NRI’s last wish fulfilled: Cancer victim kin provide houses to 4 families in Patiala after his death

A cancer victim, who wished to construct homes for the poor, could not do so in his lifetime; however his family has fulfilled his dreams after his death and built four homes for the poor in Malerkotla and Faridkot.

Raj Singh Brayana, 39, a London-based a non-resident Indian (NRI), who died of cancer, was associated with the Khalsa Aid, an international humanitarian relief agency, based on the teachings of the Sikh gurus and working since 1999.

The man lost battle against cancer in the past years, but had delivered a message to his family members before his death to donate some money for the Khalsa Aid instead of spending on his last rites.

The family members started an online campaign to collect Rs 1 lakh, but got a huge response and received approximately Rs 30 lakh.

The man had left a message on the campaign page, “I request that on my funeral, money isn’t spent on flowers, instead you make a generous donation to this worthwhile charity that helps people from all faiths and religions.”

The London-based family handed over Rs 30 lakh to the Khalsa Aid, an NGO, which spent 50% to construct four houses for the needy people, three in Malerkotla’s Gonspura village and one in Faridkot, and other 50% amount was used in the African continent on water pumps.

Now Gurmail Kaur, a widow, Malkeat Singh, a labourer and Mohammad Saleem have received one- and two-room sets with a bathroom and kitchen, who could not afford their own pucca house.

“My husband had a spent lot of time in social service. He did not want to waste money on unnecessary rituals. Indeed, he was a rational person and inspired us to take the initiative”, said Manj Brayna, the deceased NRI’s wife, who came here to meet the beneficiaries.

“I am a father of two young daughters and could not afford to build a house. I am a poor labourer and it is very difficult to run a house in this era. The initiative of the organisation provided my family a safe home” said Mohammad Saleem.

“Our association has been active for a long time and Raj was also a volunteer of the organisation. We have been approaching around 25 countries to help the people in many different disasters. Raj had set an example that a man can work for humanity even after his death,” said Amarpreet Singh, director of the Khalsa Aid.