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The work of social welfare is not only done by the affluent and the celebrities. The people who have nothing at all can also help people n their own unique ways. Medicine baba is one those people who have nothing in the form of bank balance or property but still have so much to give to the world.
Delhi’s ‘Medicine Baba’ collects unused Medicines from the Rich and gives to Poor
Omkar Nath Sharma, a 80 year old man popularly known by the name of Medicine Baba has dedicated his life for the health needs of the poor and unprivileged section of the society. He decided to do so when he saw that the workers who were injured in the metro bridge collapse incidence in Delhi. During that time the two workers died and many got injured. The government hospitals just had the facility for first aid and could not provide proper treatment and medication to the poor. Omkar Nath decided that not anymore such thing should happen with the poor and for this he started collecting medicines and other medical equipments from different localities in Delhi.
He says that many people who can afford medicines easily throw away the medicines in dustbins when they are no longer using them. This is unacceptable in a country that is spending less than 1% of the GDP on healthcare and as a result many poor people die due to not being able to afford medicines and other medical equipments.
This is the reason why medicine baba travels on foot for more than seven kilometres everyday and knocks every door to ask for spare medicines that they may have. When he collects a bag full of medicines he goes and distributes it among the poor.
He is not a pharmacist by profession so he does not have an idea about what medicine is for what problem. This is why he intelligently asks for prescription before distributing the medicine to the people. He also gives his medicines in the charitable hospitals that distribute these medicines to the poor and the needy patients.
This 80 year old man has been doing this great work even though he limps while he walks due to the injury he sustained at the age of 12. He lives in a rented room in the slum in Mangalpuri in Delhi with his family that includes his wife and his 44 year old mentally retarded son.
His medicine contributions are worth more than $9000 per month (Approx 6 Lakhs) which is remarkable as it is helping many unfortunate people survive because of his generous gesture. He derives no benefits from these medicines and his daily needs are met with by the cash donations that he receives. He wears an orange kurta that has his mission written over it. This helps people to recognize him and donate the unused and unexpired medicines to this kind man.
His dream is to make this initiative of his a movement that would help in establishing medicine bank in every corner of the country that will help poor fight diseases and other medical problems without suffering.
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