Delivering Food Parcels in Topsia
On a mission to deliver emergency food rations to one very
needy family and two very vulnerable elderly women.
This was a difficult day.
Maya |
Loki |
Then we crossed the road to see Loki. She is over 80 and
lives in a space behind a larger building. We clambered through the dark over a
high step and slippery mud to reach her. To collect water or use a toilet she
has to cross the road. We asked if she has a ration card – she said without
even the 2 rupees for subsidised rice she can’t access the benefit. Would she
leave and go into an old age home? we asked (not sure if that is even
possible). She said no – she wants to stay here with her memories of her husband.
Recently she fell over and has hurt her leg – which makes it even more
difficult to cross the road. Reminded that she would get free medical attention
at the hospital, she said “How can I get to the hospital? I have no money”. She
has two sons but they don’t help. I asked about the neighbours. Can they help?
They have their own difficulties and their own families to worry about, my colleagues
tell me. Because the water is only on for a few hours a day, there is a lot of
conflict over access.
Sakina's Daughter |
Finally we visit Sakina’s shelter. She has four children. There
were two teenage girls and their small brother at home. The boy was clearly
very unwell and wrapped in a blanket. The girls explain that their mother is
out selling aloo chat (spiced potatoes). She will earn about 50p a day. Her husband
is dead and she is desperate as she cannot earn enough to feed the family. How terrible
she must have felt leaving her little boy at home sick while she went out to
work. I hope she was pleased to find the food parcel when she got home. Maybe
she can take a few days off.
I don’t know what to say. Life is so cruel here that
compassion seems to be absent. I hear myself suggesting that we encourage the
young people from the after school coaching classes to get involved. Good idea,
say my colleagues brightly… The rations we delivered today were welcome but solve
just a small part of the wider problem. I didn’t expect huge smiles of
gratitude – and we didn’t get them. Despair squats in every shelter we visit.
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