I wish to see animals, birds....nature...bountiful

Preeti, 7 years old, from Kamlapura, village near Nelamangala, was referred to Make A Wish Foundation by St. John's Hospital for wish Granting. She is suffering from systemic lupus erythematosu. She lost her speech in January 2009 and we got to meet her in April. The volunteers could not interact with the girl due to no verbal communication. She was bubbly and full of enthusiasm. With her sign language and her family, volunteers learnt that animals, birds, nature is her dream...and she would wish to be with them. We arranged to take her to Bannerghatta national park for a full day visit and her joy knew no bounds spending the day amongst animals, birds and nature. Her smile speaks more for her joy. We pray God for granting her more and more of joy.

Run for Make A Wish in the Sunfest 10K Bangalore marathon

Bravo....we would have more than 100 supporters, running for the cause of Make A Wish Foundation in the Bangalore marathon on Sunday 31st. We have participants from Cisco, WNS and many individuals...people who would run, people who have pledged to support MAW... and get many more children to smile in their moments of illness...Thank you one and all for such act of kindness....do join us in our wish fulfillment moments as and when you can....it helps us...and the children too....

I wish to dance wearing silver anklets and colourful bangles....

Namratha, a 10 year old bubbly girl, who underwent surgery for CHD, AD+VSD with bidirectional stunt, surgery with Narayan Hrudualaya, was referred by the hospital to us. She is from Karwar and was here for her operations. Volunteers interacted with her and found the little angel wanted to dance wearing silver anklets and colourful bangles..... The cherished wish was fulfilled on 14th of March 2009, by a group of volunteers/donor cheering the little girl who was elated in her new silver anklets and colourful bangles....with a priceless smile of her own.

Wish I could play with a baby Elephant.....

12 year old Sindhu, was referred to MAW by Narayan Hrudayalaya. She had undergone the heart surgery with them and was recovering. She wished to play with Baby elephant. MAW coordinators had to make her wish possible. Took time, effort and planning, but finally Sindhu could get to play with a baby elephant at Mysore Zoo on Sunday the 8th of February. She along with her family and volunteers from Make A Wish Foundation visited the zoo and with the help of the zoo officials could play with the little cute baby elephant. Yet another prize smile for the Make A Wish Foundation, made possible.

Wish to Meet Actor Puneet Rajkumar

I wish to meet Puneet Rajkumar, is all she wanted, when our volunteers interacted with her at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health. She is having Chronic non curable illness and hence is under treatment with the Institute. Our coordinator Anitha networked with the people in media and got her contacts through the filmdom at Bangalore. Finally she could make her contact with persons who could arrange the meeting with the celebrated Actor. The same was fixed up and the girl was taken to meet her idol actor Puneet Rajkumar, son of the Kannada matinee Idol Late Shri Rajkumar. Shri Puneet was kind to spend time with the girl and gift her some drawing books etc. The moment of fulfilling cherished wish of meeting the actor made the little girl brighten up and gave her life time memories. So Bangalore division could fulfill its first celebrity wish today. Well this is just the begining really......

Their smile ........our reward.......

I wish to see all kinds of animals

Dhanushri a bubbly 8 years old girl suffering from Thalassemia Major referred by Vani Vilas Hospital. She lives with her parents and they are working as farmers. She uses to visit Bangalore on a regular basis for her blood transfusion. They are very small farmers and having one and half acre land but fully dependant on the rain as they were lacking any alternative water irrigation facilities. They grew ragi, jowar, groundnut and some pulses if it rains. They were finding difficulty to meet her medical expenses every month though they were getting free blood transfusion, they need to bare the travel expenses from Nelamangala to Bangalore.

On the first day of interaction though she got blood transfusion a few minutes before the volunteers could speak to her, she starts talking with them very energetically without any kind of shyness. She speak with them concerning to her school, teacher and friends. She was keenly interested in birds, animals and especially with the butterflies. She was engrossed in reading story and comic books in her school library. So, while interacting with her our volunteers find out her innermost wish to see the Bannerghatta national park, where she can enjoy safari in the forest, Butterfly Park and zoological park.

So one special day, along with the volunteer she visited Bannerghatta national park with her mother and younger sister. While we going for the safari, she sat near the window in the Safari vehicle initially she saw bears, deers, lions and tigers. She started enjoying herself while seeing each animal and also counting the number of animals she saw. Even her younger sister started take pleasure in seeing the animals and screaming the name of the animals she saw.

