Posted by “Inspirations through Stories are Old, Inspiration through Survival is New”.
An Inspiring, Courageous, follower of humanity and their teaching Mr Dhili Rao Reddy. This man has lived through one of the toughest time in his life. He gives us hope and courage to fight through everything and rise as a phoenix from the ashes.
Survival For Others
Mr Dhili Rao Reddy was born in a happy household but he ran away from home. He did odd jobs, just to make his end meets while going through hardships of life. Dhili Rao came from making Rs 5/- per day to Rs 10,000 in a week at one time. He lived 20 years without a roof over his head all the while thinking that someday he might have enough to buy his own house.
While Mr Dhili Rao Reddy was unwell, he was taken to be reborn as Mr David Reddy at the Mother Teresa Centre in Calcutta. This centre taught him a new way of Catholic life. It was established with the purpose of supporting authentic devotion and knowledge of Mother Teresa. This place also taught him to be humble and caring.
Journey of Mr Dhili Rao Reddy
His journey of humanity is not because he has some family or something but as someone showed him humanity when he needed it the most. He started this work more than 5 years ago without any aim or motive but just to provide and help others. Like his guardian angel did for him, i.e., Mr Vasant Kunjar who himself started Girija Foundation with the purpose of uplifting the social order for everyone despite caste, religion, creed or even gender.
He is a social worker; he started Girija Foundation after learning the reality of patients and the amount of mental trauma they go through due to lack of moral support. His wife Sumitra Kunjar was the first one to help him to start this journey as a noble provider. She was the one who took care of the first AIDS patient, for whom they provided a home.
Mr Reddy was found by Vasant Kunjar in 2006 at the MGM Hospital, Kalamboli. He had suffered a car accident in Gujarat where he lost his one leg and almost the other one. As he did not have any family to take care of him, he got shifted around from one place to another and finally he landed in Mumbai.
As his guardian angel saved him, he decided to dedicate his life to the work of Mr Vasant Kunjar. Despite having lots of disadvantage he pushes through life every day. Despite having the capability to rise again, he decides to live a simple life with the others at the Girija Old Age Home at Kharghar. Each doesn’t feel like a struggle, it feels like I’m home.
Today, when I had the privilege to meet him, I feel very honoured and to get to know him. My big thank you goes to Help to Heal Foundation through which I met him. Now I have the honour to write his story and to let his legacy live on, even if they he doesn’t have a child of his own. As said by someone. It’s not the relation that counts; it is the love that counts.
AUTHOR: Ishmeet Kaur