Day 3 January 21st 2023

Our first port of call was one of Philip’s neighbours, Sindhu. Sindhu has been disabled since contracting polio in her infancy. Her husband is poorly paid and is an alcoholic so he contributes little to the family. A year ago HHI bought her a goat which has produced a kid; this will be fattened up and sold at a Muslim festival when prices are at their highest. In the meantime, the goat’s milk is an important addition to the family’s meagre food supplies.

Goat and kid – both doing well

We next visited Santi Bhavan, a home for over 30 destitute men and women. It was founded by a lovely Christian couple who have continued the work despite inadequate resources. The local community provides some support, but not as much as before COVID. As a result they have again fallen behind with the rent. I was able to give them a month’s rent (£100), which should ease things with the landlord.

Santi Bhavan

Then it was time to meet up with Shibu and the patients that he is looking after – six at the moment, none of which would be getting treatment were it not for him. We also met Sajid, one of Philip’s other neighbours, who has been seriously injured after a disagreement with a neighbour. He needed scans and incontinence pads that the family could not pay for, having their bread winner out of action, so I paid for these (£100 and £20 respectively).

We finished the day with visits to another Sindhu to give her £30 towards the cost of her dialysis (which costs £10 a time), and then Morhana to see his chickens.  Morhana is disabled as a result of an accident at work, and cannot work, so these make a great deal of difference. We gave him 10 chickens during lockdown; he now has 25 hens, all laying eggs enthusiastically. We do what we can to help; even a small contribution can make a big difference.

Receiving payment for dialysis 

Healthy chickens