Happy feet - a happy place for terminally ill children | Fusion - WeRIndia

A terminal illness is one of the most despairing situations that a person can face, having a disease that will end one’s life and not being able to do anything to stop it.

The situation is even more tragic when it is a child with a terminal illness, a person who will never be able to experience his or her life to the fullest extent.

When Mansi Shah noticed that there were no hospice options in India for children with terminal illness, she decided to do something about it.

After sharing the idea with her friends and family, Mansi started Happy Feet Home in 2014, a place in Mumbai dedicated to the happiness of terminally-ill children.

At first, Mansi was doubtful that people would see the value of her center, since there is nothing that they can do to save the children’s lives, only to make the rest of their lives happier. However, she soon became convinced that her model was unique and beneficial.

If these ailing children only have short lives to live, then they should make the best of their time. Initially, Happy Feet Home began as a daycare, with children attending in two-hour batches. However, the children would love their time there so much that they would refuse to go home.

Word spread about Happy Feet Home, and its popularity grew. Before long, the center was providing wholesome food, therapy, and counseling for its patients.

Happy Feet Home has even succeeded in improving the health of its children, given its provisions of nutritious meals and medication monitoring. They have shown improvements in height, weight, and emotional status.

Since its beginning, Happy Feet Home has served 3,240 children in total, and its popularity is still growing. In the near future, the center is planning to create a stable fundraising model and to expand its operations beyond Mumbai.

Although Happy Feet Home may not be able to save the lives of terminally-ill children, it can certainly help them make the best of the rest of their lives.

Photo by Luma Pimentel on Unsplash (Free for Commercial Use)

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