Impact Stories

Helping those in distress, the story of Babiben

In a normal scenario, one aims for a peaceful life in their old age. Senior citizens prefer to enjoy the fruits of their labour after they turn 60. However, not everyone is bestowed with that luxury. Babi Chauhan stays in a rented 1 room unit in the Jodhpur area of Ahmedabad. Her husband passed away due to a lung condition years ago leaving her alone with her children.

Her eldest son stays separately while her eldest daughter is married and works as a daily wage labourer . Babiben lives with her youngest son Mukesh who is sole breadwinner for the family. The 27 year old works in housekeeping and earns Rs 7,000 per month. Babiben works as a househelp but has already suffered two massive heart attacks and faces the breathlessness issue that seems to run in the family. Babi recalls, "My husband had breathing issues and mild tuberculosis. He used to work as a daily wage labourer. He passed away in 2016. Then my son Jagdish took the responsibility of house earnings. He was working as a loading rickshaw driver with a company. His earnings were Rs 10,000 per month. Meanwhile, Bhumika (her younger daughter) and I started working as househelp. This supported the family."

Babi adds, "But God had different plans. Our happiness was short-lived and the world shattered. Jagdish one fine day was returning from the village by walking. In the wee hours, a private dumper carrying sand ran over him in 2018. It made him lose his left leg and right hand. It was a big blow to all of us." Babi had to borrow money from several people to save her son. He lost weight during the treatment. To make him at least have food and carry out bodily functions on his own took a long time. The care taken by Babi helped him go through that time. As if the clouds of despair were not over, Bhumika used to get tired every now and then. She was unable to do the work. So, the mother approached the doctor who told them that it could be appendicitis. Another doctor told them it was probably kidney stones. This took almost a year. Finally, they decided to have an X-ray and the diagnosis suggested tuberculosis in 2020.

This shocked Babi. So, they initially followed superstitions by visiting godmen to get rid of her ill-health. But this didn't prove of any use. Meanwhile, her food intake was reduced, occurrence of vomiting, breathlessness, weakness all gained momentum. This made Babi worried. Bhumika’s health deteriorated and she had to be admitted to a private hospital. She was given the medicines but didn't follow the instructions rigorously. So, she had to be admitted again at the bigger public hospital at Sola Civil. Doctors lost hope and told Babi that she couldn’t recover because she hadn’t taken her medicines regularly. Yet, Bhumika was uncomfortable with medication and the situation exacerbated.

A community leader who stayed in the same locality conveyed their story to Mazdoor.Co. We decided to help them. Our first task was to trace their medical histories and put reports together. Then, we got Bhumika admitted in another public hospital, the LG hospital. All the expenditure, whether it was food, medicines, reports or tests was borne by Mazdoor.Co. The doctors at this hospital convinced both mother and daughter that intake of medicines is the only way out to overcome the lethal disease. Mazdoor.Co provides regular ration kits and financial support and monitors the family.

But unfortunately, in November 2022 due to prolonged illness both Jagdish and Bhumika passed away. The loss of both the children has shattered Babiben and her family. Mazdoor.Co will continue to provide ration kits and financial support to Babiben for her own wellbeing and better health.