Preethi

Chelakkara: “I’m ready to do any job, be it housemaid job or cleaning bathrooms. I badly need a job to take care of my poor family and to treat my disease. But people don’t hire me because of my face,” Pangarappilli native Preethi (30) said. She suffers from a rare disease due to which her skin comes off. The skin peeling disease affects one in a million.

With her physically deformed condition, people ridicule her by calling names. However, Preethi decided to fight her destiny. She has completed upto SSLC amid insults and humiliations.

Preethi is the daughter of Chelakkara Pangarappilli native late Velayudhan. Her family used to survive with the meagre wages earned by her mother through coolie works. Now Preethi wants to help her mother.

In this very hot summer, Preethi spends the whole day in the pain of her skin peeling off faster. Earlier, she had received treatment with the help of an expat group led by neighbour Hariharan Pangarappilli. She tried both Allopathy and Ayurveda treatment. At present, she is under treatment of Kayamkulam Mohanan Vaidyar. When Preethi find pain of skin peeling unbearable, she manages to approach Vaidyar with borrowed money. He has asked her not to get exposed to heat.

Preethi and family lives in a small tile-roofed house, where it is very hard to stay away from heat. So, she made it a habit to take bath frequently to get a relief from intense heat. The treatment has started to be effective, but she had to stop it halfway due to financial problems. Meanwhile, Preethi’s mother has become unable to work because of ailments. The sole breadwinner of the family is Preethi’s brother who works in a shop.

Despite the hardships, Preethi is not willing to disclose the pathetic state of her family before public. She is of the opinion that her family need not be disgraced or humiliated because of her.

Preethi is a person loved by all in the neighbourhood. She is also active in Kudumbashree activities. She has now come forward to do any job after her treatment has been discontinued and income of the family has reduced.

Those who are willing to help Preethi and family can contribute to the address or account given below:

Address: K. V. Preethi, Karuvan Kunnathu Veedu, Pangarappilli PO, Chelakkara.

Phone: 9526523172

Canara Bank account in Chelakkara branch: A/C No.0801108064036

(IFSC Code: CNRB 0000801)