Rajkot: People often pay homage to their dear departed by feeding the poor or constructing a memorial in their memory. But a woman from Rajkot in Gujarat decided otherwise and made it her life mission to provide subsidized ambulance service to needy patients.
It all started two years ago when her husband fell ill and was in desperate need of medical attention. When she tried to rush him to a hospital, the ambulance fare was beyond her reach. The delay in hospitalization eventually resulted in her husband's death. From then on she decided that the only fitting tribute to her late husband is to help everyone in dire need of an ambulance.
Meet Sangeetaben Shah, a resident of Rajkot and a member of the Mumbai-based Alpha Foundation. Whenever a critical patient is in need of emergency ambulance service in Gujarat, she is always there to provide it at a highly subsidized rate and thereby saving the lives of many. Her husband, Hareshbhai Mansukhlal Shah's death due to a steep ambulance fare inspired her to pay a unique homage to him.
" I decided to start the subsidized ambulance service in memory of my husband Hareshbhai Mansukhlal Shah one and a half years ago. We have been able to take critical patients even to Nepal for treatment. We provide the service from Rajkot, Morbi, and Ahmedabad along with other centers in Gujarat," said Sangeetaben.
She also said that tribute religious rituals are not the only way to pay homage to the dear departed but "fulfilling the responsibility of making people safe" is also a fitting tribute to the deceased.
The family of Jharna Sharma is one of the many beneficiaries of her selfless work. Recently, they came to Nepal for business-related work. But Jharna suddenly fell ill suffering from difficulty in breathing. When her condition did not improve despite receiving treatment at the Rajkot Civil Hospital, her family members decided to take her back to Nepal for further treatment.
As the family was frantically looking for an ambulance service, they found the ambulance charges to Nepal were beyond their reach. But they somehow came to know about Sangeetaben's work and were able to take Jharna to Nepal with her help. " Helping the needy is the best tribute for my husband for me," said Sangeetaben.
