By Sona
One morning, Sarah’s father was reading the newspaper when a report caught his attention. It was about a man who was struggling to get a suitable place to stay in the compound of a hospital where his five-year old son had been admitted for blood cancer. The man’s name was Kabeer, and his son’s name was Sameer. He didn’t have enough money to pay for the accommodation for himself while his son was receiving medical treatment.
Kabeer and Sameer were from a remote village, the report explained. They had come to the hospital, located hundreds of kilometres from their home, because it was said to be among the best available places for the treatment of cancer. Kabeer, the report said, did odd jobs to earn a livelihood. He couldn’t do much work though, because he had no hands. He had been born with two stumps, in place of full-length hands, that extended just till the elbow. Finding themselves now in a strange city, this father and son duo didn’t have enough money for their expenses.
Sarah’s father put down the newspaper and went to his bedroom. He took out an envelope from a cupboard—his ‘charity envelope’, into which he put some money every month for good causes. He counted out a bunch of notes and called out to Sarah.
‘Sarah, could you please take this money to the cancer hospital and hand it over to a person called Kabeer? It’s a contribution towards his son’s treatment,’ he said to her.
Sarah had to go to office that day, and so, going to the hospital would mean reaching office late. But when her father explained who and what the money was for, she eagerly agreed.
When Sarah arrived at the hospital, she found that it was a really big place, with several dozen big buildings spread over a vast stretch of land. There were so many people moving about there that she thought it might be almost impossible to find Kabeer there. But when she went to the hospital help-desk, she was able to locate Kabeer very easily. He was by now a common sight in the hospital—a man with no hands, who carried his son on his shoulders because he couldn’t hold the boy’s hand.
The kind lady at the help-desk arranged for Sarah to meet Kabeer. Sarah was taken aback on seeing him. Despite the challenges that he faced, his face seemed to glow with an inner joy. And Sameer seemed such a sweet child. It was strange how happy he too appeared to be so cheerful despite his cancer.
Sarah handed over to Kabeer the money that her father had given her.
Kabeer thanked her profusely. ‘May God bless your father, and you, too’, he said.
Sarah had to leave in a hurry as she was late for office. ‘I should thank you,’ she said to Kabeer and Sameer as she turned to go, ‘because you gave my father and me the opportunity to be of service to someone.’
(This story is based on a real-life incident)
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