The heartbreaking photo that moved strangers to donate £32,000 in a day

A heart-wrenching photograph moved social media users to donate more than £32,000 to a young boy’s family – in just a day.

The picture showed an 11-year-old boy crying next to the body of his father.

He is holding his head in one hand, wiping away the tears, while his other hand is placed on his dad.

The image was shared more than 7,000 times on Twitter by people wanting to raise money to support the family and raise awareness of the deaths of sewer workers in India who are allegedly not given proper safety equipment.

The boy’s young father Anil, 27, was a sewer worker in Delhi.

He tragically died when the rope lowering him into a sewer snapped and he fell inside, the BBC reports.

Police reportedly said an investigation showed Anil had not been wearing protective gear and the rope had not been strong enough.

Shiv Sunny, a reporter at The Hindustan Times who tweeted the picture, wrote: "The boy walked up to his father’s body at a crematorium, moved the sheet from the face, held the cheeks with both hands, just said ‘papa’ & began sobbing.

"The man was yet another poor labourer who died in a Delhi sewer on Friday.

"Family did not have money even for cremating him."

Anil also had two young daughters aged seven and three, and a four month old son who had died a week earlier from pneumonia because the family couldn’t afford medicines he needed, reports said.

Mr Sunny spoke to the 11-year-old who told him he used to sometimes go to work with his dad and wait outside for him, looking after his shoes and clothes.

Mr Sunny told the BBC he took the heartbreaking photo minutes before the man was cremated.

He said he wanted to raise awareness of the deaths of sewer workers in the country.

"It [the photo] told the story of the family’s plight," Mr Sunny said.

The tweet drew attention from non-governmental foundation Uday who used Ketto, a crowdfunding site.

People from all walks of life donated, from Bollywood actors to poorer people who could only give 10 rupees but still helped.

Three million rupees in total was raised to help the grieving family.

Source: Read Full Article