OUR journey in photos

Glimpses of "Project PITHU" launching

Few glimpses of “Project PITHU” launching in Chhattisgarh by Support Our Heroes NGO

Stories of a few heroes/their families we were able to support

As we celebrate 74 years of India’s independence we reminisce the stories of a few heroes/their families we were able to support recently. We are extremely thankful to everyone who supported our efforts.

Support Our Heroes handed over Rs 1,33,000 to widow of Late. Ex-Sepoy

One of our patrons, Lt. Col R.D. Sharma (Retd.) was contacted by daughter of Mrs. Manjit Kaur w/o Late Ex Sep. Mohinder Singh to seek help for renovating her mother’s dilapidated house in Punjab. Mrs. Manjit Kaur and Sep. Mohinder Singh had rendered free untiring service to the fellow outstation veterans during the One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) movement at Jantar Mantar, by cooking food, tea etc. for them.
 
After the demise of her husband and son, Mrs. Manjit Kaur had no option but to live with her 4 grandchildren in the deteriorated house which could crumble down any day. House repair required significant amount of money running into lakhs, which wasn’t possible from her widow pension. It is barely enough to feed her and her grandchildren.
 
To assess the situation physically and assure Mrs. Manjit Kaur of all possible help from “Support Our Heroes” team’s side, our patron Lt. Gen. JS Dhillon (Retd.) travelled down to her place in this COVID-19 situation. Once he was there, he spoke to the village sarpanch and persuaded him to issue ration to Mrs Manjit. This would ease some of the financial burden off of her shoulders.
 
Even though the financial help which Mrs. Manjit needed was huge, Lt. Col RD Sharma resoluted to help her on humanitarian grounds. He made a personal contribution himself and reached out to others in his social group.
 
With the guidance of Lt. Col. Sharma (Retd.) and efforts of Gaurav Shukla (Co-founder, Support Our Heroes), a lot of people came forward to help this lady. While we are grateful to everyone who contributed for this case, we would specially like to acknowledge the contributions of Col Raghubir Singh (TSEWA), Mrs. Savita Kohli, Mrs Mamta Agarwal & Other Lionesses (Lions Club) and Cdr Gavi Kumar.
 
We have handed over Rs 1,33,000 to Mrs. Manjit Kaur for the house repair. Using this money, she has started the repair work.
 
We would like to sincerely thank our patrons and all the donors who helped in arranging such a big amount of money in no time. This money means a lot to this lady who had lost all the hope in the world. It is a reassurance to her and other defence families that they are not alone.
 

Widow of Late. Ex-Sepoy contacted Support Our Heroes as her last ray of hope

Devastated, first with the untimely death of her son and then her husband, widow of Late. 1108102 Ex-Sepoy Mohinder Singh has contacted us as her last ray of hope. During the One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) movement at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, Ex-Sepoy Mohinder and his wife had provided free untiring service to the fellow outstation veterans by cooking food for them for around a month.
 
Today, Mohinder’s widow is living with her 4 grandchildren in a dilapidated house in Punjab. Her widow pension is barely enough to feed herself and her grandchildren and pay for their education and therefore, isn’t able to get the house repaired by herself. The family is living with a daily fear that a heavy spell of rain can bring house roof down and turn it into their grave.
 
Out of the total money Rs 1,50,000 which she needs to get her house repaired, Rs 80,000 have already been arranged. She needs the remaining money to put a safe roof over her grandkids’ head. We request all the friends and well wishers of “Support Our Heroes” team to contribute whatever you can to help this widow. All the contributions received by us until 14th Jun will be handed over to her for the house repair.
 

Thank you Karir Sir for your contribution

For people who have resources and are leading a retirement life, Gp. Capt. BM Karir (Retd.) sir is an example and inspiration. Due to his old age, he can’t involve himself physically in the social work, so he donates major portion of his pension to NGOs which are sincerely working for the betterment of people.
 
He was commissioned in the Air Force in 1956 and retired as a Group Captain in the year 1989. After retirement, he got involved with multiple NGOs to do his bit for the people who are less fortunate. Recently, to help Indian government in fighting Corona Virus pandemic, he contributed Rs 50,000 to the PM Relief Fund.
 
