Indira was suffering from constant headaches. Tests revealed that she has TB that has infected her brain. she needed urgent radical surgery, the Ilam (the children's home where she lives) paid for the surgery but she has ongoing medical costs. Her father is an unreliable alcoholic and her mother who works as a construction labourer is very poor and does what she can to find the money to pay for the medication that Indira needs, but there is no way she can afford to pay all the costs.

Marimuthu fell into a disused well when he was attempting to fix the pump to water the plants at the Illam. He is very lucky to be alive. He has spent more than a month in various hospitals. There is no NHS equivalent or free health care in India. The hospital bills for his treatment are an enormous expense that can't really be borne by a poor Indian family.

Marimuthu and Indira's medical bills are very expensive in this part of India, where £10 is nearly a months salary and most of this will be taken up in one child's medical costs. For us outside of India the exchange rate and our incomes mean this is a tiny amount of money for us to find.

How can you help?

Could you give up the price of 2 cups of coffee a month (London prices) to give these two families some assistance to pay for the medical bills for their children.