Letter of Appreciation by the CM of Karnataka for Doing Relief Work

Covid Care Diary: New Arrivals - Unloading and Packing

MSJ, Bangalore: 29th April 2020

Today was a day filled with a number of activities. We received a number of loads of essential commodities like vegetables, oil, dal, etc. Grocery procuring and distribution hub saw many things happening today.

In the morning hours Jesuit Novices packed more than 500 kits filling them with rice, toor dal, oil,  soaps, masala powder packet, sugar, salt, and different kinds of vegetables namely, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.


Making Covid care kits take a lot of time. But our Novices are very quick in their movements. They passed packets from one hand to another, shifted things from one class room to the main packing courtyard and did the miracle of packing 500 kits. It's almost like Jesus doing that miracle of feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. One care kit must supply food for at least 10 days to a family of four people. If a person has three meals per day then if we calculate it for four people means everyday 12 meals are cooked in a house. 12 meals into 10 days is 120 meals, that means 500 care kits should enable to have at least 60,000 meals. I suppose it's a good miracle indeed!

Our neighbours in the Mount St Joseph campus are Trinitarian Fathers. Their brothers too came in the afternoon and prepared another 500 care kits. So, in total we had 1,000 care kits produced within a day meant for 1,000 families. This in turn should produce 1,20,000 meals, in other words, 1,000 families with average 4 members in a family should be able to have meals for 10 days without any problem. 

We unloaded a few tonnes of vegetables mainly sweet pumpkins - two and a half tonnes, carrots - and capsicum - one and half tonnes each, onions and reddish - one tonne each. The person who provided us these vegetables told us that he provides a very fresh vegetables and comes directly from the farms around the Electronic City in Bangalore. Usually, he sends around 25 tonnes of vegetables on a daily basis to the markets during the usual days.

But due to Covid lockdown things are really bad with his business. As supply chain is broken people like us keep his business afloat. However, farmers are incurring terrible losses. I found Mani the dealer is very excited to help us. Through our conversation I found out that he is very passionate of marketing the farmers produce. According to him, he has already donated  25 lakhs worth of farm produce for various organisations who are doing relief work. We have procured these produce thanks to Fr Teyol's contact, who has sponsored these produce to our distribution. 

Another consignment that we got is 200 bags of Toor dal weighing each bag 50 kilos each. A total of one tonne. This is sponsored by the Diya Ghar Organization with whom we have been collaborating very closely since the beginning of our Covid care kit relief work in our surrounding areas. Our usual volunteers and workers in our institutions unloaded all these tonnes of loads without any complaints. Even though they are not used to this kind of work due to the urgency of the current situation, they are ready to do any kind of work. Certainly, we are not only adding value to our Covid care kits but also variety and healthy nutritions to people's diet.

 Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ

29th April 2020

Covid Care Diary: Reaching out to the Garment Factory Workers

MSJ, Bangalore: 28th April 2020

Another group of people who have been struggling during this time of Covid lockdown are garment factory workers. Strangely, majority of them happen to be women, both young and old, who run their families. Around our Mount Saint Joseph campus there are a number of garment factories. Usually, when they are working you'll find a number of buses coming from the rural Bangalore bringing the work force in private buses. We would see lines and lines of busses parked around. Some of the garment factories next to our campus produce world class export quality readymade clothings and shirtings. The brands are internationally well known and locally not sold. 

During our Covid care kit relief work we met a number of these workers who work in the garment factories. An area around the Bannerghatta Road is known as weaver's colony. A sizeable number of students who attend our Loyola Primary, Higher Primary, High school, Composite College and Degree College come from weaver's colony. 

The people who work in garment factories are marginalised people. They have no voice of their own. Recently, when we distributed our Covid care kits to these people many things came to light. Sadly, since the lockdown began, the garment factories are closed. People who have believed in their livelihood by working in these factories are completely shattered. There is no work, hence, no pay.

For our dismay, we found that owners of these garment factories are not paying them when they are not at work. Even though, government is insisting on paying the wages in the time of Covid lockdown, strangely it's not happening. Certainly, the owners must be having valid reasons. At least government should think of paying PF funds (Provident Fund) to the workers. It seems to us that garment factory workers needed only in good times. In other words, they are the people who can be made use of when profit is sure.

