by Melani ManelPerera

Each month hundreds of elderly, from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, make their way on foot to the local post office to withdraw their miserly doles. Tired and debilitated by a life of abject poverty, they are welcomed by members of the AsiPA group, who offer them a herbal drink and above all make them feel “loved and cared for”, at least for a short while.

Colombo (AsiaNews) – In Kandana, western Sri Lanka, hundreds of elderly people cover untold distances on foot to withdraw their miserly monthly dole, which does not even amount to 2 dollars a month.  Tired and weary to the bone of the abject poverty in which they live, they find a find a small sign of solidarity in the Catholic group from the parish of Hapugoda, which offers these old people of all races and religions, a nutritious herbal beverage.

This small initiative – given the widespread poverty in the region – was born one and a half years ago from an idea of the AsiPA (Asian integral Pastoral Approach) group and has become a highly appreciated gift.  One 80 year old Catholic woman says: “I like very much this herbal drink. Normally I ask for some more …. not only one cup…..because I never get nutritious food like this because there is nobody to look after me. I have no exact place go, only from place to place; when I arrive at the post office I feel loved”.  AsiaNews gathered similar testimonies from Tamil, Sinhalese, Buddhist and Christian men and women. “We thank all the members of AsiPA group for treating us all with such a nutritious drink – says one 68 year old Buddhist lady - irrespective of race and creed”.

B.K. Nimal Rodrigo, the post master of the Kandana post-office also appreciates this charity work of AsiPA group he explains: “There are about 400 people who come to the post-office during the first two days in every month to get their dole which is not sufficient at all. But it is something better than nothing. I have noticed most of them are very weak after coming here by foot for many miles because they cannot afford public transport….”.

 According to Nimal Perera the Co-ordinator of AsiPA National desk in Colombo; “the Asian Integral Pastoral Approach aims to renew the parishioner’s faith through daily readings of the gospel and putting the gospels message into practice by doing something concrete in their own community and in the society at large. As such believers take up different service activities as gospel sharing groups to help those less fortunate than themselves.” Thus, Christopher Fernando decided to help Kandana’s elderly: “I saw them looking very weak and very miserable. I wanted to do something for them.  So I shared this with my AsiPA group members of small Christian community of Hapugoda parish and we came to a conclusion to give them a good nutritious food item every month at the post-office and decided to treat them with this herbal drink”.

 

• Sri
• Lanka
• Colombo
• poverty
• faith
• Christian
• Buddhist
• Tamil
• Sinhalese
• parish
• initiative