Bangalore, India. “I was depressed and my whole life seemed very negative. But when I joined as a volunteer with the “Food to the Doorstep” program and began delivering food for the COVID-19 affected people at home, my life regained its meaning and purpose” said Joemon Tomy as he shared his experience last Sunday with his fellow volunteers and the organizers of CoronaCare Bengaluru.
With this and many other testimonies – collected in the note shared by Fr. George Kannathanam, a Claretian Missionary of the province of Bangalore, India – the work was recognized, and certificates were given to all the people who voluntarily joined the cause. Both the volunteer Joemon and the Claretian Missionary are part of this program that emerged during an online meeting in April 2021. The meeting discussed what could be organized to help the population of 10 million people in the city of Bengaluru, especially during the period of confinement imposed by the civil authorities due to the pandemic.
“Hope Society”, a project of the Claretian Missionaries of the Bangalore Province, together with five other religious and civil organizations (“BREADS” of the Salesians, “ECHO” of the Norbertines, “Orione Seva” of the Sons of Divine Providence and the agencies AIFO and “The Good Quest Foundation”) agreed to show solidarity with the most needy through the above-mentioned project. The objective was to care for the most vulnerable during confinement, especially those who had to be quarantined because they were infected with COVID-19 and found themselves without anyone to assist them in their isolation.
Moreover, the project involved other people who were about to lose their source of income and, at the same time, benefited from it. This was the case of some restaurant owners who agreed to receive a small remuneration in exchange for providing a certain number of food portions daily.
The volunteers delivered the food to people’s homes under the supervision of the city’s civil and health authorities. The number of requests to care for sick people increased daily.
After fifty-five days of delivering food to seventy thousand people, we thank the more than sixty volunteers who risked their lives (organizers, coordinators, cooks, deliverers, drivers, and sponsors) to bring “food to the doorstep” of those affected by COVID. It was an experience of charity, hope and solidarity, a gift of the Providence of the Merciful God, indeed.
