“A year and a half ago, I picked up an elderly lady and had to drop her at the airport. While I was driving towards my next pickup, I received a call from the lady’s daughter who informed me that her mother had left her phone in the cab and as a result, her blood pressure had shot up. I assured her that I would return it right away. I drove back to the airport and handed the phone over to the lady and her eyes were beaming with gratitude. She even offered me some money as a kind gesture but I requested her to just keep me in her prayers and left. For me, it is not the money, it is the blessing!
I come from a lower middle class family and we had moved to Nerul in Mumbai when I was 5 years old. My father, who retired 7 years ago, worked as a civil contractor. It was a struggle for my father to make ends meet and the little that he did was not enough to provide for my family. I studied in Anjuman Islam, Vashi. Living in a big city like Mumbai with meagre income in the family, life was as bitter as it could get.
In February 2005, I suffered an injury on my right arm and the doctors said it could be an infection. It is possible that I fractured my shoulder while previously working at a construction site where I had to carry aluminum up and down 7 floors.
The pain was so excruciating that I couldn’t raise my hand and eventually, I had to drop out of 12th standard. Later, I pursued a one-year diploma course in Automobile Repair through correspondence and later joined a company to install security systems in cars.
Neither did the company pay well nor on time. I couldn’t manage with the paltry amount of Rs. 8000. Five years into my job, the company decided to put the security systems by themselves. On reaching out to my manager for my pay, he blatantly refused to pay me. This pushed me to quit my job and search for newer avenues to respectfully start earning for myself.
At that time, my friends told me about Ola and that they were looking for drivers.
After hearing about the earning potential, I felt it was an opportunity to do more and be more. With the help of my family, I gathered enough money to buy my own car and joined the platform in July 2015.
When I joined the Ola platform, l had very little idea of the benefits but I took the plunge.
My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and doctors also found tumors in her intestine. She is undergoing chemotherapy and is keeping stable at the moment. The doctor informed that the treatment would go on for six months and required four chemotherapy sessions.
When I heard the news, my brain froze. My family too was in shock. We didn’t know what to do.
The expenses for all the treatments and medication were huge and it was getting difficult to pay the bills. We used up all our savings for the treatment. My extended family and friends supported me as well
This lockdown period has made it even more difficult to keep a steady source of income. I desperately needed money for my mother’s treatment and was also considering selling my car. This was when a friend of mine reached out to me and informed me about Ola Foundation and how they are helping driver-partners going through medical emergencies. This is the first time I came across a company displaying this level of empathy and helping people in times of need. I’m grateful, that I heard this at the right time and the Foundation immediately extended a helping hand to relieve me of the financial strain.
So far, I have spent around Rs.50,000 for my mother’s treatment and Ola Foundation has also come forth to pay Rs. 59,500 which is a significant amount. It was a straightforward process. They had access to all the documents and they knew the gravity of the situation. I never imagined that I would get monetary help within a short span of time given the graveness of the national situation. I will forever be grateful to the Foundation for their help.”

#OlaFoundation #Health #Emergency #Olacabs #Drivers #Travel #Traveldiaries #Cancer #Survival #Motherslove #Inspire #Lockdown #Motivation #Mumbai #Strength #Family #Helpinghand #StoriesofIndia #Support #Family #Motivation #Hyderabad #HumansofHyderabad