Covid-19: Christians in
Bangladesh, Pakistan ease people’s hardship
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| Pakistanis receiving food aid at a distribution point (AFP) |
While the Catholic Church in Bangladesh has launched a
special fund to help those hit by the Covid-19 lockdown, a Christian in
Pakistan is distributing free food to the needy.
By Robin Gomes
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB)
Bangladesh has launched a special fund to help alleviate the suffering of
Catholics affected by the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bangladesh Church
CBCB president, Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario of Dhaka said
that “current situation could worsen in the coming days, as a result, many
people in our community will suffer from lack of food, medicine and other means
of subsistence,”
“The most affected people will be children, the sick and the
elderly, day labourers, the migrant community in the city of Dhaka and those
who do not have a permanent job but depend on daily work for livelihood. Many
will suffer from hunger and may even die,” said the cardinal in a letter to the
Vatican’s Fides news agency.
Cardinal D'Rozario has asked parish priests, superiors,
headmasters and heads of Christian institutions and organizations, individual
faithful, and other potential donors to contribute to the special fund called
"Corona Charity Fund".
He said parish priests, with the help of Saint Vincent de
Paul Society and the Pastoral Councils, are identifying the poorest and most
destitute families needing financial and medical support.
“It is our Christian responsibility,” he said, “to respond
to this difficult situation through our sincere prayer, sacrifices and
financial support."
The Corona Charity Fund has been able to provide 650
Catholic families in Dhaka Archdiocese with 3,000 Bangladeshi Taka
(approximately $35) to buy food. They plan to reach 1,500 families.
On Thursday, the total numbers of Covid-19 cases so far in
Bangladesh stood at 4,186 with 127 deaths. The government is
thinking of extending the lockdown to May 5.
Raja Walter of Pakistan
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, a Christian food shop owner has
launched a humanitarian initiative to feed the needy who are suffering from the
consequences of the lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Raja Walter, a Christian from Youhanabad, a predominantly
Christian district of Lahore, feeds nearly 300 needy people every day.
His charity that is open to all, irrespective of faith or
ethnic origin, was prompted by some alleged cases of discrimination against
members of the Christian minority community who were denied food aid at charity
queues.
According to Raja, "love for humanity must prevail in
Pakistan".
The nationwide lockdown imposed by the Pakistani government
on April 1 to fight the spread of the virus, has been extended to the end of
the month.
This situation has interrupted much of the economic activity
in the country, compounding the problem of malnutrition already affecting many
Pakistanis.
A man with a big heart, Raja isn’t a big restaurant
owner. He runs a small food point having good skills in making burgers.
He is famous for making delicious burgers and his customers always appreciate
him. The son of a catechist also owns a small grocery store in that area.
Hearing about the initiative, Father. Francis Nadeem, the
executive secretary of the National Commission for Interreligious Dialogue and
Ecumenism (NCIDE) of Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference (PCBC), led a
delegation on Holy Saturday to Youhanabad, to see and talk to Raja.
The Capuchin priest was joined by Sahibzada Muhammad Asim
Makhdoom, chairman of the board of Kul Masalik Ulema and Allama Asghar Arif
Chishti.
Shanila Ruth, member of the National Assembly for the
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Justice Movement) party of Prime Minister
Imran Khan, also visited Raja and commended his humanitarian initiative.
While hailing Raja as "a fine example of social and
interreligious harmony", Father Nadeem joined him in inviting Pakistani
Muslims to put themselves at the service of all those in need without
discrimination.
A brother of Raja who works in Sweden has been helping him
and is encouraging him to continue the initiative until the emergency is
over.
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