City Pulse

Pillalamarri Sridhar will never forget the June of 2012.  That fateful month, the 56-year-old lost his father to Cancer. However, that loss came with a small but prominent silver lining. The whole experience taught him an important lesson; the contribution of volunteers in making the last few days of those terminally ill, full of peace and dignity. That experience encouraged him to start Sanman, a Bengaluru-based organisation that provides palliative care to patients suffering from chronic debilitating illness and improving their quality of life.

“When my father was undergoing treatment, we were helped by volunteers in coping up with the situation. That’s when I realized the importance of having a good support system of volunteers who would provide palliative care, and in 2013 I created Sanman that would provide a similar support system for those in need,” says the C V Raman Nagar resident.  

Today, Sanman has 200 registered volunteers of which about 50 are active, offering their time for activities like resource and funds mobilisation, helping with documentation at hospitals like Kidwai Memorial Hospital, spending time with patients of all ages at the hospitals, coordinating with blood banks or blood donors for blood requirements, running activities at hospices like Karunashraya, among others. “Volunteers are from diverse backgrounds. Two hours of time is all that we ask from them," Sridhar adds.

“There is very little awareness about palliative care in the country. And, there are very few palliative care organisations in India; be it a hospice or an NGO. Palliative care is now promoted worldwide as a Human Right. At present in India the coverage of palliative care is less than 2% and in a recent quality of death ranking we are last among 40 countries evaluated,” explains the IIT Kharagpur alumnus.

Filling this important gap in providing palliative care is one of the most important aims of Sanman. “The group comprises well-known doctors like  Dr. Stanley Macaden and Dr. Prabha. It was through interactions with them and other doctors at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Karunashraya, and Baptist Hospital, that the group became even well-versed in providing palliative care,” says Sridhar.

During their initial days, the Sanman team found out that palliative care is needed not just for cancer patients, but also for those who suffering from chronic illnesses like heart and neurological disease, renal failure, and those needing pediatric and geriatric care. “Volunteering at Kidwai and Karunashraya exposed us to the various needs of the patients," Sridhar adds.

Sanman which means respect aims to add life to the remaining years of those stricken with debilitating, and incurable diseases. “It is about allowing a good, peaceful, and dignified natural death. Sanman also provides support to the patients’ families, who are the primary caregivers,” says Sridhar.  

Functions undertaken by Sanman:

At present, Sanman volunteers offer varied services at Kidwai, Karunashraya, and Indian Cancer Society (ICS). Volunteers can opt for direct or indirect support to patients and their families. The broad set of activities of Sanman includes counseling patients and directing them to the various departments and services available at the hospitals, connecting patients with blood donors at the time of need and organising or coordinating blood donation camps. They also raise funds, buy medicines, medical equipment and help get treatment for people in genuine need. They also help the administrative staff (guiding patients, documentation, file retrieval, writing of railway passes) when they are overloaded with work.

Some other functions include; documentation and assistance at cancer detection camps, training and supervising student volunteers from educational institutions across Bangalore, and Interacting with patients and engaging them in conversation and activities that help to entertain them.

Sridhar has also been an active member of Indian Cancer Society Karnataka Chapter, Bengaluru since 2014. 

“Apart from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by organisations, there is a strong spirit of ‘giving back to society’ and volunteering by individuals or families, whether it is by spending time or contributing financially to a worthy cause. Maybe, that spirit can be termed individual social responsibility or ISR. Hence creating Sanman as a citizen volunteer group provides a platform for individuals or families to contribute to the much-needed palliative care requirements in India,” says this changemaker.