Churches feed needy, pay rents and raise funds

HYDERABAD: Churches in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad raised funds to donate grocery kits, paid rents for needy during the lockdown and distributed food to migrant workers travelling to their hometowns.
The youth bodies of four churches and two chapels under the Malankara Orthodox Church in Hyderabad, following the Bangalore Diocese Bishop, His Grace Abraham Mar Seraphim, launched the campaign #SupportKaroNa with a motive to feed the needy.
In April, the youth body of the Orthodox churches, called MGOCSM and OCYM, headed by Fr. Lijo Joseph, raised nearly Rs 4 lakh from church members.
“Most of the money was spent on distributing grocery kits through a Hyderabad-based NGO, Freeration.in., which delivers groceries at the doorstep of needy persons and another group ‘FeedTheNeedy’, formed by seven IT employees ,” said Fr Lijo Joseph, vice-president of MGOCSM and OCYM. Each grocery kit consists of essentials for a four-member family to last for over a week, he further added.
Apart from that, they have also distributed grocery kits and cooked food for needy people near the premises of the churches.
“We also distributed money for people who struggled to earn enough during the lockdown to pay off their rent. With the remaining funds, we plan to distribute slippers and cooked food to migrants working walking back to their homes,” said Rajiv Mathew, advisor of the youth body.