray they recover soon to spend a happy life. Request 1: Shaivi, a 2-months old baby is suffering from Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)/ Cerebral Bleed. She was being treated at Prathima Children’s Hospital, Kompally. The treatment cost more than 10 Lakhs and the family has done all it can to collect that amount. They reached out to all possible sources and one of our volunteers brought this request to Ashvattha. We reached out to the baby’s family to get the details. Knowing their condition we donated a check of Rs.40,000 to help with the expenses. |
Request 2: Another baby boy, son of Naveen and Swathi, who was just 2 weeks old was diagnosed to have heart problems and needed a heart surgery. He was being treated at the Rainbow Hospital, LB Nagar. Baby’s Parents are from a poor background and are desperately looking for help to save their just born baby. Our volunteers got in touch with the family and donated an amount of Rs.40,000. Team Ashvattha followed up after the surgery. The family notified that the baby was on a ventilator but is recovering. That is good news. |
August 2020 Update
“We have a responsibility to help those around us and help others in need” ~ Virginia Williams |
In these crucial times we have the need to prove that humanity is still alive. People are just not in the need of financial support, but also emotional and moral support. Team Ashvattha is trying it’s best, amidst the pandemic, to provide financial and moral support to the people who come for help. Thank you donors and volunteers for driving the organization in these dangerous times. Proud to have you as part of Ashvattha. Received a request from our volunteer to help Rajeshwar, Age 65 years, who is suffering from a chest problem. He was diagnosed with bilateral multiple predominantly peripheral, posterior airspace densities – Ground glass opacities, consolidation, crazy paving pattern, sub pleural bands. Involvement of upper, middle/lingular and lower lobes bilaterally. With a lot of effort and help he was admitted to Delta hospital in Hasthinapuram, Hyd. It cost him about 40k per day and coming from an agricultural background his family was not able to bear the hospital expenses. Team Ashvattha reached out to the family and donated a check of Rs.40,000 to Rajeshwar’s wife. We hope Rajeshwar recovers soon and stays healthy! |
June & July 2020 Update
“Stop the spread, Stay home!” |
Last few months have been the greatest test for humanity. We all stayed locked in our homes for greater good, most of the people lost their jobs, lost their homes, traveled thousands of miles barefoot to reach their families and many lost their lives. It was unfortunate and painful to just watch and do nothing about our loved ones suffering. COVID not just shook the roots of humanity, it asked us to stop running this blind race for a moment and rethink the whole purpose of this life. Stay home, take this opportunity to spend time with your family and take care of them. Give moral support to all your friends and family who need it the most in these tough times. Team Ashvattha is trying to do its best in this situation to help people in need. As you all know we did basic and essential food items donation to the migration workers. We donated to the PM relief fund. Some of our volunteers even came forward and donated masks for the homeless and the poor. We were able to continue to help the people in need, as the need for help is much more in these hard times. We worked on multiple requests in the past couple of months. Below are the details. Mask Donation: Request 1: Helped Raju Reddy, age 33, a farmer by occupation and works as a daily labour in Ramanthapur, Uppal. In an emergency situation he was admitted into ICU at Sunrise Hospitals. Diagnosed as Rodenticide Poison and K/C/O Seizures Disorder, he needed 4 Lakhs for the treatment. The request to help Raju came from an Ashvattha Volunteer and the team was able to step forward immediately and donate a check of Rs.25,000. The check was donated to one of the family members. Few masks were also donated to the person who received the check, so he can distribute them to the family members and their co-laborers. Later, we came to hear that Raju was discharged from hospital and recuperating at home. He and his family members thanked everyone at Ashvattha for the timely help. Request 2: We received a request to help a poor lady, about 60 years old, a resident of Kothagudem, who had to undergo a surgery to remove her Uterus. She is a widow and her only son works as a daily labor. Due to the current COVID situation, the hospitals were not accepting Arogyasri and so she couldn’t afford the surgery herself. Our volunteers brought this request to Team Ashvattha and we were able to donate an amount of Rs.15,000. Hope she recovers soon. Request 3: Lavanya, 31 years female from Karimnagar, was suffering from severe abdominal pain, fever and cough. She was admitted in Global Multispeciality Hospital and was diagnosed with Bilateral Renel Calculus – Bilateral URSL with DJ stenting done. The problem was related to Uterus, Kidney and bladder. Her husband works as a daily labourer and couldn’t afford the cost of surgery or treatment. Family and friends helped her financially with the surgery expenses, but now she is facing post-surgery complications and has to visit hospital every week. They were looking for help as they couldn’t afford the expenses. One of the volunteers brought this request to Ashvattha and we were able to donate her with a check of Rs.30,000. Hope she recovers soon and stays healthy. Amidst, all this chaos, Ashvattha is able to move forward only because of you generous donors and committed volunteers. Thank you all for staying with us in these hard times. Stay home and stay safe! |