Bengaluru, May 19: Don Bosco Church, Lingarajapuram, in Bengaluru reaches out to the needy people around the locality under the leadership of Fr. Aloysius Santiago, the parish priest and the kind - hearted parishioners during the present lockdown due to Covid-19.
Fr Santiago said the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and the impact it had on the Indian population was alarming and shocking; it had almost altered the lifestyle of people. The middle class somehow had the capacity and capability of changing their life situations but for the people below poverty line, migrant workers, construction workers, coolies, daily wage workers, slum dwellers, single parents, widows, elderly and the children, it was a nightmare that shattered all their dreams.

More than the COVID-19, it was the sudden lock down for about 40 days that brought the people in the vicinity to a standstill, not knowing what to eat and drink, how to stay indoors when all the family members were living in one or two rooms at the most, could not follow social distancing. Besides, the sweltering summer heat that caused and added untold suffering to the already hapless people. There was scarcity of everything required - mask, sanitizers, food, dry ration and all other necessities of life for survival. It was at this juncture that the Don Bosco Church, with the help of stakeholders and magnanimous people started providing bread, bun, biscuits and various other snacks to the children and the vulnerable. Fr Santiago expressed gratitude to Britindia which supplied most of such items.

As the situation came under control, the parishioners were able to get connected with ATRIA International for providing food packets which was insufficient at the given scenario. Later on, through Dream Networking India, they were able to get 500 packets of cooked food, as the lock down was creating havoc in the lives of lower income group. Radissun Atria supplied 500 packets of cooked food in the morning and 500 packets in the evening. In total the Church body was able to cater to 1500 people every day. The church had 55 people under their share and care project. These people who were getting one meal a day throughout the year were given dry ration for 15 days with the help of Dream Network India.

The Archbishop’s House helped the church team in this venture by providing 200 packets of dry ration which was mostly given to all the migrants staying and working in and around the Lingarajapuram area of the city. These also supported more than 50 families that were differently abled (Spinal Cord Injury Patients), physically handicapped, blind and hearing impaired. The parish priest said they also helped those running old age home at Bidadi and hostel for the blind at Konankunte (Banashankari). They were also able to help a hostel run by Sisters for children of single parents at Karianapalya..

For sustenance after the Lock down, Don Bosco Church decided to provide dry ration for 15 days for the needy people to cope with the aftermath of lockdown. This is done with the help of BREADS (Bangalore Rural Educational and Development Society), the Provincial Developmental Office of the Province and also with the help of Contributions from generous benefactors. The Parish has undertaken to provide dry ration to 400 families and broken rice to 500 families of the Parish. Fr Santiago, the Parish Priest of Don Bosco Church thanked all the stakeholders and supporters for joining hands with them in tackling this situation and crisis effectively and with much ease. “Thanks to all that has been and yes to all that will be in the future,” he added.