''WE CAN’T RUN AWAY FROM DEATH'', GAUTAMI

Gautami’s Life Again Foundation, is a non-profit organization established to help and inspire people who are in the pre/post transformation stage of terminal diseases. The objective of the foundation  is to create awareness on various forms of Cancer, eradicate the disease and to create a conducive platform and support system for Cancer cure and care. On April 8th which is the World Health Day, the foundation plans to organize an event in Kuwait. Gautami talks to us in detail about the foundation, objectives and much more.

Objective of LIFE AGAIN
The primary objectives of Life Again are in the areas of health and education. When you look at this, everything else arises out of being aware and empowered. These are the fundamental necessities of a human being as per my understanding and conviction. That is the focus of Life Again foundation.

Cancer Awareness
As an initial effort towards achieving this, we are working on cancer awareness. There is a lot of work that is going on in the treatment and care sectors. Our idea is to prevent people from progressing to that far down the stage of diagnosis where urgent attention is needed. If we have to do this, awareness is needed. As the adage goes, prevention is better than cure. We are putting a lot of focus on prevention because early detection has proven to reduce the number of fatalities connected with cancer. Even if we are not able to prevent its coming, we can diagnose early, get treated and manage better.

Awareness, prevention, early detection – these are as critical as being treated after you are diagnosed. We are focussing our efforts on this.

ONE FOR ONE WE ARE THERE FOR EVERYONE
We are definitely going into other areas like supporting other NGOs who are working in the field. Life Again’s major philosophy is-ONE FOR ONE WE ARE THERE FOR EVERYONE.  The motto explains itself, but we are taking it a little beyond into one organization helping another. So, together, we can achieve great things. We are already involved working with other organizations to spread awareness, prevention and early detection. 

Painless and peaceful death
Everyone is going to die one day. The nicest possible way or the greatest control one can have over life is to ensure that they die in the most painless and peaceful way. That is smartness! It is not just about cancer, even diabetes. If you leave it unattended, it might result in complications such as renal failure and other problems.

You have to exercise your will and discipline and make a few practical decisions like how you make choices about your food or education or life. You need to also extend that for how you have to die. One inevitable thing in life is death which none of us can run away from. We are all reaching that point where the curtains are going to come down. We should be in a space where we are as painless as possible, as peaceful as possible. We have to face that truth and that is part of our endeavor. Reach that message across in a kind way.

Life Again is for everybody
One thing about Life Again Foundation which I am very proud of is that we are not a  closed organization which is evident from our motto-ONE FOR ONE WE ARE THERE FOR EVERYONE.  Life Again is for everybody.  If you take this motto in your life, you can do good things wherever you are in your life. It can be a small gesture or a great one. Reach more people. You can make a difference to people who are just around you. Do this not as a duty but as a gesture to reach out to fellow human beings. What I want to spread is that everyone has a right to that. This will cut across education, religion, social strata and language.

Kuwait
I am very proud to say we already have people in a few countries in the world who are supporting and are a part of us. We have a good presence in the US, a strong, committed and dedicated group in Kuwait. They are doing things in a big level. It is a beautiful way to express universality of mankind. It is just not Indians in Kuwait but people from other countries in Kuwait are also part of it. More than being proud, I am touched. My faith in mankind is validated by these things. I would say it is not about nobility, but it is simply about doing normal things. I am not doing anybody a favor. We are all one and these activities are a normal one. Everyone has their own challenges and limitations and within that we need to help others which should become a normal act and it should not be glorified. Help honestly with an open heart.

If people practice ONE FOR ONE WE ARE THERE FOR EVERYONE, we will unknowingly find the way to help each other and it automatically becomes  a practice. It is always not about money, but sometime soothing words would also give a lot of hope and strength to someone in despair. Even if it is a small gesture, it will suffice, that’s the only way you can make the world a better place.

Jyothsna Bhavanishankar

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