This is the story of Manish, a cricket coach by profession and a true GavaKshar by spirit. He truly associates himself to the children he works with and is passionate about transforming each life that comes across him. As a kid, Manish had an accident where he fell of a steel chair and cut his upper lip. Since then, he is living with the Cleft Lip condition. He did face problems in regards to speech but that did not affect his confidence. He grew up to be a self-reliant man with a strong attachment for sports and children.

Manish has been associated with GavaKsh for quite some time now. He loves to spend time with the children, teaching them the basics of the game and also helping them with their day-to-day studies. A strong bond seems to have developed between him and the kids. The young GavaKshars look forward to the sessions by their favorite Manish Bhaiya. Manish has also been supportive of our other initiatives. Whether it was painting the walls of the slum or promoting a campaign, we knew we could fall back on Manish.

In 2018, we were promoting our campaign for ‘Free Cleft Lip Surgery’ with Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary (SGT) University. Manish, himself living with the condition was obviously enthusiastic about the cause and volunteered to help us through the initiative. During a set of promotions, Manish often faced the question of why he is not availing the free service being provided by the campaign. To ensure his trust in our campaign, he decided to himself undergo the surgery. He showed his confidence in GavaKsh and without a thought took up the challenge and ensured people’s trust in Gavaksh and its initiatives by his act. The surgery was successful. Manish truly stood up as an example of trust and hope for many.

Seeing the success of Manish’s surgery, many families came forward to inquire about the surgery. Also, did most of them got themselves registered for medical assistance. We are thankful to Manish for his kind gesture that surely made an impact on many lives and helped us bring that smile of hope on many faces.