Sharing meal with communities on the periphery
Working with communities on the periphery who are homeless and often many who are forced to live under the open sky, has made us conscious of land, space. Our small little office, is in the heart of Gandhi Maidan, the life line of Patna. It’s location offers easy access to the homeless, the vendors, the construction workers who have no difficulty to visiting us for resolving their problems.
The most important of our work, is to connect people with one another, to give them an experience that they are not alone in this struggle. So, we began to invite groups of people to the office on various days, so that we could have a serious conversation, reflection on the state of affairs which they are going through.
As we listened to some of their struggles and their anxieties, their pain we encouraged them not to give up their fight, their rights. Everything that is valuable is attained only after a long struggle. Some of the areas that drew our attention was when they do not get work and the rising prices of basic essentials becomes difficult for them to make both ends meet.
So, it was symbolic tht we could share a meal with them and to some extent though a drop in the ocean attend to their hunger. It is a matter of concern for us as we have come to know that how badly we as a nation have come down in the Global Hunger Index. In a country of abundance, it’s a shame that our people are forced to go to sleep on a hungry stomach. May God touch our hearts, open us to action.