Purnota Dutta Bahl had a flourishing career before a visit to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai changed her life forever. A little girl battling cancer reminded her of her daughter. Though she had been contributing her mite as an individual donor to the hospital, she realised that she needed to do more, especially for the poor children who were unable to cope with the cancer treatment because of malnutrition.
It was a brave decision to quit a cushy Âcorporate job with a multinational, but it proved to be a turning point in her life. Seven years later, Cuddles Foundation바카라a President바카라s Award-winning charity organisation founded by her바카라is working with 29 hospitals in 19 cities across the country, providing holistic nutritional intervention to underprivileged kids fighting against the Big C. 바카라Our mission is to make sure every child fighting cancer has the right nutrition needed to overcome it,바카라 says Bahl. 바카라We make sure we are there when a kid walks in for treatment at a cancer hospital.바카라
Bahl adds that more than 50,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in India and 40 per cent of them are malnourished at diagnosis. 바카라Eight out of 10 don바카라t survive because of Âmalnourishment,바카라 she points out. 바카라Since childhood cancer is curable the world over, there is no reason we should be losing kids to it because of something as basic as food and nutrition.바카라
She says chemotherapy cannot be administered successfully to kids who are undernourished Âbecause it can have deadly side effects. 바카라So we have to work with doctors to make sure kids are strong enough to take their medicine,바카라 she adds.
According to Bahl, about a third of Indians are believed to be malnourished and over 40 per cent of children receive less food than they should. 바카라It could be dramatically reduced if children receive three things critical for good nutrition바카라adequate food, healthcare and environmental health.바카라
Bahl, 39, had to face many challenges after she embarked on her noble mission. 바카라The first Âchallenge we faced was that we were starting with a blank slate. There was no organisation doing what we were바카라focusing on nutrition for children with cancer. But we were lucky that we had a solid team of advisors바카라all the doctors at Tata Memorial who were championing the cause had our back from a clinical perspective,바카라 she says. 바카라The second challenge we faced was raising funds. We had to provide children free food, Âsupplements and ration. So I put on my Âmarketeer hat and started raising money. We were blessed that the cause resonated with Âothers and we were able to demonstrate our credibility to donors. Another challenge was the high rate of children abandoning treatment Âmidway because of the side effects of chemo. We had to bring that rate down as well.바카라
Looking back at her journey with satisfaction, Bahl says her foundation needs to be there in more hospitals in the times to come. 바카라We want to make sure that all our kids are completing their treatment. We want our moms to be Âchampions of nutrition in their communities because they have seen the consequences of poor nutrition in its deadliest of forms,바카라 she says. 바카라But as we Âexpand our work to reach more, we will need more people to join us in this Âmission by supporting us with their money, voice, talent and influence. We hope more and more people come forth to help us reach out to every kid in the country that needs us.바카라
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