Death. The word and the vibe the word gives threatens most of us. I know people who don’t even like to spell it because according to them, it brings bad vibes. Yes, I’m not joking here. We cannot blame them. On the other side, we have people who pray for the soul whenever they witness an accident or cross ambulance. Possibly, in this busy world, that is the least they could do. We cannot blame them as well.
Now, imagine waking up and meeting people who are suffering or have already left this world and is left out without help. Of course, this will take a toll on mental health.
Well, for Khalid, the founder of Uravugal Trust, who sees the homeless people as his family, says that he sees the process as his duty and nobody would feel bad if they are doing it for their family.
Talking about how Uravugal Trust started, Khalid said that there were a few incidents that made him start the Trust.
It was 2017. He lost his father. It was one of the starting points for Uravugal Trust. Khalid, who usually delivers food for helpless people on the streets, decided to spend a day with them, talking about their wish. Once an old man said that he wanted a few people to cremate him. Another incident was when an old man died after drinking some water from him. That was the major starting point.
The idea sparked, and the Trust has come a long way now. Adding that the things were easier during the start, Khalid quips that those days he used to have two to three cremation a month. Now, with a bit of recognition, things are keeping him super busy. So far in this month, he says that he had almost 30 cremations.
After surprising us with the answer, he goes on to add that the Trust, in a way, breaks the stereotype when it comes to the women. He takes pride in telling that he has a lot of women volunteers who are eager to take part in the process. A few women came forward to do things even during their Periods. Thereby breaking a lot of stereotypes.
Asking more about their free ambulance service, we asked him to take us through the journey. He opens up that the trust right now has two ambulances. One of them is fully equipped whereas the other is a normal one. The major use of the ambulance is to help the needy transfer the dead body to their place, sometimes, local, sometimes to their native.
To make the people comfortable to carry the body to their native, Khalid adds that sometimes the trust collects a basic amount where he uses it for the diesel, and if the people couldn’t afford the same amount, one of the volunteers would go on to act like they are from the same place as those people and it, in a way, makes them feel comfortable.
The services don’t end with the cremation alone. The team takes care of the death certificate as well. Talking about this, Khalid says that at times, the people who come to him doesn’t know about the formalities, and adds that he has to help him as well.
When asked about a few words on men’s day, Khalid says that 99% of the people whom he met on the road, have told him that they ended up this way because of their son and their wife. He signs off saying that everyone must take care of their parents and it is their duty to do so.
