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Bangalore angels put their money where their heart is

M D Riti in Bangalore

The man standing in the middle of the busy road, trying to flag down passing motorists seemed to be absolutely desperate. "Please help me save my wife, she's dying!" he was yelling to passersby. Businessman Jugnu Uberoi who was driving along stopped as soon as he saw him.

"My wife was bitten by a snake, and she is dying," the man said, clutching Uberoi's shirt sleeve. "She is in a nursing home nearby. But the doctors say that I must pay Rs 500 immediately...I don't have the money." Uberoi found out that the man was a street pushcart vendor, and that he lived in a nearby slum. He accompanied him to the nursing home - Sri Sai Clinic - verified from Dr M Gopal that the man's wife Shanthamma, 28, had really been bitten by a snake and was battling for her life.

He promptly revealed to the doctors that he was a founder member of 'Surakshaa', a voluntary group of Bangalore-based businessmen committed to helping the poor in medical emergencies. Shanthamma received treatment at once, and 'Surakshaa' happily picked up the tab of Rs 4,500.

'Surakshaa' is now a year old. This group, which has now set itself up as a non-profit trust, was formed by five fairly affluent businessmen who had heard several stories of how money, or the lack of it, had taken away precious lives. Interestingly, all five also either head or belong to social service organisations like the Rotary and the Lion's Club. "But all these organisations have specific systems to be followed before they release money," says Shashidhar Patil, industrialist. "There is no time for such formalities in emergencies."

In contrast, the reaction time of these five men is negligible. All of them publicise their cell phone numbers widely. You can reach Patil at 98450-14992, Vinay Bajaj at 98450-12027, Jugnu Uberoi at 98450-00291, Ajay Mallik at 98450-33802 and Bhasker at 98450-14992.

However, the people they help are often illiterate, without access to telephones and do not belong to the social strata where they would uninhibitedly call rich businessmen for help.

So, the group has come up with another alternative. They are raising awareness about their existence widely in doctors' circles in Bangalore. Any doctor who comes across a medical emergency calling for ready money contacts them directly. They have also have formed their own panel of doctors, whom they consult when lay people come to them seeking help. If a poor patient approaches them, they quickly refer the person to whichever doctor is available at that moment, in the specialisation called for.

They only pay the doctors or hospitals directly, never hand over cash to patients or their families. This way, they ensure that their money is used only for genuine medical emergencies. As soon as any one of them gets a call about an emergency, most often from their network of doctors, he quickly consults whichever of the other four is immediately available. As all five travel often, only two or three may be available in Bangalore at any given point.

"We only use our cell phones, so that we can respond to distress calls quickly," Bajaj toldrediff.com, when I sat in on one of their frequent meetings. As soon as they decide to finance a particular case, they immediately inform the doctor concerned on the telephone, and treatment is commenced at once.

All this takes less than two minutes. Sometimes, they get distress calls for accident victims. Then, one or two of them quickly rush across to the hospital where the victim is being treated and complete registration and other formalities.

For the first six months or more, the five men spent their own money. When they registered their trust, they had a kitty of just Rs 500. Then, they organised a small fund-raising dinner at a local five star hotel three months ago. Now they have Rs 1.8 lakh in their bank account. They have already spent about Rs 1 lakh over the past few months.

"We do not invest the money collected anywhere...everything is used in helping poor people,'' Mallik said.

The group has planned another major fund-raising show mid-January. They will also place piggy banks at various business and recreation centres all over Bangalore for contributions. For more information about either joining their organisation or becoming a patron, they can be reached at surakshaa@hotmail.com.

There are no administrative costs involved in their operations. They operate out of Mallik's office. All their running costs are borne by the business offices of the core group of members. "We want every paisa we collect to be used to help people in medical emergency situations," says Bhaskar.

"We would like to be a transparent conduit for businessmen who want to do charity but don't have the time for it," says Bajaj. "Our goal is to ensure that their money reaches the right people who need it. We do not restrict our assistance to particular hospitals or doctors. In fact, we would also like to reach out to the villages and small towns."

They hope to do this by widening their base - bringing more and more people into their fold - and also motivating like-minded citizens to start similar associations. They are willing to help any such individuals or groups.

They refuse cases of the terminally ill or patients with prolonged but predictable ailments, like cancer or AIDS. "There are so many organisations which are already helping such people, and so many doctors working closely with them," explains Patil.

However, it is not only money that these men give to 'Surakshaa'. Each one of them devotes at least an hour a day to it, in the form of liasing with doctors, visiting hospitals to pay bills, transporting the ill to nursing homes and spreading the word amongst their friends to get them involved.

"The satisfaction of saving a life is something that you cannot get out of anything else you do with your time," explains Patil. "We are so grateful that we can do this so often through 'Surakshaa'."

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