There are a number of factors that are troubling when you analyse the life of these garment factory workers. In spite of living within the city limits of Bangalore, some how or the other education has made very little impact on these people. What they have got is some kind of literacy, but badly received literacy.  Since women work in these factories, they are the bread winners of their families. A lot of families are run by a single parent. They live in rented places. How will they pay the rents now? Covid lockdown has really brought them on their knees.

Both the central and state governments are promising a lot to the daily wage earners during this lockdown. Unfortunately, so far nothing has reached the pockets of these struggling families. Looks like either the government does not know the ground reality of our people or does not like to know the reality itself.

Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ

28th April 2020

Covid Care Diary: Relief Work among the Orphanages

MSJ, Bangalore: 27th April 2020

In this time of national Corona lockdown, families with small numbers could manage somehow or the other. But if a house has more than 10 members, then it is an herculean task to get things for everyone.  The hands will not reach the mouth in such a time comfortably.  Procuring groceries and other essential commodities for daily needs when every seller has closed the doors, means wait for good samaritans to arrive.

This is what happening during the lockdown here in Bangalore and especially in our vicinity. So far, we have visited five orphanages and centres of destitute. We have given the ration, the Covid care kits including fresh vegetables that was necessary for them during this crucial time. Among these five orphanages, four belong to Christian organisations and the other belong to another institution.  Among them the membership in each centres is like this, 28, 44, 150, 24 and 17.  For valid reasons, we do not like to name them here. 

Usually, the orphanages and centres of destitute women are depending on the contribution and the charity of people. Unfortunately, government does not fund them including giving them electricity and water at a subsided rate. When life is in full swing there is no dearth for funds and volunteers to ease the financial and practical problems.

Basically, people are good by nature to do such generous contributions.  But, what will you do when the volunteers are not allowed to visit these centres or give practical help to them? Where will they go to buy groceries for a center which has more than 150 mouths to feed in the morning, noon and the night? How will they get fresh vegetables and other commodities when everything is locked up and vehicles are not allowed on the roads?

In our effort to reach out to the people who are in dire need, we came to know these centres with a sizeable number. We could provide them fresh vegetables too, which are also important for these already battered bodies. These centres of new life to those destitute children and battered women depend on the good will of people. Many of the inmates are brought to the centre by the police themselves. These rescue centres serve as the beacon of hope and generosity in a world of greed and consumerism. 

As the economy is struggling and lockdown continues intermittently, the pockets of people are getting drained. That means orphanages and shelters of destitute women will find difficult to keep them afloat for a longer period. If the charity does not come in time means charitable work is not affordable any longer.

During our interaction with the heads and staff of these centres of good will, we noticed tremendous satisfaction. We ourselves did not know so many such centres in our vicinity with a large number of inmates. This was, indeed, a learning experience for us. If you are doing something worthy to the praise of God, then God will not allow such wonderful work go without His grace and pasture. 

Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ

27th April 2020 

Covid Care Diary: Working in the Hub, No Resting even on Sunday

MSJ, Bangalore: 26th April 2020

Covid care kit relief work is possible only if there is regular supply from the stake holders. Here it would be vegetables from the farmers, other non-perishable items from shops and warehouses. 

Today is Sunday. However, our grocery procuring and distribution hub was as busy as a bee house! Early in the morning Jesuit Novices were in the hub trying to sort out vegetables and packing them up. We have very good and talented 20 Jesuit Novices for the Karnataka Province. They are the future Society of Jesus. When we have one or two tonnes of tomatoes invariably we have to sort them out especially picking up the rotten tomatoes. If you leave the rotten tomatoes in a big heap, they tend to infect the other good ones and get spoilt very quickly.

We also received a good amount of ration and other grocery items from the main hub at St Joseph's College, Museum Road, Bangalore. In order to unload the big bags weighing 25 kilos we need men who are capable of carrying them for at least a length of 250 feet. The grocery items are kept in the class rooms where as the vegetables in the courtyard of the school. By providence we have enough space to store, pack up and sort out the groceries and other items.