He is constantly engaged with our “Support Our Heroes” team and is appreciative of the work we are doing for veterans and war-widows in need. Yesterday, he donated Rs 20,000 to us to help us continue our work.
 
Thank you Karir Sir for your contribution and having faith in us.

Appreciation letter received from the Zila Sainik Board

Finally, Smt. Sushma Tiwari’s w/o Late. 15106377F Ex-Nk. Santosh Kumar Tiwari, beauty parlour is operational.
It was inaugurated by the mayor of Rajnandgaon city in the presence of Zila Sainik Board, Rajnandgaon officials and local media.
 
Here are some photos of the event & appreciation letter received by “Support Our Heroes” NGO from the ZSB.

Financial assistance provided to widow of Late. Ex-Nk. Santosh Kumar Tiwari

Couple of weeks back, Zila Sainik Board, Rajnandgaon (Chattisgarh) had approached us to seek financial assistance of Rs 50,000 for a Veer Nari (Smt. Sushma Tiwari w/o Late. 15106377F Ex-Nk. Santosh Kumar Tiwari) to set up a beauty parlour for her.
 
With the help of our kind-hearted donors and a philanthropic organisation SHAURYA KIRAN FOUNDATION, we were able to arrange for this amount and handed it over to Zila Sainik Board.
 
We are happy to share a quick glimpse of the ongoing work of the beauty parlour.

Support Our Heroes Team recently been approached by widow of Late. Ex-Nk. Santosh Kumar Tiwari

Support Our Heroes Team has recently been approached by Smt. Sushma Tiwari who is widow of Late. 15106377F Ex-Nk. Santosh Kumar Tiwari. She is in need of Rs 50,000 to bring her life back on track after her husband’s death. To most of us, this amount may just be a ‘number’ but for her it means the only hope to live a dignified life.
 
Her husband had retired from Army in 2003 and died a sudden death in Jun 2017 due to electrocution. After her husband’s death, her widow pension is barely enough to survive as well as support education of her two children. So, she approached Zila Sainik Board, Rajnandgaon which sponsored a 3-month ‘Beautician’ course for her. Now, she needs Rs 50,000 to buy equipments/items to set up a beauty parlour in Rajnandgaon, Chattisgarh. We have already arranged Rs 11,300 and would like to seek help from everyone to arrange the funds for her.
 
You can use following link to contribute :
 

Thank you Gp Capt BM Karir sir

Compassion is what makes us different from other living species. If god has made us capable of helping others, we must help the people in need. Gp Capt BM Karir sir and Brig SK Arora sir are the real life examples of the clan which believes in this philosophy. They recently contributed to the cause of “Support Our Heroes” to empower us to continue doing our bit for helping our ‘real’ heroes and their families.
 
Thank you Gp Capt BM Karir sir and Brig SK Arora sir for showing your trust in us and strengthening our hands in helping defence families.
 

Arranged funds for the school fees

Recently, We received letter from deceased Veteran’s family for seeking help in children’s school fees.
 
We were able to arrange funds for the school fees with the help of our well-wishers.
 
Due to financial crises & loss of job, family was not able to pay the fees for last 5 months.
 
This is the same family, where wife of deceased soldier was devoid of her widow pension for last 5 years and eventually she passed away recently without getting her due rights. Her son had volunteered to quit his job because of her illness and old age (she was bed-ridden) so that he could take care of her full time.
 
You can use following link to contribute to the organization’s corpus fund:
 

After a long struggle of over 5 years now she is now more

After a long struggle of over 5 years for what she deserved (widow pension for her husband Late Sep. Diwani Ram), Mrs. Parvati Devi turned quiet forever. She passed away last night around 10:40PM with the wish of receiving her righteous pension. Her family didn’t even have enough funds for her last rites so some of our well-wishers came forward to fund her cremation.
 
Her family will now require help in picking themselves together and starting their lives again (her son was taking care of her full time because of her illness and old age). Here’s the link for people who would like to provide immediate financial assistance to this family. https://supportourheroes.in/donate-now/
 
Our Support Our Heroes Team is feeling low and defeated that we couldn’t sort this matter during her lifetime; wish that we would have known about her case earlier.

