How this compassionate Balussery woman mothered hundreds of babies

Balussery: Rashmi is the ‘mother’ of hundreds of nameless infants, whose gender, caste, and religion are unknown. This great path was shown to Rashmi by the Kozhikode Medical College. She is the highest donor of breast milk at the medical college’s milk bank, which started 4 years ago. She donated 163 times consecutively. Even when she couldn’t breastfeed her child, she provided breast milk to hundreds of infants.

Rashmi Bijesh, of Kannadippol KP Niwas, Balussery, finds fulfilment in this sacrifice. Rashmi started donating breast milk while her own child was in the intensive care unit. Despite the physical challenges following a caesarean section, Rashmi climbed two flights of stairs from the maternity ward to reach the milk bank to donate milk for other infants.

Her baby needed surgery on the sixth day after delivery, and she continued donating milk during her hospital stay. As the number of people waiting for her milk increased, she visited the milk bank multiple times a day, even using a wheelchair.

She continued donating breast milk after the birth of her second child, Irene Isha. This was when her baby had a heart condition and was admitted to the intensive care unit.

Seeing the infants crying for lack of milk in their mothers, Rashmi decided to donate her breast milk. Her husband, Bijesh, a social worker, supported her throughout. Their elder daughter is Angel.