Battling Breast Cancer And Husband's Untimely Demise, Desi New Yorker Finally Finds Hope

Fundraiser For Indian Woman In New York: Saroj is an Indian woman living in New York running a clothing store all by herself. It is something that came upon her after her husband passed away two years ago. The couple had worked together at the Indian fabric store for over 40 years.

When Saroj's husband Goyal left her, she realised that he didn't tell her much about their financial situation. While there are fond memories of Goyal accompanying Saroj, she was also suddenly knee-deep in debt.

Saroj told Humans Of New York, "He'd do anything to make me laugh, but he never told me anything."

"Nothing about the accounting. Or how much we owed. Or the taxes." She faced a bigger blow when the pandemic hit the world. Even after opening the store for people, there were hardly any customers. As per reports, she wasn't able to pay rent for 24 months.

Saroj misses her husband and his ability to make her and everyone else laugh but she also feels upset. She said, "I'm angry, I really am. I wish he'd have told me more. Because without him I can't deal with this." She is also dealing with breast cancer. The medical bills have only added to the debt.

Things magically improved for her when her interview story by Brandon Stanton for Humans of New York was published. The journalist started a fundraiser for the Indian woman and the response was more than just positive. Within a few minutes of posting about the fundraiser, reportedly donations worth 25,000 thousand dollars came in. As of yet, Stanton's fundraiser for Saroj has raised more than $4,92,000 in donations, which is far more than the original goal of $1,30,000.

Stanton in his recent post wrote, "The $130,000 from this fundraiser will not only eliminate Saroj's debt, but it will also subsidize the rent of low-income New Yorkers."The additional funds will reportedly go to Saroj, who is currently undergoing treatment for her breast cancer.

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Feature Image credit: Humans of New York