ALAPPUZHA: He was born with a deformed arm. But that hasn’t stopped R Riyas from lending a helping hand to the needy. A practising lawyer, the 42-year-old from Mannanchery is the heartbeat — ‘Jeevathalam’ — of the poor in Mararikulam. With the support of generous souls, he has been helping feed the deserving twice a day for the past three years.
Riyas fought all odds to overcome his deformity, but that never stood as a barrier to his life of service. He is now coordinating the activities of Jeevathalam Pain and Palliative Care Society, which has spread wings across Aryad block panchayat, covering four grama panchayats, as its convenor. He takes the lead in supplying food to around 400 families and the people reciprocated their love handing him victory from the Aryad division to the Alappuzha District panchayat on an LDF ticket.
“I have been engaged in pain and palliative care service supported by many leaders and generous people over the past decade,” Riyas says.“We found that many people from the area, because of various reasons, were struggling for a proper meal. Many are elderly citizens who don’t have children or dependents.”
That prompted him and his associates to launch an organisation to serve the poor. The Jeevathalam Pain and Palliative Care Society is now a multi-arm organisation, with around nine other registered organisations functioning under the Society. And all of them are serving poor people in the area, he says.
The Society members, with the support of the CPM leadership and Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, started the Hunger-free Mararikulam project in December 2017.
“Under the project, we serve free food to people from Muhamma, Aryad, Mannanchery and Mararikulam South panchayats. Food is served to the door step of each family by volunteers,” Riyas says. He took the political plunge while being a student of SD College, Alappuzha. Moving up through the ranks, he had contested and won from the division earlier in 2005. He also practices law at the Alappuzha Court.