Care Services for the Poor and Aged
Basic health care programme of the mission includes free medical care, residence, clothing and food. This marks a big step ahead towards better health and well care for the elders and children. Also residential home has been set up and provide medicines at low prices to the inmates of the home. It also conducted periodic medical checkups by the doctors for the aged and children under its care.The resitential home named as vijayashram at vikhroli and Shanthi Ashram at Kalyan .
Our Mission Activities
Bro. Peter Paul had for long wanted to also serve the destitute persons lying on the road uncared for. Mumbai, the commercial capital of India attracts people from all over India who come here in search of a living. The city already bursting at its seams in terms of infrastructure cannot realistically cope with such inflow of population everyday. Real estate prices have sky-rocketed and a poor person cannot afford housing even on a rental basis. Most such people wind up living on the streets, outside railway / bus stations, under the flyovers etc. There are many cases of elderly parents who are discarded by their own children and have no place to go. Many of the older persons fall sick and the Government Hospitals are also lacking in sufficient bed capacity. There are also people who are injured but with no proper treatment and no shelter their wounds get aggravated and they lie around on the streets. It was to cater to such disadvantaged and destitute persons, that Vijay Ashram was opened in the year 2004. This was again as per Mother Teresa's wish that no person should die on the street uncared and unloved. 'Providing dignity in life and in death' for such people is the main objective of Vijay Ashram. It is to be noted that many such old persons come / or brought to Vijay Ashram in their last stages when their illnesses is in such an advanced stage that recovery is rather difficult. All we can do in such cases is give them peaceful and decent last days and when they pass away, we perform their last rites according to their belief. Currently there are about 35 residents here. Mr. Francis Carmello, a retired civil engineer along with Anand an orphaned youngster who has been with the mission since child hood manages the facility with the help of Amar Bhai and Bengali Babu who bathe the geriatric persons some of whom cannot even stand up or walk and also wash their clothes etc. Jaan a youngster without his family stays here and voluntarily dresses the wounds of all patients as skillfully as a nurse. The cooking is done by workers. Thus this house is an example of how a group of young / middle aged / old persons who have no one to look after them live together and help one another in a wonderful environment of camaraderie. There is a TV with cable connection for the entertainment of the elderly gents. Till date (i.e. in little over 8 years) 1405 destitute males have been catered to. Of whom 470 have passed away in our care. There are many instances of the Mumbai Police department bringing such street dwelling seriously sick and wounded destitute persons from different parts of Mumbai because they cannot be accommodated in Government hospitals. Till date we have admitted 252 patients brought to us by the Mumbai Police Department. These patients stay till they recover and then they are discharged or assisted in reaching their hometown.
Vijay Ashram has a limited capacity and there is no scope for expansion in the existing location except vertically which is legally not allowed beyond the existing ground plus first floor. With growing number of destitute persons being brought in by us / social workers and the Police, we decided to have an additional home at Kalyan which is little over an hour's drive away from Vikhroli.The building itself is smaller and can accommodate about 15 persons only. We find the need to expand the facility here but are currently lacking the necessary funds for the same. This facility is managed by Mr. Shankar who is a local resident and stays with his family next door. He is assisted by a cook.