Claretians launch Mother’s Meal globally on Teresa feast

C V Joseph

Bengaluru, September 6, 2020: Members of Claretian Congregation has launched Mother’s Meal Global programme in Macau, China on the feast day of St Mother Teresa, the champion of the poor and the hungry on September 5.

Macau is the first international destination for the Mother’s Meal movement, a family to family support initiative to ensure food in every family facing the COVID economic crisis, said Fr George Kannanthanam, founder director, Mother’s Meal.

Claretians in Macau distributed Survival Food Kit to 50 migrant families to inaugurate the Mother’s Meal program in Macau. Claretian Father Jijo Kandamkulathy, a founder member of the Mother’s Meal program, took the initiative to reach out to vulnerable families with a $25 kit, to supplement the family provisions, according to a press note.

The Claretian support group mobilized the amount required for the kits from among themselves. The concept of Mother’s Meal focuses on families that can afford to support another family in distress and comes forward to provide a sustained help for a year.

Bishop Stephen Lee Bun Sang of Macau also extended a helping hand to provide financial assistance to the new initiative to enable families to survive the COVID times. Ms Terry , who coordinated the program said,”each of these families are selected on the basis of their socioeconomic struggles. They really deserve our support.”

Speaking virtually on the occasion to the group from Bangalore, Father Kannanthanam said, “Today is the feast of St Mother Teresa. She said, if we cannot feed 100 people, let us feed at least one person.” Mother’s Meal was a realization of that dream of Mother Teresa.”

Mother’s Meal was started on July 16 this year with just five families, on the occasion of the 50th year of the Claretian presence in India.

It was expanded to 1,000 families across every state and Union Territory in India on August 15 in 55 locations. The initiative targets the people in the families with disabilities and terminal illness besides widows and elderly people without any support.

Mother’s Meal is designed to be a refuge for the most vulnerable families that struggle to survive due to the COVID times, Father Kannanthanam pointed out.

Father Kandamkulathy said, “There are many more families that require support. We will extend the program to more people, as we find out the families in need.” He has planned various fund raising programs to raise support for the movement to support more families.

Mother’s Meal, started by a group of socially committed individuals, as a project of Hope Society, plans to take the movement to more destinations across the world, based on the need in various places, Father Kannanthanam elaborated.

Sibu George, coordinator of the program, said, “There are requests coming from Sri Lanka and some other countries in Africa. We are waiting for financial resources and some good organization to implement the program more effectively.”