The power of one: Gitanjali ploughs lonely furrow to help needy NGOs!
Bengaluru: On July 14, two Bengaluru doctors held an extensive health camp for students of Nireekshana, a school for mentally challenged run by Sushil Martin Foundation. The driving force behind the initiative was Ms Gitanjali Gupta, who does not run an NGO or foundation but is willing to help all the deserving service minded organisations and individuals that seek her help.
Not just the health camp, she also recently bailed Nireekshana out of a financial crisis and organised the much-needed Rs 50,000. The 52-year-old Gitanjali is a cardiac patient herself, but manages to network with individuals who are willing to help and NGOs and organisations that are in need of help.
“For me, climbing a flight of stairs is exhausting and I have to stop every few steps. Under my condition, going out is a problem. But, this should not stop me or anybody from devoting some time for the common good,” she says.
Her journey to connect, mobilise funds and help any deserving group or NGO started some five years ago. Despite not being a socialite, she has built an impressive network of organisations and individuals. “As a practising Buddhist, it is imperative for me to devote 25% of my time to society. Despite my health limitations, I felt that it could be done easily. With this, I started my journey of networking and helping out,” she says.
“I try mobilising funds and rally for the specific needs of NGOs, organisations or groups that reach out to me. This I mostly do through my contacts. After some time, people start trusting you and there are individuals who reach out to me and say that they want to help. But, I do run a background check on how genuine is the need of NGOs and how good are they in terms of helping a certain set of society. After this, I decide whether I should go ahead to help or not.”
It started with her association with Enfold. “Working with Enfold shaped my vision and I am currently associated with organising funds for one their projects called CCRU (child collaborative response unit)," she says.
“Apart from spreading awareness about NGOs or organisations in various social media networks, my main modus operandi revolves around networking. By connecting with donors, I aim at helping NGOs, individuals and groups. Sadly, sometimes mobilising funds becomes a problem as there are all kinds of individuals,” she rues.
At present, she is connected with 19 different programmes and she has been handling them single-handedly. “Funding for the CCRU project of Enfold is one of the areas that I need to focus on,” she says.
With the help of Dr Devi Shetty of Narayana Hrudayalaya, Gitanjali has successfully organised a health camp at Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying Destitute in Yelahanka, which is being held on Monday. A mobile cardiac lab from Narayana Hrudyalaya will conduct cardiac screening, blood pressure and RBC checks, diabetes test and ECG for some 100 abandoned women at the Home. She has also helped these women get rations and an LPG cylinder with the help of individuals and through personal donation.
Going back to her work at Nireekshana, she says, “We are rallying in an art teacher for the school, as we have got a request for one for these thirty mentally challenged children living there.”
Her journey is all about compassion and it continues. Currently, she is actively helping out some 19 charities in the city, of which four are animal charities.