Invited by Hong Kong based RJ

We have been invited by Hong Kong based RJ Jaya for the show “JAI HIND” to talk about our cause.
 
The show will be live on 8th Sep (Sunday) on the TORI app.
 

Thank you "Robinhood Army"

Thank you “Robinhood Army” for providing food grains(rice, flour, pulses etc) to Late Sep. Diwani Ram’s family.

Thank you Nishith, Rohit, Himanshu, Chetan & Shashank.

Accompanied son of the veteran's widow who has been devoid of her widow pension for past 5 years

Today, we accompanied son of the veteran’s widow who has been devoid of her widow pension for past 5 years. This family had run from pillars to post to reinstate the pension but had no success. Our patron Lt. Col. RD Sharma(Retd.) himself travelled down to Dwarka Mod (Bank’s branch is located there) from Noida to meet the Branch Manager and sort out the issue.
 
After a long 4.5 hour hustle, his paperwork was completed and forwarded to CPPC office, Chandni Chowk for further processing.
 
We hope that they wouldn’t take much time now and issue the long due pension to this family.

Met family of the deceased veteran and gave a cheque of Rs 5,000

Yesterday, we were going to meet family of the deceased veteran which hasn’t received pension for last 5 years. However, veteran’s widow was greatly unwell yesterday so we had to postpone it for today.
 
We met the family today and discussed about their problem. After death of the veteran, his widow was supposed to receive the pension however, it got held up. In last 5 years, this family has contacted numerous departments but nothing has happened. We have collected all the necessary documents from them to file the case on their behalf.
 
To provide them an interim relief, we gave them a cheque of Rs 5,000 which was donated by our kind-hearted donors in last two days.

Meeting with Col Rajiv Nayar, Director of Rehabilitation & Welfare Section (Corpus)

Yesterday, We met Col Rajiv Nayar, Director of Rehabilitation & Welfare Section (Corpus), along with one of our Patrons Lt. Col RD Sharma(Retd.) , in his office. Almost a week ago, we had written to DIAV seeking partnership in offering rehabilitation and support to our veterans and their families. So, we were given an appointment to further our discussion.
 
We mutually agreed to do the following:-
 
1) DIAV will share such cases with “Support Our Heroes” where beneficiary requires help beyond what is there in the policies. For e.g. if the rule book says that a disabled/martyred soldier’s child can be granted a maximum of Rs 1000 per month tuition fee but this child’s tuition fee is Rs 3,000 per month, then this case will be shared with us so that we can help in arranging the additional Rs 2,000 fee for the child.
 
2) Support Our Heroes will also share cases with DIAV to seek their help (where they can).
 
Col Rajiv Nayar appreciated our initiative & promised to help us in whatever capacity his department can.

Together We Can Make The Difference

A couple of months back, we came to know about a 1965-71 war veteran begging in the corridors of Connaught Place, through Gautam Gambhir’s tweet.
 
While some people were empathetic towards him others were calling him a drunkard and names without knowing his story. We decided to meet him personally and unwrap the truth.
 
After meeting him we found out that he had turned into a drunkard due to depression as he doesn’t have any family or living relative to talk to. We motivated and assured him that our team is with him and he can reach us at anytime. Within the next few weeks, he left alcohol completely.
 
During an accident, his hip fractured and an iron rod had to be inserted so he was in need of continuous medical treatment. In a meagre penury grant of Rs 4,000 a month it would be difficult for him to even survive in a metropolitan city like Delhi leave aside the medical expenses.
 
Therefore, we decided to get his ECHS (medical card) made. It required a one time fee of Rs 30,000 to be deposited along with his application. We sought help from concerned departments of Army for his card. After multiple follow ups and meetings, a Rs 30,000 grant was issued for him. Yesterday, we collected MOR slip for him so the last step is to deposit it in the Army Headquarters along with his application; in the meantime, acknowledgement slip of the application can be used by him for his treatment in any of the defence hospitals. This was a far-fetched dream for him to get continuous and proper medical treatment in the final years of his life.
 
We thank all our donors, supporters and well wishers for their continuous encouragement, support and trust in us; this wouldn’t have been possible without your support.

