Personal hygiene is one of the most effective ways to protect ourselves and others from diseases. Knowing this, Catholic Association of Bengal (CAB) president Angelina Mantosh Jasnani, who is the mother of three girls, has added sanitary napkins to the essentials that her organisation has been distributing among the needy ever since the lockdown began on March 25.
On Friday, CAB distributed sanitary napkins to the girls of Rainbow, a free school run by the Loreto sisters. “During the time of pandemic this is as much needed and essential to all young growing girls. The CAB stands by the needs of the needy,” said Mantosh. The first hundred kits were handed out by councillor Jui Biswas.
CAB has tied up with the state disaster management department to reach out to destitute families living near the churches of the Calcutta archdiocese and has been distributing food items to hundreds of needy families. “We can’t make a difference in every home, but if we can do something for some homes, we think we have achieved a lot. We want to thank disaster management minister Javed Ahmed Khan for his prompt response to our call,” the CAB president said.
CAB members have been going to churches like Queen of Peace in Tollygunge, St Ignatious of Ekbalpore, St Teresa’s, Moulali, St Mary’s in Ripon Street, Auxilium Church, Topsia, and Our Lady Happy Voyage, Howrah to give out food items to the needy families living in the vicinity. “We are following all precautions and protocol against Covid-19 spread while giving out the food items. We shall continue till the lockdown end, seeing to the needs of the needy,” said CAB member Colin Fitzgerald.
As they went around with the distribution, some people wanted cooked food instead of the standard rice grains, pulses and vegetables. Some wanted chura, muri and sattu instead. “So we provided them with these,” Jasnani said, adding, “Biscuit packets were what some said they needed most. Most people seemed to require read-to-eat items because they didn’t have the fuel or the cooking oil to cook the food grains.”
Source: Times of India
