A Thalassameia major, Harshala Kharat’s wish to ride a chopper was fulfilled on Sunday, when an NGO helped her achieve her dream
Kharat worked as a computer operator, but due to her failing health, had to quit her job. Every 15 days, she has to get admitted to the Edward’s Memorial (KEM) Hospital for blood transfusions. Now in the last stages of her ailment, in July she learnt about The Wishing Factory — an NGO founded and run by Thalassemics — that attempts to connect via a nationwide WhatsApp group. She then registered with it online and expressed her desire to ride a helicopter.
NGO on a mission
To that end, 20-year-old Parth Thakur, a fellow thalassemic and founder of the NGO, arranged a sponsored ride with Yagnya Aviation at Juhu Aerodrome on Sunday. Kharat and her father Pravin took off at around 3.15 pm.
Thakur explained, “After receiving the wish, I emailed Yagnya Aviation and they immediately showed interest in helping. We encourage people to ‘adopt a wish’ and help patients fulfill something that they always dreamed of. The wishes have categories, which a sponsor is free to adopt. In this case, Shah, who had registered with us to help any patient with such a wish, sponsored the trip.”
Speaking to mid-day, Kharat, an MA in Economics, said, “The feeling of living my wish cannot be expressed in words. I love to travel, but it seems difficult to travel now. If possible though, I would have wanted to travel abroad to Australia and other countries.”
