Moradabad: The darkest spot on India’s polio map has a sentinel now, and possibly the most competent one in that.

A polio victim herself, 24-year-old Mehraab Jahaan has carried on a tireless struggle against this crippling menace. Limping from door to door, dragging her wasted leg behind her, Mehraab has emerged an unprotected protector of children.

Moradabad has always figured prominently on India's polio map as the district has the maximum number of polio cases in the country at any given point of time.

In fact, in one village in this district — Ratanpur Kalan — every second household has at least one family member who is a polio victim.

People living here are still wary about the pulse polio campaign, because through the years they have believed the vaccine would wipe out their community. But this young girl has taken it upon herself to change that mindset.

Mehraab is a community mobiliser. Beginning from morning till the night, she goes knocking at every door in her village, sometimes pleading with parents to give polio drops to their children.

Says Mehraab: "My parents never gave me polio drops because they didn't know. I do this work today because I don't want other children to suffer the way I am."

Ever since she started the polio campaign last August, Mehraab has managed to convince several mothers, like Sakina Begum for instance, who now takes her five children to the pulse polio booths religiously after spending just five minutes with Mehraab.

From house-to-house campaigns to organising awareness rallies, Mehraab Jahaan is single-handedly building awareness on the pulse polio campaign in Moradabad.

Says Sakina, a resident of Ratanpur Kalan: "Now I take my children to give the polio drops. When Mehraab came and told me that she is suffering because of polio, and when I saw her, I decided right away that I will take my children to give the polio drops."

The toughest task though was to convince the imam of her village to come on her side. But within days, Mehraab won him over too. And now before the Friday prayers every week, Imam Bismillah tells the worshippers at this mosque that they as Muslims, must conquer the disease together.

"Mehraab is doing an excellent job here," testifies Imam Bismillah. "She is very passionate about this cause. Muslims have always believed that the polio campaign was a conspiracy to get rid of Muslims in the world. Down the years, they have believed that. But now that mindset is changing here."

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