We are starting this fundraiser for our friend Anju Bagga and her two children.

Their lives changed overnight on August 7, when Anju’s husband, Manoj Bagga, went missing. He was last seen early that morning near the Route 190 bridge over the Connecticut River in Suffield.

For weeks, the family searched desperately for answers. The son searched alongside police and search teams, going out on the river in a kayak, walking the banks, and doing everything he could to find his father. No son should ever have to search for his dad this way.

More than a month later, Manoj still has not been found, and the family continues to live with the heartbreak and uncertainty of not knowing what happened to him.

At the same time, their financial situation has changed completely. A family that was once financially stable is now struggling to meet even its basic expenses. Manoj’s employment ended, the health insurance covering Anju and Kashvi ended with it, and there is no meaningful savings or financial cushion left to carry them through this crisis.

Anju is an hourly wage worker who is now carrying the responsibility of supporting her household largely on her own. With the loss of Manoj’s income and the family’s health insurance, even basic expenses such as groceries, utilities, mortgage payments, and healthcare have become a constant concern.

Through all of this, Anju continues to hold things together for her children while carrying the pain and uncertainty of her husband’s disappearance.

Her daughter is a senior in high school and is applying to colleges this year. This should be a time filled with excitement about graduation and her future. Instead, she and her family are trying to move forward while living with an unimaginable amount of uncertainty.

This fundraiser is meant to help Anju with the family’s most basic needs: groceries, utilities, mortgage payments, health-related expenses, and everyday household costs.

This family is not asking for luxuries. They are simply trying to get through a situation they never imagined they would face.

Every donation, no matter the amount, will help ease some of the weight Anju is carrying. A contribution could mean groceries for the week, keeping the utilities on, helping with healthcare costs, or making the next mortgage payment a little less overwhelming.

And if you are not able to donate, please consider sharing this fundraiser. One share may reach someone who can help.

Most of all, we want Anju, and kids to know that they do not have to face this completely alone.

Thank you for reading their story, for keeping this family in your thoughts, and for helping in whatever way you can.

— Ritu, Dipali, Sandeep, Vipul, Sachin & Manish & friends