Chethan’s Story
Created on 2019-09-13 13:04
Published on 2019-09-13 13:15
Chethan could hardly control his tears. His favourite teacher had died because the blood bank didn’t have any blood for him- they were facing a shortage.
From the book – #ChangeStartsYoung (Amazon)
“How could that be possible?”, Chethan thought angrily, “we have so many people in India. If everyone who could donate blood, did it, then there would be no shortage.”
He found that many people lost their life due to lack of blood because of two reasons.
One- people don’t like donating blood to blood banks because they believed false stories. Stories that said, blood donation made people too weak to work or travel or made their body prone to infections.
Two- private blood banks charge very high rates going upto Rs 25000 for a packet of blood.
Chethan, a quiet, shy boy decided it was time to put an end to the shortage of blood and save precious lives. He started Khoon Khas, an NGO to make people understand that, ’red is not the colour of danger. It’s the colour of life.’
The first blood donation camp did not attract many people. Chethan thought hard and came up with the idea of attractive and entertainment filled blood donation camps, with street plays and a music band to attract young donors.
It was a success!
Soon, Khoon Khas became a well-organised network with a 24*7 helpline that helped people get a blood donor within an hour, at actual price!
Today, Khoon Khas is one of the most trusted NGO’s in the blood donation sector in India. They have associated with Facebook and other national and international organizations.
Yet Chethan still faces a problem- people don’t take him seriously as he is still a teenager.
But this shy kid never gives up- he keeps on finding new ways to make blood available to the needy. Finally, his work convinces one and all.
From the book – #ChangeStartsYoung (Amazon)
Read review of #ChangeStartsYoung on The Hindu
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About the Author
Ashwin Naik is passionate about healthcare access and an advocate for strong primary health as the backbone of healthcare systems worldwide. He consults with organisations around the world, as the founding partner of We Scale Impact. He is also a Resident Fellow at Ashoka, a pioneering network of social entrepreneurs worldwide. In addition he co-founded Vaatsalya (India’s first rural hospitals network) and Seraniti (India’s first integrated mental health organization). He also leads DisruptHealth, a health focused ecosystem enabler based in Pune and is actively involved in the sector as an adviser and angel investor.
He is the author of two books – The Healthcare Gamechangers, which profiles innovations around the world which have the potential to change the way healthcare is delivered, and #ChangeStartsYoung, a book about young changemakers who are starting as early as 11 years young.