As we received a truck load of grocery and other items, our own farm workers and other people who run our place came to help us. Otherwise, it would be an impossible task. Our workers are very happy people. They did the job within a short span of time. They received Sprite and fresh egg puffs as part of the reinforcement. 

Along with grocery items and vegetables, we will be adding soaps into the Covid Care Kits. Due to the strict lockdown, shops are hardly open. Sadly, the stranded migrant workers are afraid to venture out into the market place too. We received a good quantity of boxes filed with soaps. Sorting out the those soap sheets from lengthy plastic ribbons takes quite a lot of your time. 

Jesuit Fr Teyol Machado has made Covid Care kit hub as his office, in fact it's an open office. He has his computer on the open table. He does most of his contacting job through mobile or WhatsApp. Whenever we receive a new consignment, he enters the data into his computer. He overseas the whole process. Being a Chief Coordinator of this whole Covid care kit relief work, his eyes are over everything, including encouraging the volunteers to keep the tempo of the work. He is rigorous in planning and executing, quick in decision making and implementing.  

Interestingly, in between this work he attends online classes at the Azim Premji University, Bangalore.  He is pursuing a Master's degree in Development. Unfortunately, due to the Covid lockdown he has do his classes online which he does very diligently.  It seems to me that these classes are a good distraction to him, because what he has been studying at the University as theory, Covid care kit relief work at Mount Saint Joseph has offered him a real practical laboratory. 

- Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ

26th April 2020 

Covid Care Diary: Mount Saint Joseph Covid Care Kit Relief Work, Bangalore - A Report

MSJ, Bangalore: 25th April 2020

On the 27th March 2020, the Mount Saint Joseph Jesuit community took a decision to venture into the Covid Care relief work at the wake of national Covid lockdown. The target group was initially our poor parishioners of Kalena Agrahara, Bangalore. 

Prerana Ignatian Spirituality Centre agreed to cook the food and supply. Since then we have turned our house into an important large-scale hub of food distribution in the form of Covid Care Kits. 

Our target groups are: Daily wage earners, widows, and stranded migrant workers from other parts of Karnataka and North of India

Through our Jesuit Fr Francis Guntipilly, we got in touch with Covid Relief Bangalore (CRB), an association of Jesuit Alumni of XLRI in Bangalore. 

We work in three phases: 

1. Identify an area and make the survey 

2. Verification of the survey with coupon distribution

3. Ration distribution

Expansion: From our parish territory we have moved beyond our Mount St Joseph campus. We cover around 15 kilometers from our campus. In the last 30 days we have distributed 9000+ Covid care kits reaching out to more than 36,000 people. Everyday 40-300 care kits are being distributed in the surrounding areas. Our Loyola College building has turned into a relief procuring and distribution hub with a number of young adults working as volunteers. Senior Jesuits have been involved in making paper bags and the young in reaching out the people in various locations. 

A Covid care kit contains rice, dal, oil, masala powder, salt, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cabbages, beetroot, capsicum, etc. This has added to the nutrition of the people and enhanced the quality of the ration. Since supply chain is broken in this lockdown, the farmers are unable to sell their products in the market. So, we directly buy from them at the fair price.

Partnership: We are working in partnership with many NGO’s, Catholic religious houses, auto drivers, fruit vendors, women and youth. This has built our local contacts tremendously and network is happening. 

Lockdown distress: Daily wage earners’ livelihood is affected, businesses are closed, salaries of people working in garment factories are not paid, daily wages of domestic workers are not given, children have lost focus, youth are in crossroads as exams are postponed,  elderly are scared, spiritual assistance is scarce as temples, mosques, and church’s closed. 

Good news: Like-minded people have come together to help the people in distress, Covid care kits has brought people closer as people are least bothered about caste, creed, religion and gender. Everyone feels that they need help and need to help each other. 

