Raghuveer: the path to healing

Raghuveer, a 15-year-old boy living in extreme poverty in a Jaipur slum.

In le Fil de l’Espoir #18, you discovered the story of Raghuveer, a 15-year-old boy living in extreme poverty in a Jaipur slum.

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Suffering from a boil and an untreated hip fracture, Raghuveer had great difficulty walking, and pain prevented him from sleeping. Identified and cared for by a mobile clinic run by Tabaar, a local association and partner of La Chaîne de l’Espoir, he underwent surgery and was monitored on a daily basis until his recovery. Today, Raghuveer is walking normally again, one step at a time towards a tomorrow where he can pursue his dreams.

“I feared my son would never recover, believing his illness was due to the sins of past lives. But today, he’s healthy. I’m infinitely grateful for the help.” Raghuveer’s mother

That’s what happened to Raghuveer. Four years ago, this 14-year-old boy with hazel eyes and rebellious hair had a boil on his hip. His parents, like all those in this informal village, didn’t have the means or the identity papers to have him treated by a doctor. So they took him to see a tradi-praticien (a traditional “healer”). The healer put so much pressure on his leg, apparently to get the pus out, that it fractured the boy’s hip.

For months, nurse Rajesh Soni has been working hard to restore Raghuveer’s vitality, and he now walks with the help of a tin stick: “First we treated his boil. Then we took him regularly to the public hospital, which is 20 kilometers away, to do all the tests in preparation for an operation,” he explains, pointing to the thick medical file that had been compiled. The teenager is suffering less and is being taken care of: the association has applied for an identity card and will finance his operation, which should take place in the next few months.