Page 38 - Mann Ki Baat - English

Deepa Malik
Paralympian, National Ambassador of TB-Free India Campaign and
Ni-kshay Mitra

Jan Bhagidari and Compassion
Ni-kshay Mitra

Just at the tender age Honourable Prime Minister
of five, I was diagnosed with Narendra Modi whose every
tuberculosis (TB) infection in my initiative evokes public
spinal cord. I am very thankful participation. His motive is to
to my parents who took care make our new India healthy and
of me. They understood the strong. The way we eradicated
disease and followed all advices polio, we too have to make
suggested by the doctors. It India TB-free by 2025 in similar
took me four years to recover fashion. And this will be possible
and walk again. My legs were only when there is a widespread
affected. Those were days when awareness and discussion
people were least interested in about it; when we wage an all-
meeting us. Most of them stayed out war against TB and help TB
away. There were occasions patients by becoming their true
when no one was around to friends.
provide much needed respite But the major stumbling
to my mother when she used to block in this regard is that
get extremely tired of handling people don’t have any authentic
both the hospital and domestic knowledge or information about
affairs. I learnt a valuable lesson this ailment. The information
that dealing with a prolong that is available in the market
illness becomes easier when you is all negative or misleading –
have adequate helping hands in it’s contagious or incurable or a
spare. curse and so on. Words are yet
I am very thankful to the to be spread to every nook and

34
34
34