Four Good Samaritans in Capital

When we hang around the teeming capital city, we may come across a few who feed the hungry and abandoned unfailingly. City Express looks at a bunch of these Good Samaritans selflessly following the noble path

When we hang around the teeming capital city, we may come across a few who feed the hungry and abandoned unfailingly. City Express looks at a bunch of these Good Samaritans selflessly following the noble path.

The Man from Perinthalmanna

 For the past eight years, it has been Rojan K J’s routine to set out in search of hungry mouths on streets. Nothing stops Rojan from feeding the poor, 15 people a day and sometimes many more. This hardware technician-cum-coconut vendor hailing from Perinthalmanna shells out money from his own pocket to meet the expenses.

 “I spend half the money I earn a day to serve the food.  The food is prepared at a house near Vellayambalam. I feed anyone who stretches out his hands to me,” he says.

 Right from his school days, Rojan has been sharing food with the less fortunate. Rojan’s lower middle class family was dead opposed to his ideas, when he ventured on the task a few years ago. However, now, Rojan has the staunch backing from his family. ‘’I find satisfaction in serving the poor. In my own way, I’m trying to offer a helping hand to them. A few friends of mine also offer support,” says Rojan.

 His charitable act does not end here. Rojan has been an active member of a blood donation forum in the city for the past one-and-a-half years. For the Uttarakhand flash flood victims, Rojan donated medicines worth Rs 22,500.

The CBSE School Manager

 Another man who catches attention in the city is from Nedumangad - Suryalayam Raveendran, manager of a CBSE school in his home town. His philanthropic zeal had once satiated the hunger of hundreds of destitute folk in the city. But with many of them seeking shelter in government-owned rehabilitation centres, his effort is now on a smaller scale. “Still, I serve food for almost 100 people a day. I bring breakfast from a hotel in Vazhayila. The noon meal is purchased from a lady who sells food packets near the Secretariat,’’ says Raveendran.

 ‘’My grandmother, who had helped the needy, is my real inspiration,” he says.

 Raveendran also provides medicines and clothes for the needy. He was recently selected for the ‘Real Heroes’ by CNN IBN channel.

Aswathy Nair’s Good Heart

 Twetny-six-year-old Aswathy Nair has been donating food to the homeless for more than six years now. It was her personal experiences that made this young woman set out for this commendable act. “I faced tough times during childhood days when my mother worked as a home maid and brought a small amount of food for me and my siblings,” she remembers.

  Every day, she feeds more than 25 people and likes to expand her beneficiaries. Her mother and sister assist her in cooking and packing the meals. Aswathy works as a medical representative, while also pursuing her LLB studies in a law college in the city.

 ‘’The common people are very cooperative. But I’m not receiving any support from officials or the government. I want to make my effort big and am planning to launch a charitable organisation,” she says.

Serving Patients at MCH

D Joy Kutty, a senior office assistant in a private engineering college, serves the patients at Medical College Hospital (MCH) during Tuesdays and Saturdays. He was inspired by his friend Sabu Jose, who feeds the poor in a similar way in Ernakulam. Joy Kutty has been feeding the poor for the last eight years. He also offers them other kinds of support. ‘’It may be hard, but it’s divine. Everyone can do it. The only thing that you need is a kind heart,” he says.                                                              

— Krishna A

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