While the whole nation was struggling with Coronavirus, the worst hit were the migrant workers. With no food and money, they embarked on the journey to go back home on foot.
The heart-wrenching images of migrant workers holding hands of their kids walking miles on foot broke many of us. While these heartbreaking images touched many, there were few who chose to step out to help these vulnerable and underprivileged ones.
One such real hero is Sonu Sood. Unlike other celebrities, he stepped out of the home to make sure these workers reach their families safely.
For some, their wives and kids were waiting and for some, their old parents. Sonu made sure that no one is left behind and promised that he will not stop until he makes sure every migrant worker has reached home.
While the internet celebrated this torch-bearer of humanity, he opened up recently to share what inspired him to run one of the biggest individual-driven operations to send migrant workers back home.
While sharing with The Indian Express, the actor mentioned how the visuals of migrants walking back home broke his heart. The values imbibed by his parents couldn’t let him sit at home and pushed him to do something about it.
“I can relate to them (migrants). When I came to Mumbai, I came on a train and had no reservation. When I was doing my engineering in Nagpur, I used to travel on buses and trains without reservation.
When I saw those migrants walking on the roads, with their kids, elders, those were the most disturbing visuals of my life.”
He further added:
“I decided I am not going to sit at home and crib about it. My mom used to teach kids free of cost, my dad used to organize langars outside his shop. I was raised with those values in Punjab.
My mother used to says that ‘if you can’t help anyone then don’t consider yourself successful’. My background, the values my parents imbibed in me are the reason I am doing this.”
This isn’t the first time that Sonu has come forward to share how his parents did a great job of raising him. A couple of years back, he shared an emotional letter on his mother’s 10th death anniversary.
In this letter as well, he mentioned his desire to make his parents proud. He wrote:
“I became an actor, someone who wanted to make his parents proud and I did that to an extent mom, I am still giving my hundred per cent and I promise I won’t give up, after all I’m the only son of professor Saroj Sood, someone who taught the whole world how to live their dreams.
My only regret in my life, that I will take to my grave will be that I was not around you on your last day.”
He started by sending 350 migrant workers back home, and so far he has helped over 18,000. Sonu Sood has not only made his mother & father proud, but also every Indian. He has done what even our government struggled to pull off!
At IFORHER, we want to thank Sonu Sood for sending so many migrant workers back to their wives, kids, and parents during such testing times.
