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Church Participates in Humanitarian Service and Control of Covid-19 in India

The parish of Saint Anthony in the area of Dharavi, in the archdiocese of Bombay, is offering its contribution to stem the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Dharavi, one of the largest slums in the world, in the Mumbai area (western India), and for the sustenance of the local population, which is in conditions of extreme poverty. Fr. Christopher D. Jeyakumar, parish priest of Saint Anthony, told Agenzia Fides that it is “a good result in the fight against coronavirus and in the work of social solidarity”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has appreciated the various initiatives put in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 in Dharavi, an area of great concern, which covers an area of 2.5 square kilometers and houses a population of 650,000. People live in shacks and dilapidated buildings with narrow alleys and open sewers. WHO said that the coronavirus is currently under control in Dharavi thanks to community participation and the joint commitment of public and private entities, including that of the Catholic community.

As Father Jeyakumar states, “the people of the slum have found themselves experiencing very difficult times during the pandemic and the Church has mobilized to help, but the population has always lived with great dignity in conditions of poverty”. In Mumbai, the first case occurred on 11 March and the first Covid-19 case in Dharavi was reported on 1 April. “In the initial phase – the parish priest notes – there was fear that Dharavi would be a hotbed of coronavirus. The infection started in two areas that are located at opposite ends of the enormous slum. Usually, people from Mumbai, who intend to move abroad for work, temporarily stay in these two areas. They stay here until they find work, usually in some Gulf countries”, he explained.

Praise the Lord

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