Subash Chandra Agarwal is a man of little words. He prefers to let his deeds do all the talking. So far, this humble man from Shanthi Colony, Chennai, has provided with free custom-made artificial legs and braces to around 3,000 differently abled people.
News Today featured an article about his venture – The S C Agarwal Charitable Trust’s monthly prosthetic limbs distribution camp a year back. This year, he has stepped up operations to conduct these camps almost every week.
On 8 December, 22 disabled people received free prosthetic limbs through the Trust from Assistance Commissioner of Police, Gunasekharan.
Speaking to News Today, the 67-year-old builder turned philanthropist, Agarwal says that he has been doing this service full time since 2008 and the venture is funded 100 per cent from his own personal savings.
“We rarely accept donations from outside. We do not go appealing for money. We accept money only if someone voluntarily donates with a genuine notion to help,” Agarwal said.
Agarwal says that he always concentrates on quality of the artificial limbs more than quantity. He said, “The artificial limbs that I procure are costlier than the run-of-the-mill products available in the market. A full leg costs Rs 7,500 and below knee costs Rs 4,000. The callipers are about Rs 3,500. We also provide adjustable walkers and braces to the disabled.”
First come, first serve
Agarwal says that he chooses people purely on first-come first-served basis and does not have any economic or social criteria to discriminate on who will get the artificial limbs.
“We do not disqualify anyone based on their economic background. We have even helped a few people get equipment worth Rs 1 lakh and above and on rare occasions we have also footed the entire medical expense of some patients. We try to do something for everybody with what we have,” he said
At present, his trust consists mostly of elders. B C Radha, his associate for the last 25 years pitches in to help with the trust activities, he says. Agarwal says that more young people should get involved in social service, as this is the age when the fire to do good burns the brightest.
| Register through SMS |
| While the trust used only bit notices and banners to spread the word about what they do, this year, they are equipped with WhatsApp and SMS. Now, all one has to do is send a message to 9840066111 and register for receiving the artificial legs.
Once a person who requires a prosthetic leg registers, they will get a call from the Trust with details of the next camp where technicians will be available to take measurements. Once the artificial leg is ready, the date for distribution will be announced and the person can collect it from the Trust. Today, the trust is also arranging a free cancer screening camp for ladies. |