For around 700 kidney patients in the district, Snehasparsam is exactly what the name suggests, a loving touch. For a patient who requires around Rs.30,000 a month for dialysis, the Rs.2,000 given as part of the project every month may not be much. But it is a ray of hope for the hopeless, a feeling that some one is out there taking care of you.
Two years after the Kidney Patients Welfare Society launched the Snehasparsam project to help those in need of dialysis, the project has met a major stumbling block in the form of an acute shortage of funds.
The society headed by district panchayat president Kanathil Jameela and District Collector C.A. Latha needs around Rs.18 lakh a month to fund the dialysis of 700 patients, to supply peritoneal dialysis kits to children and drugs for those who have undergone kidney transplantation.
Every year the society organises massive fund-collection campaigns in schools, colleges and religious institutions. But it seems the flow of money is not sustainable.
At present the society has around Rs.35 lakh in its account, which may suffice for the coming two months. By then, another massive campaign is planned to raise funds for not just the regular activities but an array of other activities the societies is venturing into.
A project to aid psychiatric patients has barely begun before the society met with the financial crisis.
There are also plans to help HIV infected people.
The fund collection campaign this year will be held by mid-August providing the charitable minds in the district and beyond an opportunity to have a say in the plight of thousands of patients.
