Making patients self-reliant post-treatment, rather than offer them only medical help has been the motto of the Narayan Seva Sansthan (NSS).
Functioning out of over 480 branches in the country and 86 abroad, this not-for-profit organisation runs computer, mobile repairing, sewing and other vocational training courses for free to make beneficiaries self-reliant. Also, the NGO helps patients with placements when they are fit to go back home after treatment.
Apart from providing physical, social and economic rehabilitation free of cost, the Sansthan also boasts of a 1,100-bed hospital for the treatment of polio, cerebral palsy and lymphatic filariasis (a tropical, parasitic disease that affects the lymph nodes and lymph vessels) for patients from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ukraine, UK and USA.
Thousands of patients are served every day at NSS's smart village, Badi, in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The hospital is equipped with world-class equipment and highly qualified doctors and nurses.
The hospital offers callipers, modular equipment, tricycles, wheelchairs, limbs and many others for the needy patients free of cost.
The Sansthan arranges operations and treatment for blood cancer, kidney transplants and heart-related diseases in other hospitals, taking care of the cost of the patients.
The NGO offers over 25,000 callipers and 11,000 modular artificial limbs every year.
Till date, it has donated around 7.95 lakh wheelchairs and about 2.59 lakh tricycles.
Founded in 1985 by Padma Shri Kailash 'Manav' Agarwal, the Sansthan financially empowers those in need with funds to start their own business by getting them sewing machines, toolkits and other necessities.
Recently in Bengaluru, NSS felicitated donors and an army of tireless medical practitioners who work with the NGO.
Its office-bearers said how each individual can play a crucial role in transforming the lives of over 15,000 waitlisted differently abed patients.
"Our smart village, which has all the facilities for the physically challenged, has been running since the inception of Narayan Seva Sansthan. Till date, we have operated over 3.5 lakh patients offering them best of the medical services, medicines and technology free of cost and also given them socio-economic support after treatment. The smart village does not have cash counters anywhere. We are proud that our two hospitals at the village function with a team of 125 doctors and nursing staff, who are reaching out to numerous patients," said Mr Prashant Agarwal, president, Narayan Seva Sansthan.
The NGO organises talent and cultural shows by specially-abled beneficiaries to give a boost to their confidence.
