NGO GIVES MANY A LEG-UP AND MORE

Adinath Jain Trust, established in 1979 by D Mohan, offers a wide range of social services including free prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs, walkers for disabled

- S GURUVANMIKANATHAN

IT was a Wednesday, June 28, 2017. R Sivakumar, a 44-yearold lorry driver from Pavithram in Namakkal, was driving to Tiruchy to deliver goods, when a sudden turn of events shook his present and future altogether.

His vehicle rammed into a truck, leaving him gravely injured. Despite getting immediate first aid and being rushed to Stanley Medical College in Chennai, the doctors had no choice but to amputate his right leg to save his life.

For the next five months, Sivakumar's world was filled with despair. With no financial support from friends or family, he sat idle at home, unable to work. His family barely survived on his wife's meagre daily wage of 150 or ₹200. On some days, even that was hard to come by. With zero means to afford further treatment, he was hopeless until a friend told him about the Adinath Jain Trust in Chennai.

Taking a leap of faith, Sivakumar approached the trust in September 2017. To his surprise, they immediately measured his limb and provided him with an artificial leg within a couple of months, completely free of cost. Now, Sivakumar, who is back on his feet, both literally and figuratively, works at a petrol bunk in his village, earning ₹8,000 per month. All thanks to Adinath Jain Trust, from where he also received a limb for the second term, to replace the existing one, a couple of months ago.