The Hindu Business Line : Tendulkar makes a dream come true

ACE cricketer Sachin Tendulkar must have reached out to thousands of people wanting to shake hands with him. But his meeting with Sagar and Ravi here on Monday turned out to be a different experience, both for him and the youth. For, the 17-year-old Sagar suffers from stunted growth, making him look a four-year-old. Ravi is down with a life-threatening medical condition.

Realising that the physically challenged nurtured a dream of meeting the legendary batsman, the Make-A-Wish Foundation pulled the strings, translating his dream into a reality.

Tendulkar, who is in town to attend the wedding reception of fellow cricketer V.V.S. Laxman, spent time with them.

"The Make-A-Wish Foundation, a global foundation with branches in 25 countries, does wish-granting work for children with life-threatening diseases," Mr Uday Joshi, the head of the Indian arm, said.

With a global network of over 25,000 volunteers, the foundation works with hospitals to identify the beneficiaries.

The Indian edition has so far granted over 3,000 wishes.

The Hyderabad chapter is working with Indo-American Cancer Institute, Apollo Hospitals, Rainbow and Global Hospital.

Any child in the age group of 3-18 with life-threatening illnesses could be referred to the foundation by a parent, guardian, medical professional or social worker, or even the child. "We will take note of the child's wish and try to look for people who can fulfil that," Mr Joshi said.

More Stories on : Children & Parenting | Andhra Pradesh | People

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