Hi my name is Rajitha, and I live in London, working as a staff nurse in a busy London hospital. I’ve always had a deep, heartfelt desire to help people whose lives are challenging. Two years ago, I joined an outreach project spearheaded by my church, and had the opportunity to visit a remote, tribal region in Telangana, India, where I met a group of forgotten people who need our help.

My heart bled when I saw how famished the children were, and saw their worn-out clothes. It was disheartening to discover that these people don't have any citizen identification papers which are crucial to accessing basic essentials from the government. In fact, they are seen as Nomads and have few of the normal human rights, including being excluded from casting their vote in Indian elections.

These tribal people live deep in the tropical forest, and on a daily basis struggle to survive, finding food and protecting themselves from wild animals and predators - they are literally fighting for survival. But, tragically, since they are considered ‘untouchable tribes’, society has brushed them under the carpet and completely abandoned them. Sadly, once government officials discover their whereabouts, they are forced to leave the forest and migrate to a new forest, since the land is ‘owned’ by the government.

During the time I spent with them, we spoke together in their tribal language, with an interpreter. I found them to be such lovely and innocent people, seeing life with a silver lining and grateful for any help from the church group I was part off. They have been left behind in the rush for modernisation; for example, they do not know where to safely settle and if they need healthcare it can takes two hours by foot to reach a main road out of the forest, and another hour to find the nearest health centre, if they are lucky enough to hitch a lift with a passing vehicle.

So, this is why I am fundraising for my cousin Dr Noah Kumar, to help these humble people with few demands on the world, to have support with their basic needs (food, clothes, first-aid kits) and to provide medical camps to improve the quality of their lives and give them hope for the future.

Frustrated at the lack of help for these people, Noah turned his home into a hospital, providing free healthcare for these people, with colleagues from a wide range of specialities assisting him in this much-needed project.

Noah is a fully qualified physician with a big heart and desire to help the poor and needy. Along with his wife , colleagues, volunteers and friends, he travels to remote tribal areas around southern India ,Jharkhand, Orissa, and Chhattisgarh - conducting regular medical camps to support these forgotten people.

Please consider helping this grass-roots project, where all donations will directly help these tribal people, in improving their health and their lives.

Thank you for reading about the project and I hope that you might consider supporting Noah in his voluntary work.

Rajitha