By Lalita Roshini Lakra
Ranchi: The Daughters of St Anne congregation has launched distribution of free lunch to patients flocking to their hospital near Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand state.
“There is a big rush of Covid patients, especially from villages,” says Sister Neelima Ekka, in-charge of the Covid-wing of St Anne’s Hospital and Research Centre at Ulhatu, a remote area some 15 km from Ranchi.
The villagers come to them because they cannot afford the big hospitals in the city, she told Matters India on May 12. Even in the nuns’ hospital, many patients could not afford to buy meals. “So we decided to distribute free lunch as part of our relief work,” Sister Ekka explained.
The distribution that began on May 10 will continue for a few more weeks. Nuns and novices from the congregation’s Ranchi and Gumla provinces take turn to cook and distribute the packets.
For the first three days, they distributed some 150 lunch packets daily to patients, their attendants and even the hospital staff.
The meal kits contained rice, chicken, fish and egg curry, green vegetable, banana and a water bottle.
The hospital, which was opened on January 18, 2020, by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, now caters to thousands of residents of surrounding villagers, explained Sister Jacinta Kerketta, the secretary of healthcare center.
The hospital building was blessed by Jesuit Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi in the presence of Sister Linda Mary Vaughan, the then superior general of the congregation.
Recently, Caritas India, the social service wing of the Indian bishops, provided 2.1 million rupees to the hospital for Covid treatment.
Sister Kerketta said their founder Servant of God Mother Mary Bernadette Prasad Kispotta had done the same works when India was affected by cholera epidemic during 1895-1896.She and her three companions joined the Loreto nuns and priests to save people.
“She went from house to house, village to village and hamlets on foot and served the humanity,” Sister Kerketta said.
The congregation has only one hospital so it invited trained nurses from Madhya Pradesh, Gumla and Ranchi provinces to help.
Hats off and many congratulations to the Sisters of the Daughters of St. Anne congregation for this very fine and charitable venture. The acts of mercy and compassion like these will go long way in lifting the despondent and dwindling spirits of suffering humanity that’s been reeling under the threat of this pandemic that’s on a rampage. The second wave of Covid-19 has been more devastating than the first and you all have continued reaching out to the poor and the underprivileged ever since the pandemic started spreading like a wildfire across India in particular and globally at large. I commend and salute the entire congregation for your charism and selfless service magnanimously extended at these critical times. Many congratulations and thanks to sister Lalita Roshni for so beautifully capturing these magnificent acts of human charity. Please keep it up…May God bless you all…
Great and noble work Sisters. May God bless you, protect you and keep you healthy.