Atijeevan Foundation – The Story of an Acid Attack Survivor that Emerged as a Hero

Acid Attack survivors are subjected to judgement over the way they look, making it impossible for them to lead a normal life in society. Owing to such a behaviour of people towards them, they often suffer from confidence issues making it difficult for them to be surrounded by people. Few, however, succeed in fighting off this darkness that threatens to take over them and shine as heroes. One of them is Pragya Prasun, founder of Atijeevan Foundation.

Prasun was attacked in 2006 at the age of 23, just 12 days after her wedding while travelling on a train. The attack was an act of personal vengeance against her for rejecting a wedding proposal. The devastating incident took almost a year and a half for her to recover from the initial injuries. It also changed the way she looked drastically even after multiple surgeries, causing immense trauma. However, with the support from her husband and family, Prasun accepted the way she looks and decided to have a positive outlook towards life.

Prasun was often called to the hospital by the doctors to counsel other burn victims. During these counselling sessions, she realised that most of these victims are from underprivileged backgrounds who do not have the support or the resources that she had. This inspired her to start Atijeevan Foundation to contribute to the upliftment of the lives of these acid attack survivors in a more significant way.

Atijeevan Foundation helps the acid attack survivor by providing them with guidance and to help them establish a sustainable life. In order to achieve this, the foundation focuses on providing the survivors with medical treatment, legal aid, counselling to restore their confidence and setting up a source of income as per their interest and capability. The foundation has tied up with some of the best plastic surgeons of the country. In addition to this, the foundation provides the acid attack survivors with education and vocational training to rehabilitate them in the industry.

Atijeevan Foundation has so far supported over 250 burn patients as well as acid attack survivors in the last six years. For the exemplary work by the foundation in the rehabilitation of the burn and acid attack survivors, Pragya Prasun was accorded with the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2019.

CSR: Joy Personal Care’s #JustHireOne Initiative

Joy Personal Care launched an initiative to urge companies to hire at least one acid attack survivor. The company as part of its #JustHireOne initiative has also launched a special range of products for acid attack survivors, called ‘Joy Sensitive’. To promote a job opportunity for acid attack survivors, the brand has collaborated with Atijeevan Foundation.