“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”
― John Holmes
A gesture of compassion costs nothing and yet it heals the wound and conquers the evil! Seventy Six year old, Popularly known as the ‘Medicine Monk’ (or Dawai Wale Baba in Hindi) Omakr Nath Sharma is an inspiring example that will let you realize there are endless ways one can dedicate one’s life in the service of people. Despite the fact that he is crippled due to the accident in his childhood, Nath is full of infinite energy and enthusiasm to help the helpless.
For the past 5 years, he has been waling in the streets of Delhi, knocking door to door and motivating people to give away their unused medicines. Everyday, he collects medicines that are worth thousands of rupees and distributes them amongst the poor through NGOs and hospitals. He states, “in my long 27-year-long career as a medical attendant, I have experienced that there are people around who haven’t got enough money to buy even cheaper medicines like painkiller or antibiotics which has made me feel to help them anyway. I have seen people to be throwing out medicines after the recovery and it seemed to me a complete wastage. Those medicines can be redistributed to those needy people and from the very day I started to do my bit.”
Nath prefers to work quietly, making no tall claims about himself or what he does. Every morning, he dresses himself in a bright orange smock that bears the numbers of the two mobile phones that he carries – 09971926518 and 09250243298. His relentless hard work is a testimony to a quiet determination of anyone who faces considerable challenges themselves to try and help the ones in need.
Omkar Nath Sharma aspires to establish a free medicine bank, properly catalogued and available to the ones who are in dire need. Currently, he has teamed up with various clinics around Delhi that make use of the collected supplies.
