(Andhra Pradesh e Odisha) – Inside, shut away. Outside, shut out.There is a humanity with the faces of elderly women and men marked by deep wrinkles, faces veiled in lonely melancholy, and empty hands waiting to be held and to receive whatever is needed for the barest survival and a life of dignity. It is a humanity pushed to the margins of society because of old age, the lack of a family network, or the absence of social services to care for them. Life around them continues to move quickly, while they fall behind because of increasing physical and economic dependence. Their world of relationships grows narrower, while loneliness, pain, abandonment and discouragement feed a growing sense of distress. They remain shut inside their poor homes, and shut out from the flow of life in a humanity increasingly marked by a throwaway culture. From the disposable use of things to the disposable use of people.
“Custodians of Life” is an initiative of Canossian Mothers working in eight areas across the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to assist elderly people who are alone and abandoned. Today, one hundred elderly people are visited and supported, but many more are still waiting to be found and helped out of their isolation.
Sr. Thankam John:
“Small teams of Canossian Mothers and lay people regularly visit about eighty-one villages scattered across a wide rural area. Here we gather the elderly people from the area for simple moments of sharing and listen to their needs. We distribute packages containing both food supplies (rice, oil, dhal and more) and personal hygiene products, as well as sheets or simple clothing. Some elderly people are very weak, and we go to visit and assist them in their poor homes: we spend time with them, clean where they live, help them wash, wash their clothes and prepare their food. Physical contact, listening and sharing: these are small gestures of love that make them feel that we are there for them.”
Caring for the elderly is like safeguarding a treasure chest of knowledge and experience, gifts to be shared and passed on, precious for the growth and development of a human community.
Because, sooner or later, the Others are us!
Donate now for the “Custodians of Life” in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
India – Custodians of Life: the Canossian Foundation VOICA beside abandoned elderly people
