A friend of a young Queanbeyan man who was allegedly stabbed by two teenagers has set up an online fundraising page to help him and his mother.
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Sankalpa Manhatara, 20, is recovering from a near-fatal punctured lung he suffered on the morning of April 7. Two teenage boys, aged 15 and 16, have been charged over the incident, but have not yet entered pleas.
Mr Mahatara was discharged from Canberra Hospital on April 13, but had since returned to hospital due to an infection. While he was now back at home as of Friday, his recovery was likely to last several months.
Close friend Courtney Martin started a GoFundME page to help Mr Mahatara and his mothers' "bills [that] have been stacking up and becoming overwhelming," the page reads.
The young man was the sole financial provider for his mother since she suffered a serious work injury in 2015 and could not work since. Mr Mahatara works at a Gungahlin supermarket and had only a fortnight of paid leave saved up when he was stabbed.
"It is so important Sankalpha doesn't return to work until able and completely healed but [he] feels the pressure of needing to provide [for his mother]," the GoFundMe page reads.
"His heart is so full of love for his mother that he is more concerned with helping her then looking after himself."
"I ask the community to please help rally together to show your love and support for this brave, amazing young man."
Ms Martin set a goal of $6000. By Friday, nearly $1000 had been raised.
Mr Mahatara said he was overwhelmed with the community support he received since going public with his story, but did not want to rely on that help to get him through his recovery.
"Everything the community is doing to help really does mean a lot, because I don't like asking for help," he said.
"But it is good to know that there is so much love and support out there, and the fact that everyone is helping has made everything a lot easier."
"The money will probably go to the mortgage, or maybe medical bills."
He said he was sick of being bed-ridden and discouraged by the infection that landed him back in hospital.
His mother, Manju, said she was very worried about her son.
"But it's good to know there are people out there who care," she said.
The same two teenagers charged with Mr Mahatara's stabbing have been charged with stabbing service station attendant Zeeshan Akbar to death at the Queanbeyan Caltex station about seven hours earlier.
