Asha Daan continues to help destitutes reclaim dignity ……..S Balakrishnan
Mother Teresa’s Birth Centenary: These Nuns Tread Her Noble Path
Mother Teresa’s Birth Centenary: These Nuns Tread Her Noble Path
Mumbai: Even as the world started celebrating the birth centenary of Mother Teresa on Thursday, the nuns of Asha Daan, tucked away in a Byculla lane, were busy organising the funeral of four persons who had died in their home during the day. After all, they see death every day.
Sister Infanta, the superior in charge of this home for destitute people, said, “The police bring in homeless persons every day. And every other day, someone or the other die despite our best efforts to care for them.’’
Mumbai might boast skyscrapers, new flyovers, a sea link and future Metro and monorails but a visit to Asha Daan, the home founded by Mother Teresa on January 8, 1974, shows how abject poverty continues to eat into the city. Over the past 34 years, Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa, has opened its institutions at Santa Cruz, Vile Parle, Borivli and Airoli. These faceless workers believe in the adage: “It is better to light a candle then curse the darkness.’’
Said Sister Infanta, “The number of homeless people is not only increasing, but their condition is also worsening. Many who come here have only bones on them, with maggots wriggling out of their emaciated bodies. I appreciate the Mumbai police for helping these ailing homeless people and bringing them to us.’’ An inmate said, “Even those who can afford to look after their parents dump them here, claiming that they found them on the streets.’’
The tiny team of 10 nuns and volunteers at Asha Daan are undaunted by the huge challenge posed by the burgeoning number of the homeless.
Ten years ago, Mukesh Verma (26), a handcart puller, was brought to the home in an unconscious state with a fractured leg. “The nuns looked after me so well that I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to work for the weak and the homeless. I clean and bathe the old men and even feed them. This will be my lifelong tribute to Mother Teresa.’’ Another full-time volunteer, Deepak Chandure (42), was brought to the home by the police with an amputated leg. “Now, I can walk because of Asha Daan,’’ he said.
* FOR A BETTER TOMORROW: Children pray in front of a statue of Mother Teresa at Byculla’s Gloria Church on Thursday