Operation Shanti - In Memory

Gangadhara: born late 1980's, died March 13, 2007 survived by father, two brothers, wife Kumari, stepson Venkatesh, stepdaughter Prema, daughter Chumi and son Mohan

We met Gangadhara's children and wife in May of 2005. Gangadhara had family--a father, two brothers and stepmother--but he preferred staying on the street with his wife and children. Gangadhara contracted tuberculosis some time in 2003, about the same time that his wife and daughter were admitted to the hospital with the same disease. Dad unfortunately refused to be admitted, instead choosing to take just enough of the ATT (antituberculosis treatment) to feel better, so that he could drink again. He was young, so his body could tolerate this deadly cycle.

(click on images for larger views)

And for four long years, it was a painful cycle for Gangadhara, and extremely difficult in the end as he was fully conscious during his final days. This pattern of taking ATT until one feels better, then hitting the bottle again and refusing to continue the medicine is common among Indian men with tuberculosis, especially the uneducated. TB doctors say that the disease is easily cured by properly taking the medication, and that the women are much better at taking their medicine as instructed than the men. So many fathers die from TB, spreading the disease to those around them in the process, and leave behind a family, like Gangadhara did.

Fortunately for his children, their mother is a strong woman and had been supporting them for a few years. We are helping her and her kids, with education and housing. We continue to hope that, with such guidance, they'll be able to avoid the lifestyle and habits that drove their father to an early, avoidable, and very unfortunate death.