Written Sunday, April 29, 2012
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First thing first...those who don't know Shriya...please visit
www.saveshriya.com
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Now read on....
6:15 pm :: Reached home after an overnite stay at didi's place. Still smiling to myself thinking about my 6 yr old niece, Sanika's, mischievous yet innocent talks, I checked my cell...2 missed calls...from Shriya's father, Jaydeep!
Shoot!! They must be expecting me to call, as I only asked them yesterday if I cud come & meet Shriya...Sanika got me late again!!! I smiled once again thinking of Saanu...n dialled Jaydeep back to know if I could come over.
7:15 pm :: Jaydeep guided me thru stairs of his house to upper floor...a small family of 4, spanning 3 generations was standing in anticipation...Aahhh!!! There she is...Shriya, in her mother's arms. "Looks weak"...I thought, but reminded myself...that this little girl of 23 months, courtesy to her ever falling platelets and hb due to Gaucher's, has already been to hospital more no. of times than any other person present in the room...!!!...hmmm...'hope things turn around soon !!!' I wished...n exchanged pleasantries with Shriya's Daadi, Mom-Shivani & Bro-Ansh.
A few mins later, Shriya got busy with the little teddy, Chaitra sent for her. Shivani was busy serving soft drinks with snacks amidst my usual "Please don't be formal..." stuff...After a bit of small-talk...I asked Jaydeep how's it going on funds collection front? The response was not surprising...'Only a trickle of funds ever since the Summer4Shriya drive ended in Infy'. I congratulated Chaitra in my mind once again that atleast we, as infoscions, did raise hopes!!!
Within few mins, I started to understand, that Shriya's parents are hoping for a miracle to happen...that some NGO/Corporate/Philanthropist will soon understand the gravity of Shriya's ailment and sponsor her treatment till she's 18. What followed next was quite a detailed discussion on why they should bank more on forming a large base of small donors than finding one big philanthropist. I told them a few facts like how much money is reqd. to give Shriya 2*12*16 ~ 400 ERTs @ about 85-100k per ERT. The accountant in me wondering why haven't they done the maths themselves yet !!!. The answer was mumbled by Shivani, when I told the range as 3.5-4 crores..."We never calculated as we feared this would make us hopeless..." "Hmmm..." I thought..."I'll take that answer only because u r the parents...n I know by experience that parents can act pretty wierdly at times!!!"
8:15 pm :: The discussion continues...while I explained crudely how 1-2 crores collected in very near future cud be 4 crs of Shriya's distant future. And then, came the killer point which was hiding in plain sight from Jaydeep and Shivani...If everyone contributes only 100 bucks one time...it will take only 200k donors to save Shriya...Both Jaydeep and Shivani, tired from knocking corporates/NGOs doors in last 3 months, must have thought I was a little crazy in using 'only' & '200k donors' together...but I was ready to thank 'The Internet' in my next sentence!!! I also clarified that they don't need to know 200k donors personally...but they could be gathered thru friends of friends (kid's stuff for seasoned FB users, which Shriya's parents were not...unfortunately )...
It looks like they have started to see my point that getting govt support or finding a philanthropist is like finding a needle in the haystack, while building credibility amongst small donors thru word of mouth is so much feasible over internet!!! All we need to do is to be completely honest with the money collected and transparent with the group of donors. After all, we have successfully done the POC in Infy.
I chuckled at my last thought...POC...can't keep office lingo out for long!!!. I was about to clarify what POC stands for, when all of a sudden, we heard a loud thud in the nearby room n a shrieking cry. Shivani rushed in the room to pick Shriya up, I was also half-standing, when Jaydeep said "Her legs are weak...she can't keep walking for long without falling!!!" I heard a loud "DAMN" inside my head...but Jaydeep heard only a faint 'Ohhh!'...I hope he understood...that like many males, I'm not comfortable showing off my emotions in the first meeting!!!
8:45 pm :: Things looking positive...Shriya's parents are getting keen to know how they can reach out to masses? "The technicalities can be taken care of..." I assured them and told just to focus on having a short-term and a long-term plan ready. I knew...I need to contribute in every plan in whatever way I can.
9:15 pm :: I finally decided to show them the SaveShriya group I've been hosting on FB (erstwhile, without their knowledge) to spread awareness n hoping for contributions from my friends & friends' friends. Shivani was surprisingly shocked on seeing '207 members' on right side of screen!!! She asked me..."Can I also Join? and then add my friends or relatives??" I smiled to her saying..."Sure" and silently said to myself..."Now u r getting the drift!!! Get active on FB first...but don't get too struck with unproductive stuff!!! :)".
9:30 pm :: Time to leave after a few clicks with Shriya n her family. While standing in the dark narrow lane outside their house , I asked them if I could post the clicks on the Group for everyone to see? They asked surprisingly..."Will all 207 members could see at same time???" I said "YES". Instead of the dark...I could still see the relief on their faces that comes from a re-ignited hope. I felt...I've done my bit for the day...n started to head home.