M-Friends enters 1000th day of feeding poor at Wenlock hosp

Mangaluru: M-Friends Charitable Trust, which has been serving the poor in Dakshina Kannada district, is completing 1,000 days of its ‘Karunya’ scheme on Monday. The scheme involves serving food to the attendants of poor patients at Government Wenlock District Hospital in the city.
Trust general secretary Rasheed Vitla told TOI that M-Friends, aka Mercy Friends, has been serving poor patients and economically backward people in the district for more than seven years.
“We have been serving food not only to patients’ attendants, but also to the relatives who visit the patients. We have continued our service uninterrupted even during the days when the city witnessed curfew, bandhs and Covid-19 lockdown, with the help of donors,” he added.
“Wenlock Hospital, which has 1,000 beds, gets patients from villages of Many districts in the state as well as from Kasaragod of Kerala. A majority are poor and some of them must depend on the hospital for prolonged treatment spanning months. Though the hospital serves food to patients, those accompanying them get food from our Karunya programme,” Rasheed said, adding that the trust spends Rs 2.25 lakh per month for the Karunya scheme.
Rasheed said, “We have noticed relatives of many poor patients begging on streets. Hence, members of M-Friends decided to start Karunya project and it was launched on December 18, 2017. M-Friends volunteers in association with the physiotherapy unit of the hospital distribute food near the Burns Centre every day at 6pm.”
“We distribute food coupons inside the hospital ward in advance as part of our discipline. An average of 400 – 500 persons benefit from our scheme regularly. Chapati – gasi, idli – tove or semige – sambar are in the menu. In addition, biryani, sweets and fruits are also distributed on special occasions. Since the hospital is also a designated Covid Hospital, we are currently handing over the food directly to the hospital kitchen,” said Rashid.
M-Friends has 55 like-minded people as its members, and it was started with a WhatsApp group created on January 23, 2013. Later, a trust was formed. M-Friends will celebrate its 1,000 days of Karunya programme at IMA Hall at 4.30pm on Monday, he added.