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Major Rakesh Sharma, Shaurya Chakra (Retd): Tackling The Pandemic In Rural Hills

Introduction
In 1972, a family in a small village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh was blessed with a boy. He completed his initial education at Government school in the village itself. Later as a youth he was groomed by the Indian Army. From 1995 to 2005, he served in the Indian Army’s Artillery Regiment and actively participated in various operations where he proved his mettle as a great leader. So proud was his Village (Duhuak), of Major Sharma’s accomplishments that there is now a road named after him.

Meet, Maj Rakesh Sharma, Shaurya Chakra (Retd).

Introduction photo

Helping the rural fight the pandemic

“The second wave of Covid -19 in our country has been devastating. In Mid-April 2021, I and few likeminded people realised that virus is spreading to smaller towns and rural areas too. As anticipated number of infections started going up in remote areas too. We immediately took steps to address the need. The medical infrastructure as well as expertise in these areas is minimum”, explains Rakesh.

He and his friends devised a strategy to move forward. A team consists of online dedicated volunteers and on-ground workers, some of them are ex-servicemen and many village volunteers came together during the catastrophe. “Spread over 10 villages of the district Pauri to start with as of now we have about 100 volunteers in Uttarakhand itself. This is purely a volunteer group mainly people coordinating from Delhi NCR, Dehradun ( Dun Volunteers Group ) and certain servicemen as well as youth on the ground. Also we were lucky to have actor Manoj Bajpayee with his words of encouragement supporting our work” narrates Rakesh.

fighting the pandemic at hills

“There are two-fold objectives- First to sensitize villagers before Covid spreads in their village. Do and Don’t are explained to them and basic safety medical aid is provided like masks and sanitizers. Second, in the areas where it is already spread, isolation rooms are notified and those positive are provided with steamers, oxygen and necessary medicine etc”.

“To maintain demand and supply is a challenge. The volunteers are required to climb uphill on foot to reach places. To the best of their ability, volunteers identify the houses having covid cases and relay the inputs to base location at Rishikesh and accordingly supply is despatched. Everything is carried out by a group of volunteers only. We cannot neglect villages as almost 70% of India still resides there. Rural India is devoid of good medical infrastructure and level of awareness amongst the villagers is little. They are mostly alienated and innocent. We need to do our bit for them”. Believes Rakesh.

distributing medicines

Social development in other fields

After his tenure in the Army, he worked with various reputed brands for his living. He was very clear about his vision in the life. He wanted to do something for social upliftment. He did pioneer work in affordable housing for not so privileged. In 2013 Maj Rakesh was awarded with “Shikhar Samman” by a prominent national level NGO active, patronized by Mr. Virender Sehwag. Further in 2016 he was awarded with “Alwar Gaurav” by another NGO for his contribution on social development.

As a motivational speaker, first workshop Maj Rakesh framed was “There are No runners up” which was based on his actual Kargil War experience. The learning was devised to convey that its very critical to possess a winning attitude in life rather being a mere runner up. He is a prevalent invitee to share his thoughts on leadership and social development at various educational institutes.

Maj Rakesh through his own resources and efforts with team of dedicated personnel, operates a not-for-profit “Shaurya School”. This Nursery School works for not so privileged children of the society in Delhi. He is actively involved in many other social initiatives including those for Martyrs and Ex-servicemen.

Shaurya school

Conclusion

Humble beginnings do not confine a person who is preordained for a greater cause.
Legend like Maj Rakesh Sharma along with his self-help groups, are helping combat Covid-19 on across the rural villages in the hills. Hav Sudesh Bhatt (Retd) an Everest climber is coordinating the entire efforts. The volunteers Col Hemant Sah, Lt Col Trilok Sharma, Maj Aditya Singh, Jagdish Bhatt, Arnav Ramola, Riya Bisht, Gayatri Sharma, Sandeep Raj, Deepak Sahdev are working tirelessly to support the cause.

Non-profit organisations, individuals and community initiatives are keen to chip in to work on the ground. The essential constituent is mutual trust. I request all contribute in whatever way they can. This is the time to fight the hidden enemy together. And what better purpose in life than to help fellow human in distress? A purpose which is higher and larger than your personal and professional goals. Be a winner – by being a good human being.

