Divya Puri, 36, lives in Delhi’s New Friends Colony, an auditor and animal rescuer by profession. Since 2012, she has been feeding stray animals. Even during the time of Corona, when people were not coming out of their homes, she was still feeding the stray animals.
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Divya tells us how it started after the tragic death of her father. She says, “Unfortunately my father died of cancer about 9 years ago. After that we started feeding more animals to come out of the void left by them. My mother went into depression and that was the only way she could deal with grief.”
After this he established the Karan Puri Foundation in the name of his father. “The foundation was my mother’s endeavor as she was my father’s primary caregiver and after his death she went through a difficult phase in life. Feeding the stray animals was the only way she could deal with her misery. We Gradually increased my ability to feed.”
But tragedy struck Divya for the second time. Both Divya and her mother had come under the grip of the deadly second wave of Corona. Both were admitted to two different hospitals. Divya’s mother passed away after battling Kovid-19 in the ICU for 13 days.
“Even on the hospital bed, she kept asking – food given to the dogs? Just call the staff and go and see if the food is being cooked or not. Her condition started deteriorating and till the end she was worried about continuing to feed the dogs. Needed,” said Divya.
As of today, Karan Puri Foundation prepares 75 kg rice and 45 kg chicken and feeds at least 400 stray animals every day. The foundation ensures that no stray dog goes hungry within a radius of 5 km.
At a time when the entire country was going through a lockdown, Divya and her mother traveled far and wide from Delhi to rescue and feed the stray animals. It is this compassion that Divya remembers today thinking of her mother – my mother was a kind soul who cared about the lives and rights of animals that have nowhere to go.”
Divya lost her parents. One got cancer and the other got corona. But he decided to carry on his legacy of kindness. He took care of stray animals and fed them. Undoubtedly, a heroine like Divya is an example for the society that even when you have nothing, you still have something to give back to the society.