Meeting with Ex-Serviceman who was begging in Connaught Place

Few days back, we had shared a post about an Ex-Service man who doesn’t have a shelter and is begging in Connaught Place, Delhi.
 
In order to check authenticity of this person, we personally travelled down to Connaught Place, wandered in the corridors of buildings looking for him. After a tiring search of 1-2 hours, we were finally able to trace him. We listened to his story and took copies of his Ex-serviceman ID card and “Life Certificate” with us.

Meeting with Mrs Shashi bala (widow of Ex Naik Suresh Kumar)

We met this lady, Shashi Bala today whose husband Suresh Kumar had retired as Nk from army (ASC [MT]) in 1993. Despite serving Army for over 15 years and being eligible for the pension, he was devoid of his pension and other retirement benefits including ECHS and CSD facility. 

He ran from pillar-to-post trying to get his pension released but didn’t have any success. Due to diabetes, he completely lost his eyesight in 2008 and eventually died last year (in 2017) while still waiting for his pension.

Today, Shashi Bala works as a maid in houses of Ambala to earn her living.

We are providing some immediate help to her and will try to get her the dues that she and her deceased husband were always entitled for.

Meeting With Grandson of War-Disabled Soldier

We met Gopal, grandson of Sep. Chittar Singh who is a war-disabled soldier since 1968. He had travelled down to Delhi covering a distance of 450 kms (approx.) only to say “Thank you” and express his gratitude towards “DIWAVE” and “Support Our Heroes” team for constantly following up on his “Dada ji’s” case and getting major portion of the dues released for him.

To express his gratitude, he had brought a can of Gulab Jamun’s which are quite famous in his area🙂😊🙂

Meeting With War-Disabled Soldier

Had a meeting with war disabled soldier Rfn Razak Mohammad in Ambala.

He got injured in Operation Parakram in May 2002. He joined Army at the age of 16.5 & when he was discharged from the service, he was just 21.

His body below chest is completely paralyzed.

Meeting With Capt NK Mahajan (President of Disabled War Veterans)

We met Capt N K Mahajan (Retd), Pioneer and Founding Member of Disabled War Veterans (India) or DIWAVE to explore the opportunity of working together for war disabled soldiers.

DIWAVE is the only organisation of war disabled soldiers which is recognised by Govt. of India, Ministry of Defence.

It was a great experience interacting with him and finding common ground for collaboration.

Meeting With Lt Gen JS Dhillon (Retd)

A proud moment with Lt. Gen. JS Dhillon (Retd). It was really an interesting and learning experience and it seemed that a soldier is never off duty.

Thank you so much sir for giving us your precious time.

Invitation From Alwar

Support Our Heroes team was invited by Mr. Munesh Poswal (Co-Director, DNA Campus Thanagazi). DNA Campus organised a great event– “Ek Din Desh Ke Shaheedon Ke Naam”. It was indeed a great experience to interact with the youth on the following:-

• Why & how important it is to stand with our Armed Forces?
• How Support Our Heroes team is trying to reach out and help more & more families of martyrs, disabled soldiers and veterans who are in need of help?
• How the students can join & become a part of the initiative- “Support Our Heroes”?

We definitely need more institutions to follow the lead to bring youth closer to the defence fraternity and infuse patriotism in them.

Meeting With Patriotic Security Guard

We had a meeting with Jitendra Singh, a man who is a security guard by profession. His financial constraints and ill luck forced him to abandon his dreams of becoming a soldier.

What’s So Special About Him?

Jitendra has written more than 4000 letters to the families of the martyrs for the last 18 years. He says, he can’t help them financially but tries to give them comfort with his words.

Jitendra Singh’s father was in the Mahar regiment. Jitendra has named his son after a name of martyr from Karnal, Haryana. Jitendra wants his son to join the Indian Army.

Our team has decided to sponsor education of Jitendra Singh’s son so that it can take off some of the financial burden from his shoulders. 

Meeting With Gopal Singh (Grandson of Sep. Chittar Singh)

We had a meeting with Gopal Singh, grandson of Sep. Chittar Singh(a war-disabled soldier).

