Auto Raja: For the destitutes

In the footsteps of Mother Teresa

We all have different aspirations for the future. By say, 2010, we would like to become a doctor, or financially secure, buy a posh flat, a Skoda car, and so on and so forth. Like us, ‘Auto Raja’ too has a dream, with the difference that it is not for him, but for the destitute and the homeless. In the next two years, he aims to rescue 1,000 people from the streets.

Why is he so unlike the rest of us? You have to know his past for that.

The son of a telephone linesman, T. Raja never knew parental love and took to stealing, drinking and gambling early in life. He ran away from home and lived on the streets for two years. He slept on the streets near garbage bins and rabid dogs that constantly pined around him day and night. His life was meaningless and he was just another destitute wandering aimlessly on the streets of Bangalore.

Unable to bear the life of such anguish, Raja decided to start working to support his basic needs. He drove autorickshaws and taxis for some time, worked as a bodyguard and hit man. He felt lost and a constantly searched his heart for answers about his life. It was then that God, came to him, in the form of a friend who helped him realize that there was more to life. That life itself is a blessing to those who use it for the service of others. It changed him completely. That day, he made a commitment to himself: He would dedicate his life to help the dying and destitute people on the streets.

Today, the home accommodates and cares for more than 200 residents who have been rescued from the most inhumane and unhygienic circumstances. It is a place of solace and shelter for people who are suffering from AIDS, cancer and kidney failures besides many who are mentally challenged. These residents who were once disowned by their families and doomed to fend for themselves have found a new reason to live. These 170 residents would have been a statistic on the list of Bangalore’s unidentified dead if Raja had not reached them.

It is now 11 years since Raja started the New Ark Mission of India (NAMI). Today, NAMI’s Home of Hope spread over 3,300 sft, is where the future of the homeless lies. “It is my dream to make sure that not a single person remains homeless on the streets of Bangalore.” says Raja ambitiously. The task is not easy though as his home is run entirely on voluntary donations. In ’98, the India Campus Crusade for Christ donated a half acre land for him. The home finds it difficult to meet the needs of food clothing, shelter, education and medication for its residents. Raja has managed to acquire an ambulance to pick up the sick from the streets, but he knows that there is a long way to go.

The limitations however have not distracted him from the real focus of the Home of Hope – to ensure dignity of life and death. For even those who die homeless on the streets are taken to the home, bathed and then cremated. What more can we ask for?

Raja’s crusade for the homeless has been equally dramatic as his past. In the beginning, when he approached the destitute and the dying, they suspected that he wanted to steal their organs! Recalls Raja, “The poor destitutes were taken aback at me holding them because they have never been approached by anyone before. In fact, they are only used to people stoning them or abusing them. Some of them are so weak that they can barely move their limbs, while others who just manage to move need to battle with the street dogs to feed themselves from the leftover in trash bins. Most of them rejected by their families are living the most inhuman lives and with their bodies covered with sores.” These are the kind of people at the Home of Hope.

When NAMI was first started, all that Raja could do was to pick them from the street in his auto and bring them to his home. With minimal help from others, he would bathe and shave them and clean up their wounds. They would then be dressed afresh and fed. The New Ark Mission was housed in a 5’ by 6 feet passage outside Raja’s tiny single room house, with support from his family members.

Raja and his team start the day in their vehicles, an ‘autorikshaw’ and an ‘ambulance’ (Rescue Chariots) and bring ailing people from the streets. The local people in the area also inform Raja about those in distress and who need help immediately. The Police Department of Bangalore and the Hoysala Police patrol squads work closely with the organisation by identifying and bringing destitute people from the streets to the Home of Hope. Every month at least 10-15 people are rescued and brought to the home.

One of the remarkable services offered here is that every effort is made to fulfill the last wish of a dying person. Some residents, in their final moments of life have desired to eat an apple; some have asked for a good meal while others pray and peacefully leave the world. Raja considers it an honor to be able to care for these people even if it was in their final moments of their life. Many residents of the home die in Raja’s arms.
How they are treated: All the residents are treated with care. Raja and his team make every effort to make the life of the residents comfortable and memorable. Raja has two full time helpers, Mani Meghalay and her husband Madan who cook, do all the cleaning and maintenance work.

How does it feel to take care of them day in and day out? “Some of them are violent and dangerous, especially when they are first rescued. They hurl at you, but patience brings them around,” says Raja. Misguided fortitude often makes them run back to the streets, as they are unable to come in terms with their own helplessness. But Raja takes time to counsel them.

There are celebrations too – of birthdays of the residents as decided by the members itself. And there are deaths too. In the past 9 years, 175 people have died in the campus. Every month minimum of 5 -10 people die in the campus. Every month more than 10-15 people are rescued and brought to Home of Hope.
Some of those who have been touched by Raja’s care are:

* Joshua, a 7-8 month old baby with eye cancer who was found abandoned near a public toilet. Raja rescued him and got him some medical attention through an NGO. One eye had to be removed and he sees with one eye. He is about a year and a half old now and has just started to walk.

* Nagesh, found lying outside a Government hospital gate with a 5-6 kg cancerous tumor on his thigh. The doctor had told him that it would require Rs. 20,000/- to be operated. NAMI rescued him, and got him operated. He survived for 2 months after the surgery but passed away later.

* Kumar: He was poor and living on the streets. He developed a wound on his toes and this soon got infected and filled with maggots. He couldn’t walk and was begging on the streets. Raja’s team cleaned his wounded toes, but his toe had to be amputated. Today, Kumar is fully healed and is a full time volunteer at Home of Hope.

What can we do for Home of Hope? Plenty. Right now, they need a diesel generator for backup power, a used van (Tempo Traveler or something similar) to take the inmates to hospitals, and expenses towards a building fund for a larger facility. And to meet recurring costs, regular donations on a monthly basis, sponsoring an inmate’s daily needs, committed volunteers, etc.

Auto Raja has shown that much is possible to do before 2010. We may or may not be able to buy that dream house or dream car we want, but we can certainly make the life of the street people more meaningful by supporting him. If Kolkata had its Mother Teresa, Bangalore has its own Auto Raja.

(Home of Hope: Doddagubbi Village, KRC Road, next to KRC, Bangalore 562 149.)