Karunashraya

Enjoy a musical evening and help cancer care!

Which music lover would want to miss hearing Louis Banks on the keyboard, or Sivamani (percussion) and Niladri Kumar on the sitar? But there is another, more important reason why you should not miss Karunashraya’s jazz/fusion concert presented by Asia Elektrik on Friday, Jan 18.

Karunashraya is hosting a jazz/fusion concert by Asia Elektrik on Friday the January 18, 2008, at the Ambedkar Bhavan, Millers Road, Bangalore to raise funds for their services. It will be an evening of Music, by renowned musicians Louis Banks on Keyboards, Sivamani on percussion, and Niladri Kumar on the Sitar.

The Bangalore Hospice Trust, Karunashraya, is a Charitable Trust giving hope to the literally hopeless - patients with advanced cancer, for the last 12 years. Their aim is to improve the quality of life of such patients, and give them the dignity and peace they deserve at this crucial and traumatic stage of their lives.
Their 50-bed ‘In-Patient’ facility on the Airport Whitefield Road, provides medical care and emotional counseling for both patients and their families, absolutely free of cost, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, or economic backgrounds.

Till date Karunashraya has cared for over 7,500 patients, both as In-patients and at their own homes. More than 80% of the patients are from the weaker economic sections. The government of Karnataka has recognized their services and conferred the state’s highest honour of the Rajyotsava Award for outstanding services in the field of cancer care for the poor.

A patient in an advanced state of cancer, is the most crucial stage of his life, says Managing Trustee, Kishore Rao. “It is a time when he or she has suddenly lost the security and comfort of a hospital, since no further treatment is possible. The trauma of losing medical support, added to the fear of death cannot be easily described. The entire burden of care now rests with the families, who are more often than not, ill equipped financially and emotionally to deal with the situation. We have even come across cases where a house has been mortgaged or the family jewels have been pledged to pay for the treatment.”

In addition to medical care and counseling, Karunashraya operates a Home Care Service, where two dedicated teams visit the homes of terminally ill patients, care for them, guide the families on patient care, and provide emotional support to them. If the team feels that the patient needs the care of the in-patient facility, the same is recommended.

Says Mr Rao, “Our services are entirely free of charge, and the success of this venture depends entirely on the continued generosity of donors at any given point in time. Fundraising is a constant effort - we plan periodic fund-raising events to augment our collection efforts.”

For more details about Karunashraya and the concert, contact +91 97408 10281 or +91 98808 46173.