Maj Rakesh Sharma SC may be reached at:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1172634128
https://twitter.com/gorockgo_100?s=08
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maj-rakesh-sharma-shaurya-chakra-63810427

Conclusion photo Maj Rakesh
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About StartupnRise.com

Startupnrise.com is an initiative to learn from the inspiring actions of ordinary people. They are successful because of their focus and willpower to leave a positive legacy.Humble beginnings, resilience to bring about positive change and true grit to follow their passion.

40 comments

  1. Impressed with STARTUPNRISE blog, great initiative with selfless agenda, unlike most of the blogs trying to sell a product or showcase their brands. May your blog reach people far and wide and let as many people as possible make use of your platform.
    All the very best 👍

  2. The write up is exceptionally written. Kudos.

    Rakesh has always been a josh machine. Ever willing to help anyone . His humble beginnings and upbringings have made him to be what he is today. His act is selfless and inspires people like us.
    Great soldier and a simple soul who will always be there for a just cause.
    Jai Hind

  3. Ruchisharmamaini

    Gems like Rakesh are an asset to any society. Being his coursemate I feel proud to see the yeoman service he and his team are doing. More power to him and his team. Such a well written article bringing to fore inspirational stories.

  4. Major Rakesh Sharma deserves lot of appreciation and recognition for his noble deeds and selfless work. Thanks for writing this article so that we could know his present and past works.

  5. Gopal Singh Chundawat

    At the outset my compliments to the startupnrise Blog for a wonderful piece of information on such a great initiative in the remote areas . A very well compiled article with pics serving the purposes of timely inputs to the needy & as a great motivator to many to join hands 🙌 in such unaccustomed activities & time’s.

    Our standing ovation to Maj Rakesh Sharma, Shaurya Chakra for its exhilarating to learn of his rising as a force to assist the rural fraternity in overcoming the trying times….which proves to ourselves the heady fact that we can still work, even under this pandemic, it does not need to rob us of everything we cherish.”

    Indeed a real Magnum Opus collectively by you both a Warrior & a Writer ……Something resembling an Archipelago

    Keep it up 👍 👏👏 God be with you guy’s..

  6. Maj Rakesh has always been a source of inspiration for one & all. His team is doing a wonderful job under the Covid overhang when apparently the accountability in the system has collapsed. It’s nice to hear about the selfless & initiative driven projects undertaken & very well deliberated in the blog. Kudos to the entire team who made this possible.

  7. Capt K Senthil Kumar (Retd)

    Great work by Maj Rajesh and his team of volunteers, inspirational , thank you so much for tryout tireless service to the Country and fellow beings 🙏

    Hats off to the author for writing the article and letting others know of the great work !!

  8. Once a warrior always a warrior. Good read with positive vibes.

  9. Thank you for highlighting this noble service. Every Indian should learn from this.

    Too inspiring. Too selfless.

    #Respect
    #JaiHind

  10. Col Ranjit Singh

    My compliments to Startupnrise for bringing the blog highlighting the noble work taken up by Maj Rakesh and others.
    Its a matter of pride for us for the kind of selfless works being taken up by Maj Rakesh. This all is possible because of his self believe for common good of the society and concern for needy people. Keep shooting Rakesh, may God be with you.
    Col Ranjit Singh

  11. Well articulated article gave us an in-depth view into the world of a hero on his selfless ,dedicated mission in providing help to those in great times of need ,Maj Sharma ‘s never say never die spirit resulted in saving a many lives in these horrid times ..kudos to u 🙌🏽Once a warrior always a warrior ..my heartfelt gratitude to startupnrise for this article on our hero’s who have always been an inspiration ..

  12. I am truly humbled by the life you have led so far, Major Rakesh! The various initiatives that you have undertaken especially the latest one, the fight against Corona! Your journey is truly inspirational to all youngsters too. You have proven time and time again that one man can make a difference in this world and make it a little better than what it is at the time. Wishing you all the success in this greatly inspirational and motivational journey for many more years to come!

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