After the safari all of them went to butterfly park, she enjoyed watching variety of butterflies, flowers and the life cycle of the butterflies which displayed in the museum. Then all of us watched a movie of variety of butterflies in India and took a snap in the butterfly park along with her parent and younger sister.

Then the volunteer, girl and family moved to zoological park. In the park she keenly watched animals such as deers, elephants, wild cats, porcupine, cobra, python, rat snakes, and birds like parrots, pigeon, kingfisher, hornbill, ducks, peacock, and woodpecker and so on. When she saw her favorite animal cheetah there was no bounds to her happiness and wishes to have a snap along with it. On her way back to city she sang throughout the journey and fulfilled her cherished wish.

Wish I had a carrom board...i could play carrom...

Manohar, a young beaming boy of 15, from Devanhalli Taluk, attending his schools regularly, is having Hemophilia major. Our volunteers interacted with him and found his love for Carrom, which he gets to play with some friends sometimes in neighbourhood. Not allowed to play games, that could cause him injury or a cut, due to his medical conditions, he wished to have a carrom baord to himself, when he could play with his friends and hone his skills in the striking. God gave us another opportunity to bring smile back on the face of another young boy and we made his wish come true with the carrom board and wish he enjoys playing every moment of it.

Wish I could see cartoons.....as I need to be on bed for two years....

Spreading Joy: Make-A-Wish Foundation gifted ten-year-old Akhila, who was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis, a colour television set.....read this wish story in THE HINDU today at

http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/08/stories/2008070857390200.htm

Bangalore: It sometimes takes very little effort to bring joy to another human being. But on most occasions there is no effort to even communicate. Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has been making that extra effort to make contact and bring smiles to thousands of children across the country.
Take the case of 10-year-old Akhila whose life changed completely when she was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis.
One day, while lifting a bucket of water, the spinal support gave away. She was later admitted to the Lady Curzon hospital. Doctors advised complete bed rest for two years. Life came to a stand still for her.
She was in the hospital when members of Make-A-Wish got in touch with her. After several interactions, they realised that what it would take to make the girl happy was a television set. Coming as she did from a lower middle-class background, her parents could not even afford it.
So, Make-A-Wish gathered the resources and presented her a 14-inch television set, and Akhila’s happiness knew no bounds. “She was so excited that she did not even know what to say,” says her mother. Ask the little girl what she wants to watch and pat comes the reply: “Cartoons!” Started in India by Uday and Gita Joshi in 1996, Make-A-Wish has played Santa to about 13,000 children over all the years.
The organisation responds to the wishes of only those who are in life-threatening situations. Children aged between three and 18 are chosen irrespective of their socio-economic status.
Many hospitals like Kidwai, Lady Curzon and Narayana Hrudayalaya have extended their support to this organisation.

I wish I could read so much.........

THE HINDU, Bangalore Edition carried one of our wish fulfillment stories. Read it at:

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/17/stories/2008061758100200.htm

BANGALORE: Few situations in life can be more tragic than a child battling life threatening illness. Parents can only watch helplessly while doctors somehow attempt to set things right. A Bangalore-based non-governmental organisation called Make a Wish Foundation is attempting to intervene and cater to the child’s wishes, and keep the smile going.
The organisation is aiming to cater to the wishes of children aged between three and 18, especially those who face endless rounds of hospital visits, painful treatment and medication.
The foundation volunteers to meet the children, take note of their wishes and shortlist their wants. “The wishes belong to four categories: wishing to become, wishing to go, wishing to meet and wishing to have,” says Vijay Ladha, Programme Director, MWF. “We launched our programme in January. And till date, we have fulfilled about 20 wishes,” he said.
However, the fulfilment of all children’s wishes requires the doctor’s consent. “Sometimes, it is not possible to fulfil the wishes of a child. One boy wished to play cricket but the doctor did not allow it,” says Mr. Ladha.
Among the wishes the foundation has catered to include visits to the Mysore zoo, wanting a doll as big as a child, possessing a gold fish bowl, learning music and playing musical instruments.
Children who are avid fans of celebrities and sports stars also get their dreams fulfilled. Mr. Ladha said, “The whole concept of fulfilling the wish is important. If a child wants to learn music, we have to ensure that there is a teacher to train her.” “It is very touching. Their wishes are so small. One cannot forget the look on their faces,” says Mr. Ladha.