Donating one’s blood to save other’s lives is one of the most benevolent acts and this noble act has been conducted by an entire Indian village since a long time. For the same, the village has been now recognized by Google as ‘The Hometown Of Blood Donors’.
The Akki Aluru village in Hanagal taluk of Haveri district in Karnataka is now famous for its blood donors. It is because more than 600 villagers have registered for blood donation here and are donating blood regularly.
It all began in 2015 when Karibasappa Gondi, a constable in the Akki Aluru police station started the initiative. To his surprise, the villagers were more than willing to join the cause and many started to flock the donation drive. With time and continuance of the donor’s enthusiasm, the people formed Snehamytri Raktadaani Balaga, an army that has made sure to donate blood religiously.
As per reports, the team has made over 21,000 blood donations.
‘‘We call ourselves as blood soldiers. We have organized blood donation camps in around 19 villages until now. I have 5,100 blood donors names with their blood groups saved on my phone. So I arrange donation whenever needed. I have donated blood 52 times until now,” told a Raktha Sainika (Blood Soldier) Karibasappa Gondi to a news outlet.
‘Rakthadaana Ratha’
They got a NWRTC bus called ‘Rakthadaana Ratha’ meaning the chariot of blood donation that contains information of the blood donors and spreads awareness on blood donation.
Blood Soldiers
These blood soldiers, as they call themselves rightfully, are so passionate about blood donation that they have traveled to far-off places to save lives in times of emergency. In a few instances, they have even traveled as far as Goa.
There are over 23 children who are suffering from Thalassemia (an inherited blood disorder that causes your body to have less hemoglobin than normal) in the neighboring villages. This team of people saves these children’s lives by supplying blood to these children regularly. They are aged between 3-12 years.
The residents of the village also organize several programs creating awareness on blood donation at various places. As a result, every child in Akki Aluru is aware of blood donation and its benefits.
This explains how apt Google’s algorithm is. A worthy recognition indeed.