Patient: Bhimesh

Ten years ago, Nagaraj moved from his home village to a building site on the outskirts of Bangalore, where he works as a labourer, earning the equivalent of $12 a week.

With his wife, Lavita, and three children, including their eldest son Bhimesh, he lives in a cramped worker’s shed next to the building site where he works.

Life is hard for the family, as it is for millions of India’s poor, but they at least have the basics of food and shelter.

But there’s no social welfare safety net, and any ill health will cripple the finances and prospects of this family that is already living below the poverty line.

When we first met him Bhimesh two years ago, the now 14 year old was suffering from a congenital deformity on his spine. He had a noticeable curve in his back. It affected his mobility, and he was looked down upon by his peers. If left uncorrected, it would severely limit his future job prospects and chances of having a family of his own.

Back in 2012, a charitable scheme at Narayana had helped fund corrective surgery on his spine. We now revisit Bhimesh and his family to see how their lives have been impacted by that surgery.

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