GULF-GOANS e-NEWSLETTER (since 1994)
With no income, Neura family struggles to live Manuel Vaz MERCES, FEB 7, 2009 Goa is being rated as one of the best State in the country and Chief Minister Digambar Kamat makes a mention of it on many occasions. However, the picture is not quite rosy for many and there are still some families in the State, who cannot even afford a single meal and find it difficult to make both ends meet. In one such instance at Gudiwada-Neura, Bhima Naik (45) and his wife Raksha (40) have no source of income and are struggling to survive. Bhima is afflicted with polio and has cataract in one of his eyes, while Raksha Naik suffers from tuberculosis. The couple also has two children to look after and they are entirely dependent on generous donors for their survival. Being polio-afflicted and with poor vision, Bhima is unable to do any job and the family was dependent on Bhima’s wife Raksha, who was doing menial jobs, to earn their livelihood. However, Raksha contracted tuberculosis and became bed-ridden due to weakness and is currently undergoing DOTS treatment. Her weakness means that Raksha is unable to work, thereby depriving them the only source of income and now the entire family is completely dependent on charity. Their daughter Rakhi Naik (13), who was studying in Std 7, has also left school, while Saish is five years old. The house, where the family stays, is also in a dilapidated condition, with a weak roof posing threat of collapse. And to compound their miseries, the century-old traditional pathways leading to Naik’s house are blocked due to construction of compound walls by neighbours, thereby forcibly restricting the movement of the family members. This correspondent himself found it difficult to enter the Naik’s house and was surprised to find the house virtually fortified by walls on almost all sides. As it is, the Naik family is living a hand-to-mouth existence and fighting a legal battle in such circumstances is definitely an arduous task, which has meant that the Naiks have had to suffer the injustice silently. www.oheraldo.in ----- Goa-World.Com Team requests Manuel Vaz to contact us at goaworldto...@gmail.com in order to assist the Naik family in Merces in their hour of need. A group of individuals and subscribers of Gulf-Goans e-Newsletter have voluntarily came forward to contribute towards this cause. Any person/organization also wishing to contribute may email their name, contact telephone in order to coordinate ------ Goa World Goa Mog Goa SuRaj Super Goa (em Português) TGF Writers' Sketchpad www.colaco.net www.goa-world. .com/goa/ music/ - The Online Music Station for KONKANI Mahableshwar http://www.mahables hwar.com St. Mary's School - Mt Abu, Rajasthan India http://www.abusms. com http://www.goa-dc.com/flvvid/ikonkani.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTduCJkQNiQ GOA MAG ONLINE http://www.goamag.net http://mumbaihangout.org/radio/ Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress. -- Nicholas Murray Butler
