Life’s twists and turns can shatter a person to the core with sorrow and flood one’s world with an endless stream of joy. A similar experience unfolded with Gopal and Jagrati, residents of Shirpur, Maharashtra. They narrate how their eldest daughter, 11-year-old Uma Panwar, was born with a physical deformity. While her birth brought happiness, it was accompanied by double the sorrow. The congenital malformation of Uma’s right foot beneath her knee was crooked without a bone. This left her parents and relatives astounded. But what more could they do in the face of fate? They resigned themselves to their misfortune and dedicated their efforts to raising their daughter. Uma’s growing age posed a significant challenge for her and her family. Her daily movements required constant support from someone, making her commute from one place to another a cumbersome task. Witnessing others, Uma would often shed tears of pain.
Upon enrolling in a nearby school, they learned about the free services offered by the Narayan Seva Sansthan. This discovery rekindled hope within Gopal and Jagrati. Gopal, who earns his livelihood driving an auto-rickshaw, faced financial difficulties, prompting their local representative to arrange for their travel to Udaipur. Upon their arrival, specialized doctors examined Uma, and on 27th December 2020, a surgical operation was performed, amputating her foot beneath the knee. The treatment continued uninterrupted, and approximately two years later, on 25th August 2023, her foot was measured during a camp. Subsequently, in the artificial limb distribution camp in Shirpur on 20th October, Uma received her prosthetic limb, illuminating her face with a newfound radiance. Her family conveys that witnessing Uma walk and run around the house with her artificial limb is an indescribable joy that words cannot express.
They are deeply grateful from the bottom of their hearts for the happiness that the institution has bestowed upon Uma. Again, at the artificial limb distribution camp in Shirpur on October 20, Uma received her free artificial leg. The radiance on Uma’s face was evident as she started moving around the house with her new limb. Relatives express that the joy the institution has given Uma is indescribable in words. Gratitude from the bottom of their hearts.
