Solidarity with the poor is the most beautiful response to Sri Lanka’s crisis
A family of blind people shares with their village the little they receive. Their honest example moved Fr Basil Rohan Fernando. Sri Lanka’s dioceses help some 8,000 families with emergency food aid.
Colombo (Asia News) – In a country brought to its knees by a devastating economic crisis and harshly tested by the COVID-19 pandemic, the most beautiful examples of solidarity come from poor.
“No need to purchase new shoes for all of us, because some of us can further use our old shoes. Also, we do not want new socks, we can use our old socks further,” said Father Basil Rohan, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, citing as an example a family of blind people who live in the village of Nayanagam.
"I met them by chance, long ago in 2008,” the clergyman said. “I was on my way back to Colombo by car. I saw two small children and two adults standing by the side of the road.
“I saw one of the children waving a cloth, inviting people to come and purchase clothes from them. When I went near them, the little child called her father and said, "Daddy, Daddy, here is a priest’.”
“She also called me, saying, "God bless you Father. It was then that I realised that the parents were blind," Father Rohan said. "They hadn't properly eaten for several days and I decided to buy the food they needed.”
Before “they left for home, happy, I gave my visiting card to the daughter, and told her that I could provide the schoolbooks they needed for the next year.
"A few days later, the girl's mother called me,” asking me if “instead of just buying books for our two daughters, is it possible for you to buy shoes for all the school-going children in our village.” Father Rohan was moved.
In Nayanagam there were 45 school children, but only 30 pairs of shoes were purchased.
"Some can continue to use the old ones, they told me,” Father Rohan explained, “I was struck by the fact that they knew I wanted to help them, but they did not take advantage of it for themselves. They wanted the whole community to benefit."
Now a scholarship is available for a student from Nayanagam who wants to become a doctor. The electricity bills of some families have been paid, as were funeral and wedding expenses.
During COVID-19, the community could not go out to get food, so the Pontifical Mission Societies began providing food parcels to 70 families. This help continues to this day.
“To fight hunger caused by the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, we have spent more than 120 million rupees (US$ 325,000) to feed 8,000 families in all 12 dioceses of Sri Lanka,” the clergyman said.
Yet, for him, the most important thing is the message conveyed by this story. “When we have more we must share because” those who receive “are our sisters and brothers. This is my personal experience during 25 years of priesthood among the last.”
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19/07/2022 18:13
16/06/2021 12:18
