UPDATE (31/07/24): We are excited to report that Dhruva has independently received support from generous benefactors totalling £10,000, brining us much closer to our intended target! In the interest of transparency, we have adjusted the fundraising target for this year to reflect this.

We are extremely grateful and thankful for these donations and are glad that Dhruva’s story have resonated with so many people. Thank you so much for all the help and support; we would appreciate your continued support in raising awareness of Dhruva’s situation and this fundraiser. ‎

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We are a group of medical students at the University of Birmingham fundraising on behalf of our friend, who cannot continue his fourth year of medical school due to his dire financial situation, occurring as a result of his mums passing and fathers debilitating medical condition.

Our friend has been through a significant amount of hardship over the past few years, which has had a detrimental impact on his progression as a medical student. His father had dedicated the majority of his working life in working as a HR, however due to his ill health, he was unable to fulfil his working responsibilities and had to leave his place of work. Consequently, his mother played a prominent role in Dhruva’s childhood, in both providing care for Dhruva and his father but also acting as the main source of financial support, following the displacement of his father from work. Understandably, Dhruva placed a lot of sentimental value in his relationship with his mother, due to the prominent involvement she had not only in childhood but also in his pursuit of medicine. His mother was incredibly supportive in providing financial support for Dhruva’s application, but also in allowing him to complete his first few years of his medical degree, without him having to worry about money. He hadn’t received any additional financial support from the university, because his international status and family circumstances meant applying for grant schemes and student sponsorships was difficult. He devastating lost his mother during his second year of study, due to COVID and was not allowed to even visit her during her illness, due to academic commitments at the time and difficulties arranging travel around the COVID pandemic. In addition, most of his extended family are currently living in India and do not have the funds to provide support with his education.

This devastating blow, during the peak of the pandemic, kickstarted a downward spiral of mental health struggles and Dhruva felt an immense amount of pressure and responsibility in upholding the breadwinner status of his mother. Following several consultations with his GP, he received a formal diagnosis of moderate-severe anxiety and depression, for which he has been taking medication for since November 2020. Whilst he does report some improvement in his mood from time to time, he does still struggle coping day to day and this is something we have supported him with throughout.

Dhruva has an incredible passion for medicine. His grandfather was a doctor and from an early age, Dhruva has spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals, due to personal health issues, for a good portion of his childhood. These experiences in hospitals, alongside the unconditional support of his parents, have what have shaped Dhruva into the genuine and academically driven individual he is today. We see the amount of courage and strength he has invested into his medical degree, despite the difficult challenges and overwhelming hardships he has experienced in his life. As close friends of Dhruva, we see the determination and motivation in Dhruva to be an incredible doctor in the future and to be at the point where his potential to transform the lives of others is limited, due to money, is simply devastating.

Our goal of £40,000 will be dedicated to Dhruva’s tuition fee. For manageability, an agreement was made with the University for this to be split into various instalments to be paid throughout the academic year. The exact value of these instalments is yet to be confirmed by a fee invoice from the University but we estimate it to be around £13000. The first instalment will cover his first semester of teaching and will be due on the 1st November. An additional £38100 will be needed to support his tuition fee in the final year but we are approaching the university and charities to help with grants and scholarship schemes to help reduce this financial burden

Thank you for taking the time to read our campaign :)