When ambulances can’t enter the slums of Ambujwadi, Mumbai, Sunil Mishra, an auto driver ferries patients to the hospitals. And he has been doing so since the last 11 years.
For Sunil, life is all about making ends meet and helping ailing persons from his locality access hospitals and clinics. Any delay in access to treatment can cost someone his/her life.
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Mishra started his mini-ambulance-like service in his autorickshaw sometime back in 2007. What inspired him to help others in need of medical attention was the sight of seeing his own mother falling off a bike which resulted in severe injuries.
“No one likes seeing someone’s loved ones suffering in pain, losing a lot of blood. If there is something I can do to help them, we must go out of our way. This is the very least we can do,” says Mishra. Fortunately, Mishra took her to the hospital and she recovered soon.
Mishra was just a 10-year-old boy when he first moved to Mumbai from his native village in Pratapgarh district Uttar Pradesh in 1988 with his father. Failing to finish school, he had little choice but to take up a job as an autorickshaw driver.
In all these years, Mishra and his ‘mini-ambulance’ has brought succour to hundreds of lives, saving many, but also witnessing the passing away of some in his attempts to help. Through all the trials and tribulations, Mishra has maintained his dedication to serving those in need.
“Whatever they can pay, I accept. If they have money, they pay, but if they don’t, then what can you do. People even come and knock at my door at odd hours of the night seeking help and I don’t have the heart to refuse them. If there are people with physical disabilities on the road, I often stop my auto and ask them where they want to go. If the distance is under 2 km, I drop them for free. I try and serve my community in whatever way possible. These are basic values which can take us forward,” says Mishra, speaking to The Better India (TBI).
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Most of his income goes into paying for his two young children, while the rest goes into putting food on the table and sending money to his parents back home in Uttar Pradesh. It was only a couple of years back when he bought his auto rickshaw, but struggles to fill his EMI with earnings less than Rs 500 a day.
“Mumbai is an expensive city, and it’s a real struggle for me to keep up every month. For three-four months at a stretch, I cannot fill my EMI and get called up by the banks. If I did receive some sort of assistance, maybe I could better serve society,” says Mishra. His wife and two children are currently back in his village in Uttar Pradesh.
“Once you read about my story, find a way to help people particularly people like us from the working class who struggle everyday to make ends meet,” he says.
(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)