Protecting Eyes and Easing Hunger in Mumbai

Believers Church Mumbai Diocese conducted blindness control programs in all its local churches and Bridge of Hope centers on 8th March 2011. On the same day, the Diocese distributed 1,500 meal packets to the hungry.

The widespread problem of blindness in Asia is largely due to deficiency in vitamin A. Believers Church is determined to address this issue head on by distributing vitamin tablets through its various dioceses. Children and families in Mumbai Diocese became aware of the causes of blindness and received vitamins to prevent it.

Elsewhere, Believers Church office staff and Minor Seminary students distributed meal packets to beggars at the Panvel bus station and railway station. Taking this occasion as an opportunity to uplift the poor of society, all the students and staff gladly took part in the food distribution.

As the team distributed food, they met beggars, orphans and HIV-positive individuals sitting on the roadside. Among them, beggar children clothed in dirty clothes were overjoyed to receive the free food packets. Seeing the situation of these needy people, the entire student body was motivated to improve the lives of slum dwellers.

The students and staff also visited two additional places to give out free meals. The first was an orphanage that provides shelter to 38 children, some of whom are handicapped. The second place was a center housing AIDS-affected women. Overall, the day brought joy and relief to many unprivileged people who are struggling just to survive.