Parish project
To support the Work of Fr. Sarveswara as director of Holy Family Home for the Needy, a Samaritan Inn at Balamma Satram in Kadapa, South India.
There are several photographs depicting the work in Kadapa and these have been put into a slideshow that can be launched by clicking on any of the photos below. Underneath the slideshow are more details about this project.
For the last three years Corpus Christi parish has been actively supporting the work of Fr. Sarveswara (better known as Sarves) in the Kadapa region of India through financial aid, our prayers and exchange of gifts. We came to know of Fr. Sarves’ work at the Holy Family Home (A Samaritan Inn) through an appeal that was made here by Mary Skaag, a parishioner of Holy Family Parish, Coventry. We were struck by Mary’s dedication and commitment to the project in not only seeking to raise funds but also in that she has travelled several times to visit the Kadapa region to see for herself the conditions the people of the region were living in.
Mary explained that the two civil districts which make up the Diocese of Kadapa are officially recognised as the most economically and socially backward districts of the country. Poverty is rampant and as many as 70 % live below the poverty line. She saw how malnutrition was rife and how the people lived in ‘stable like’ conditions. The availability of electricity was also very limited, even if affordable, homes could only expect four hours electricity a day. The temperatures in the region in May and June can reach 52°C and water is very scarce with little or no rainfall.
Mary told us of how Fr. Sarves had felt called during his priestly ministry to help those who had nothing, the lowest caste of people in his diocese. His vision was to create a Samaritan Inn where the poorest of the poor could be helped, by giving them nourishment, clothing and medical aid and a place where they experience welcome and not rejection. He realised that bringing together the people in one place would enhance their dignity and give them the care they needed.
In the year 2000 Fr. Sarves visited this country and spoke about his vision of helping those who were poverty stricken in Kadapa. With Mary’s help and with support from the Bishop of Kadapa, Moses D. Prakasam, they were able to buy sufficient land for the Samaritan Inn to begin.
Over the last five years the project has received financial help through the many appeals that have been made in Coventry and also in Mary’s family home parish in Consett. Since Mary’s first appeal here, we have asked her to keep us regularly up to date on how things have been progressing and to give us photographs for the notice boards.
The parishioners were delighted to welcome Fr. Sarves to Corpus Christi when he last visited England. Fr. Sarves expressed his profound gratitude for the help that we have given and for actively showing that the people of Kadapa were not forgotten.
The Holy Family Home has an administrative block that also includes a kitchen and a clinic. It has five residences to accommodate the elderly and those orphaned. It will also have shortly a community hall that has a chapel that can be divided off for smaller celebrations. The village has two bore wells that go down some 485 feet. The bore wells have provided water not only for personal use, but have also helped the land to be irrigated thus making it possible for the people to grow their own crops and be self-sustaining. There is an overhead water tank that stores the water or those times when there is no electricity.
The building stage of the Samaritan Inn will shortly be complete but the people of Kadapa will continue to rely on the support and generosity of the various parishes of Coventry and Consett. We hope too that Fr. Sarves will soon be able to buy an ambulance or jeep to go and collect people who are too ill or frail to travel to the village. This will mean his bicycle that he uses to get around can be retired or at least rested.
Since our link with Kadapa was established it has been a great joy to see and hear how our contribution has helped to make Fr. Sarves’ vision a reality. So many lives have been transformed through the work of the Holy Family Home and will be in the future.
The people of Kadapa have also helped us as a parish to be more authentically God’s family in the world. In helping them, we imitate Christ and witness to his love for the sick and poor and so strengthen our communion with him.
Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his encyclical letter ‘God is Love’ about the parable of the Last Judgement (Mt 25:31–46), ‘in which love becomes the criterion for the definitive decision about a human life’s worth or lack thereof. Jesus identifies himself with those in need, with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison. “As you did it to the least of these brethren, you did it to me” Love of God and love of neighbour have become one: in the least of these brethren we find Jesus himself and in Jesus we find God.’
In helping the people of Kadapa we also show that we together hear the Church’s call to work for justice in helping the poor grow in humanity and in upholding their dignity as God’s beloved children. We have made a commitment not to forget the people of Holy Family Home and will continue to have a yearly collection to support them. We look forward to welcoming both Fr. Sarves and Bishop Moses in our Jubilee year.
If you would like to give financial aid or would like more information then you can contact Mary Skaag directly. Her address is 6, Fivefield Road, Coventry and her telephone number is 07989 496912 or 024 76 336345. All money collected is spent on the needs of the poor and not a penny is spent on administration.
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