I am ready to give up my life for them but cannot stop feeding them as long as I am able to move<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u201cAt this time, can I sit at home letting them go hungry?” asks Sister Elsie, adding that even in normal times nobody cared for those she helps. \u201cI cannot take any risk with their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nun is fondly addressed as \u201cMother Teresa of Mithapur\u201d in a reference to St. Teresa of Kolkata, known internationally for her work with the poorest of the poor in the slums of eastern India.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am ready to give up my life for them but cannot stop feeding them as long as I am able to move,\u201d said the bespectacled nun. When asked if she is worried about contracting the coronavirus, she said she “will not die earlier than the God-decided day.\u201d<\/p>\n
She feeds some 50 mentally ill persons on the streets between Mithapur and Okha port, covering a distance of 15 kilometers. The nun carries cooked food \u2014 rice, vegetables, chapatis, lentils and a water pouch \u2014 in a three-wheeled auto rickshaw. Driver Sanjay Siruka said they stop at some 45 locations to serve food.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as they see our vehicle, they rush towards it and receive the food in their hands from Sister,\u201d Siruka told UCA News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before the pandemic outbreak, the nun used to hug the women and bless the men by touching their head or shoulder. She chatted with them so closely.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome listen and respond with a smile, others without any expression,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Siruka, adding that the nun had to stop such practices in compliance with Covid-19 protocols.<\/p>\n
Siruka said she distributes the food according to each\u00a0person’s need. Some people get up to\u00a010\u00a0chapatis,\u00a0while others get three and other items daily.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we provide is sufficient for a person to eat at least twice in a day, but our target is that they should have at least one full meal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Local businessmen and\u00a0community leaders donate vegetables and other grocery items. Barring very exceptional situations, \u201cwe manage to run the project with local support,\u201d said Sister Elsie.<\/p>\n
Sister Elsie was forced to suspend her work for a month during the nationwide lockdown that began in March 2020 during the first wave of Covid-19.<\/p>\n
She says she is ready to die of\u00a0Covid\u00a0but would feel bad if they are not fed<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nFather Vinod Karumalikal, the nun\u2019s former parish priest, said church officials wanted her to discontinue the food distribution because of her advanced age and the pandemic situation. \u201cBut she is not ready \u2026 she says she is ready to die of Covid but would feel bad if they are not fed,\u201d the priest said.<\/p>\n
Though other nuns from her congregation tried to take her place, Sister Elsie stoically continues her work.<\/p>\n
In some cases, the mentally ill refuse to collect food from her, apparently because they are frightened or for other unknown reasons. On a couple of occasions, they collected food then threw it away. Other sisters have\u00a0recently joined her to distribute food to show their support,\u00a0said Father Karumalikal.<\/p>\n
Sister Elsie\u00a0said she started the project following the request of a former parish priest, Father Titus Mandy. He saw a mentally ill man eating cow dung while\u00a0sitting on the road and wanted the nuns to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he sought help, I volunteered and the project was launched on December 25, 2010,\u201d recalled the nun.<\/p>\n
Bishop Jose Chittooparambil of Rajkot said Sister Elsie\u2019s service shows the meaning of evangelization and witnessing Christ.<\/p>\n
\u201cWitnessing has more value than preaching,\u201d the prelate told UCA News. \u201cIn a situation like the pandemic, Sister Vadakkekara has shown that love transcends everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n