Sep. Chittar Singh, while on duty in 1968 on Sikkim border Post, was blown up with a mine blast and lost both of his legs, one hand and complete vision.

He had joined the Army (19 Rajput) on 22/9/1965, was married, had a son and living bed ridden routine village life.

Celebrated Deepavali With Special Children In Dwarka

On 18th Oct SUPPORT OUR HEROES team celebrated Deepavali with Special Children by distributing toys and sweets in Dwarka, New Delhi.

Interacting and spending time with them was an overwhelming experience.

Met Family of Martyr L/NK Ram Prasad At Their Residence

Recently, we met family of Martyr L/NK Ram Prasad at their residence in Salarpur village in Faizabad, UP. L/NK Ram Prasad had attained martyrdom during the terrorist attack on 4th Jun 2015 in Manipur. This attack had claimed lives of 18 soldiers including him.

His widow and 5 children (2 daughters and 3 sons) have been struggling since then as the entire family is surviving on the “widow pension”. All expenses ranging from buying foodgrains, educating children to saving money for girls’ marriage have to be met from the petty pension they are getting.

Can't We Create A Framework Which Can Enable These People To Live With Dignity And Respect?

Four days back, while leaving from Jantar Mantar, we met an old man of around 87 years of age. With sulking eyes, wrinkled face and holding a stick, he was sitting there quietly. Not sure what instigated us to talk to him but we started interacting with him.

He introduced himself as Jaipal Singh who served as Sepoy in EME corps of Army and used to repair tanks. He served army for 16 years during which he took part in 1962 and 1965 wars.

On the personal front, he hails from Rishikesh. His wife had died in mid-1960’s when his children (2 sons) were of 3-4 years of age. He did not get married again and devoted himself in serving the country and raising his kids. He strived to get the best education for his childrden which he could afford at that time. Today, one of his sons is an Engineer and the other son is running a factory in Delhi.

When these children, who he had made all the sacrifices for, grew up, they took away all his property and despised him. They used to ill-treat him by beating and abusing him.

Having suffered at the hands of his own children, he lost faith in humanity, kindness and the other great words which we use for “Compassion”. This has shattered him badly. Today, he is a wanderer who can be spotted walking on the roads of NCR or sleeping on the pavements and dharmshalas. He doesn’t stay at one place for more than a day or two as he fears that people will murder him.

It was difficult for him to interact with us as he has a hearing problem. We assured to get him a hearing aid so that he can at least interact with people properly. The next day, we purchased a hearing-aid and gifted it to him.

That was a small bit that we could do for him but there are many more such veterans/dependant parents of martyrs who meet such fate. Can we not create a framework which can enable these people to live with dignity and respect?

Meeting With Our Mentor Wg Cdr Vinod Nebb (Retd) at his residence.

Yesterday, we met our mentor Wing Commander (Retd.) Vinod Nebb, at his residence, after a considerable time gap. He hasn’t been keeping well for quite sometime so doctors have advised bed rest to him.

He is the hero of 1965 & 1971 wars (2 times Vir Chakra Awardee) so we are sure he will win over this illness too and be with us again. 

Two Years of RECORD BREAKING Peaceful Protest of The Veterans At Jantar Mantar

OROP or “same pension, for the same rank, for the same length of service” is a pressing demand of the personnel of our Indian Armed Forces.

Apart from addressing the economic conditions of the veterans, it also focuses on improving the level of equality within the Armed Forces in terms of pay.

Today, we firmly stand with them who are peacefully protesting at Jantar Mantar from over 678 days because we believe it’s imperative to support these brave men who have protected us.

We request you all to COME & JOIN US at Jantar Mantar to peacefully Support Our Heroes in resolving this decade long issue. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.

Meeting With The Family of Shaheed L/Nk Hemraj Singh

Glimpse from our meeting with the family of Shaheed Lance Naik Hemraj Singh, who was beheaded in Poonch sector(J&K) by Pakistan Army.

Celebrated Diwali With Veterans In Bajitpur Thakran, Delhi

It was an honour for our Support Our Heroes Team to celebrate Diwali with our Veterans of 1962, 1965 & 1971 wars.

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