In today’s materialistic world, there are a few who are who think about others and try to bring a change in their life.
One such example is members of Umeedein, a Bhubaneswar-based nonprofit organisation who are working relentlessly since 2015. They are basically helping people fight against cancer and how people can detect the symptoms of cancer at the earliest. They are basically working in the remote areas of Odisha.
Umeedein is basically a group which is basically formed by young professionals; and their motto is to make people aware about the deadly cancer. At present, there are more than 100 people from different walks of life from different parts of India and the USA who are working on this noble initiative.
It all started when the group came forward to the support of Ganesh (name changed), a daily wage labourer from Nimapara in Puri district. Being the only bread-earner for his family and unable to cope with the financial burden for his cancer treatment even after selling all his assets, then comes a time when he attempted suicide thinking this extreme step was the only way out for him. However, God had His own plans; and the young professionals appeared like angels for him. They took an initiative for his treatment and assisted him till he recovered completely.
The Ganesh example motivated the group to do more for people in distress; and from 2015, they are working sincerely in bringing smiles to such people’s faces. And thus, Umeedein as “a ray of hope” was finally born.
One of the volunteers says, “While about 40 per cent of the cancer cases in India are preventable, statistics reveal that the most common types of cancer in Odisha are oral, breast and cervical cancer. Significantly, these are preventable and can be cured provided they are detected in the early stages. We try every possibility in spreading awareness among masses, particularly rural people, regarding the preliminary symptoms of cancer and its early curable stages. Unfortunately, when they get to know about their disease, it’s become too late.”
He adds, “People of rural areas are very much ignorant about cancer since they are always in the dark about the deadly disease, don’t know whom to approach and neither can’t afford nor have the emotional strength to even go outside their villages for treatment. And strangely they are associated with different myths like outcome of black magic; chemo is made from snake venom; radiotherapy spreads cancer to the whole body like a wildfire; and only smoking and gutkha chewing cause cancer.”
Umeedein aims to create a cancer-literate society and is marching ahead with a strong resolve to remove the fear, stigma and taboo attached with cancer, to spread awareness among people about the preliminary symptoms of Cancer for an early detection in a curable stage and to guide them for proper treatment, to educate them about different financial assistance provided by government, NGOs and individuals, and to help underprivileged cancer patients get proper medical treatment.
The group has so far touched more than 10,000 lives from different parts of Odisha, mostly remote areas, where more than one-third of the population is still living below poverty line and the literacy rate is abysmally low. They conduct regular health camps where oncologists carry out pre-screening and pre-cancerous stage detections and morale boost-up and counselling programmes for cancer patients at different hospitals.
Slow and steady wins the race; and this adage is quite apt in case of Umeedein as slowly they are surely reaching out to many people. People from remote areas are now reaching Umeedein to discuss their doubts, symptoms and treatment.
From 2015 till date, the group has covered the whole Alanda village of Puri district and is looking forward to spread their network in different rural areas of Odisha.