Girls work hard to give brother the gift of life for rakhi

The two little girls—Shrishti and Muskan, aged thirteen and nine—have been trying to collect money by polishing shoes on the streets of Uttar Pradesh's industrial town of Kanpur for the treatment of their elder brother, who is suffering from a rare disease.

Their brother, 14-year old Anuj, has been suffering from "Aplastic anemia" a condition where the bone marrow stops producing enough new blood cells. As not enough white blood cells are produced, one also is more prone to disease and infection. Aplastic anemia can lead to unstoppable bleeding. A simple cold or nose bleed can be quite dangerous to someone with aplastic anemia.

Bone marrow
The treatment advised by the doctors for Anuj involves bone marrow transplant, which costs around Rs 20 lakh. Anuj's father Manish Behal is a motor mechanic and is barely able to make two ends meet.

Realising the plight of their father, both Shrishti and Muskan decided to do something to save their brother's life and for the past several days they have been on the streets polishing shoes and seeking help from the passers by for his treatment.

Carrying placards on which is written “Save my brother,” the two little sisters hit the streets daily after returning from their school and continue their job till late in the evening.

“We want to give the gift of life to our brother and we hope that by Rakhi we will be able to collect sufficient money,” they said realising little that the task at their hands is very difficult.

They do however realise that the Rakhi gift was very costly. Their sheer determination has forced many a people in the industrial town to join them in their herculean task and scores of people accompany the two girl these days wherever they seek help from the passers by.

Many organisations have also started collecting money from the people to help Anuj's family. Members of a Kanpur-based drama group collected alms at the busy Naveen Market in the town a few days ago.

Voluntary organisations have also appealed to the people to help Anuj.