He was only a few days old when a surgical mistake on his spine left Sachin Kamble disabled from waist down. Thirty-five years old today, Kamble is participating for the first time in the 6km dream run, complete with his crutches and mobility gear. Joining him will be an able-bodied Kiran Vora, 60, who too will use crutches to complete the run.
Seven disabled people and 10 able-bodied people on crutches will run the dream run at the upcoming Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon in January.
Kamble was fitted with mobility gear at the trust which specialises in Jaipur Foot and callipers for the disabled. The trust decided to participate in March to raise awareness by running the marathon. Currently, they have 19 people running the half marathon and 51 taking part in the dream run.
“When the people at Ratnanidhi Charitable trust approached me I didn't know if I could do it. I am definitely going to complete it. Till now, I've only told this to my wife because it hurts when others discourage me. They tell me I won't be able to do it, but I will,” said Kamble, who sells snacks at Worli Seaface.
The trust members decided to include able-bodied people and encourage them to walk with the help of crutches. “We wanted to bring confidence into the Jaipur Foot community because we are not just here for physical rehabilitation. By participating in the marathon, both will benefit,” said Rajiv Mehta, trustee of Ratnanidhi.
Among the able-bodied ones, Vora works at a bearing manufacturing firm and plays tennis regularly. This is the first time he will be walking on crutches at the marathon. “I used crutches when I fractured my leg a few years ago but that was different. Walking on crutches for so long will be painful but that's the idea. We plan to raise more than Rs60 lakh for the community and the disabled. We've managed to raise Rs35 lakh so far,” said Vora, who is also the president of Rotaract club in Worli.
Besides these people, banker Mithila Balse, 48, will also take part in the dream run to raise funds for the Indian Cancer Society. Suffering from a type of ovarian cancer, Balse was operated on in September and is still undergoing treatment.
Her link on the United Way Mumbai website reads: “On 1st September 2014 when cancer came knocking at my door. All I said was thank God. Thank god it's me. I thank god that I could afford the expensive treatment and operation costs. It made me realise I am so blessed. On the other hand it is heart wrenching to see the lesser privileged cancer patient struggling to cope with the costs of the basic treatment. It is sad that most people are the bread earners for their family and have dependant parents and children and step back from treatment only because they cannot afford to lose their daily wages. So many people need the support, need hope to even go to a doctor or a hospital. (sic)”
Balse said she will try to walk as much as she can as she doesn't feel strong enough yet. “I have done dream runs before but this time I need to build stamina. I have been asked to rest and not strain myself but I'll do what I can as the intention is not to complete it but create awareness and raise funds. We have managed to raise Rs2.58 lakh till now, our goal is Rs5 lakh,” she said.
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