New Delhi, India, Jan 4, 2022 / 18:01 pm
The Missionaries of Charity have begun to ration their distribution of food and other items to the poor in the wake of the Indian government’s decision that they and other non-profits are no longer eligible to receive donations from abroad.
The missionaries normally help some 600 people at their Kolkata motherhouse and their children’s orphanage Shishu Bhavan. Their breakfast on Jan. 2 was one hour shorter than usual, meaning some missed tea, bread, and eggs, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Catholic News Service.
Abdul Razzak, a 45-year-old beggar, has waited outside the motherhouse since Christmas to try to get food and medicine from the missionaries. He has received a daily meal there since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to Catholic News Service. Razzak said the sisters told him and others in need “that we might not be able to collect the food any longer.”
One woman and her family normally collect food at the Kolkata orphanage. They survive the winter due to provisions from the Missionaries of Charity, but now they are worried that they might not survive winter. Expected blankets did not arrive. The mother, Rosy, lives on the street with her blind husband and four children eight years old and younger.