MSJ Covid Care Kit Relief Work Coordinator: Fr Teyol Machado, SJ Phone: +91 8867360195          E-mail: teyolsj@gmail.com 

Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ

 25th April 2020

Covid Care Diary: Police Men as our Supporters

MSJ, Bangalore: 24th April 2020

Covid -19 lockdown has given unprecedented powers to police  in India to maintain law and order in this time of pandemic emergency. Unfortunately, in the early days of lockdown the police used their canes to the maximum causing outrage from the public against them.  These times have been difficult for everyone, including the police and the law abiding citizens.

As the Covid lockdown continued, it brought a lot of misery and hardships to the simple folks especially daily wage earners and migrant workers. When we ventured into helping these people in our vicinity and pockets of places where these daily wage earners live, we had to face some music from desperate people. During this time, it is the police who helped us to sort out things. They did not allow the mob either to attack us or shoplift the groceries items that we had. They not only gave us security and authority to do what what we intended to do, but also helped in identifying the right beneficiaries. They have been saviours in many instances to discipline the mob which happened often unruly.

In fact, policemen are also people who have their own families. They have wives, children, parents, grand parents, relatives and friends. In this time of emergency, they are risking their lives, because they have to interact with people whom they do not know including with those who might have corona infection. The police are out everyday in the morning, evening and night in the streets and byways that people follow the rules of Covid lockdown. They are very vulnerable people. Moreover, they might not get food at the right time even the rest rooms to ease themselves. 

Police men and women are there to journey with us. Perhaps a large number of them are good people who do not empty our pockets and fatten their accounts. A number of police men who accompanied us were self-sacrificing people, who never thought about themselves but the good of the others. Our sincere gratitude goes to them.

- Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ

24th April 2020

Covid Care Relief - Public Media Recognises Our Efforts - by Kannada Prabha

Covid Care Relief - Public Media Recognises Our Efforts - by NEWS 9 (English TV)

21 April 2020 Bengaluru's institutions lend a helping hand

Covid Care Relief - Public Media Recognises Our Efforts - by NewsFirst Kannada

22 April 2020 By News 1st Kannada

Here is the descriptive report in Kannada ಲೊಯೋಲ​ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯಿಂದ ನಿತ್ಯವೂ 200-300 ಜನರಿಗೆ ಆಹಾರ ಪದಾರ್ಥ ವಿತರಣೆ (Click the link to read and listen)

Covid Care Relief - Public Media Recognises Our Efforts - by TV9 Kannada

22 April 2020 by TV9 Kannada: St Joseph College & Loyola Org Helps Dailywage Workers Suffering Without Food In Bannerghatta

Covid Care Diary: Farmers as our Primary Benefactors

MSJ, Bangalore: 21st April 2020

One of those people who are affected very badly by this Covid lockdown are farmers. They are always at the receiving end whenever there is a strike or drought or flood or this kind of lockdown. Even though they are the one's who fill our stomach, energise our spirits, now they are a forgotten lot even by the government and the people alike. Without farmers' steadfast effort and perseverance we would not survive. Unfortunately, they are least remembered, and encouraged.

During this Covid lockdown, the produce of farmers like vegetables, milk, etc., are being wasted and farmers are incurring terrible losses. For example, if a farmer has cows, whether he has demand for milk or not yet he has to milk the cow. Otherwise, the cows would not survive. The vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, etc., are perishable items. They can get very quickly rotten if they are not preserved in a scientific way. Indian farmers, unfortunately have neither big barns nor the scientific method of preserving them for a longer period. 

From our part, we have been doing our little bit by contacting those farmers who have so much  farm produce which is getting destroyed. Farmers have not been able to pay for their workers' salaries. As part of Covid Care Kit, we have been buying directly from the farmers these vegetables like onions, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, cabbages, beetroot, etc.  This helps in someway or the other to alleviate their distress and loses.

Unfortunately, we cannot buy all of their produce as we have no enough funds to procure them.
By buying these farm products and adding into the Covid Care Kits, the quantity of the nutrition of the people is increased. In place of just dal and rice the added nutritions help daily migrants and stranded labourers to have adequate vitamins and increase their immune system.    Moreover, these people cannot even buy these produce at their places as the farm products are not transported.

As a whole we should think about our dear farmers who have been going through such a terrible time at this time of the year when they make most of the profit out of their sweat. 

- Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ
21st April 2020

Covid Care Diary: Auto Drivers as Our Trusted Collaborators

MSJ, Bangalore: 20th April 2020

Covid Care Kits are made available through various ways. Many help us in very specific way. One of the such category of people are auto drivers. In our ordinary life, we cannot manage our travel in Bangalore without Autos.

Unfortunately, at the wake of Covid -19 lockdown the auto drivers are hard hit. Most of the auto drivers in Bangalore are single bread winners of the families. Their conditions are pathetic. Now their autos are also lockdown. Moreover, they are daily wage earners. Many of the auto drivers do not own even the autos. Many of the auto drivers own autos thanks to the bank loans. Most of the Bank lending is given upon a huge interest. Now what will the auto drivers do? 

However, the auto drivers are kind people. They do not live in high rise apartments. They live in villages, small houses or huts, away from the city centres. These are the people who help us to identify the needy when we go in search of poorer people.

I suppose auto drivers know nook and corners of Bangalore. They know how to make your journey short but also long! Many of the auto drivers are helpers are on their toes in assisting us to find out the deserving people who need our ration and essential commodities for daily sustenance. I wish our government does something concretely to these auto drivers when they are in such distress.

- Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ

20th April 2020

Covid Care Diary: Reaching out to the Right People through Documentation

MSJ, Bangalore: 19th April 2020

Yes, Covid care kits are ready and available. But the challenge is to reach the deserving people. The coordinating team along with the volunteers every aspect is taken into consideration that the packs of groceries reach the right people.

When you are in an area which is unfamiliar and the location is new to you, very quickly we try to do is to see and observe. We quickly familiarise with the place. There are many elements involved in this task. In order to get the feel of the place and people, our first task is to get  to know the people. Secondly, always we find there are few individuals who come forward to help us out in knowing the place and people.


There are also times when there are hard headed men who tend to ask many questions, unnecessary questions. Often there is a tendency among the people that whatever we make available are the things from the government. When we say it's a priviate initiative from our Loyola Institutions then things become easier to move forward. There are a number of students from all these areas who have studied or presently studying in our Loyola Institutions.

We do a detailed compilation of the data to know the most deserving people. Thus, when we come back to the place after ten days it would be easier for us to know the people who need our support. This also helps us to know the condition of the families.

Any good documentation is an asset to serve the people better. Even though taking down the name of person, his family members, occupation, whether they need a second instalment of food grains or not is made then and there. The work is hard but it paves good dividends as the right people are served.

We have seen also difficulties in compiling the data. There are also individuals who say lies and do not give right information. As a result, they deny reaching out the other vulnerable and deserving people.

Although the documentation is a herculean task, this also helps to explain to those who assist us in procuring the groceries and other commodities for distribution.

Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ
19th April 2020

Covid Care Diary - The Large Hearted Volunteers

MSJ, Bangalore: 18th April 2020

Covid Care Kits are made available to the needy and to those deserving people thanks to the meticulous work of the volunteers. We have a good band of volunteers, young and seniors who work day in and day out in packing things. 

They cover themselves well with mask and other protective gears to the best of their abilities. The personal hygiene of our volunteers is the most important element in our Covid Care Kit packing.  The coordinating team has been very particular that all the volunteers adhere to these norms and guidelines. The sanitisers have been made available where the volunteers gather to pack the necessary groceries and other essential sustainable goods 

The volunteers have been very generous with their time and energy. Everyone works with keeping in mind the need of the people. They are in a way good Samaritans of our times. Unfortunately, they have to face the questioning of police while arriving at our packing centre.  Thanks to our good rapport with police force things have been so far well. Police men are also with us when we distribute this ration in different villages and pockets of stranded migrants.

It would not be possible to pack two tonnes of potatoes with a handful of volunteers. They also do a very tiring and heavy task of shifting the gunny bags of farm produce and other goods from the truck which is parked on the road to the grocery packing area. 

Other day, we received a consignment of almost 8 tonnes of tomatoes, potatoes, capsicum, onions, carrots and dal. It is tough to carry a bag which weighs almost 40 to 50 kilos on one's shoulder. We salute our volunteers who do such wonderful work but silently. 

- Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ
18 April 2020