Due to the economic crisis, many people in Sri Lanka can no longer afford even one meal a day. Between 600 and 700 people attend the soup kitchen organized by Pastor Geeth Chamara De Silva. Negotiations continue with the International Monetary Fund to obtain a first line of credit.
Colombo () – “Many people do terrible things to satisfy hunger, others commit suicide. Recently a father hanged himself because he had nothing to feed his children while a mother threw her child into the river and then tried to commit suicide”. The account of Geeth Chamara De Silva, pastor of the Assemblies of God evangelical church in the Kadawatha suburb of the capital, is dramatic. “It is essential to provide food for the hungry: even just one meal a day is already a relief for them.”
Thanks to the help of many people, a month ago Geeth Chamara De Silva opened a soup kitchen on the premises of Bethany Church and other churches in the region: Rajagiriya, Negombo, Wattala, Matara, Ratnapura, Gampola, Batticaloa, Delft and Vavuniya. Between 600 and 700 people come every day to receive a plate of food.
“Since I have had to go to very remote places to serve God, I was talking to people suffering from the effects of the economic crisis and they told me that they survived by eating some fruit and boiling papaya. I saw tears in the eyes of parents who tried desperately feed their children.
The launch of the community kitchen was possible thanks to the Voice Foundation led by Father Moises, an orphaned pastor who after the seminar decided to dedicate himself to helping children. “Through the Voice Foundation we fight against child abuse and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable,” explained Pastor Geeth Chamara. “We provide mental health care, medicine and food in times of emergency, like tsunamis or floods. The community dining room is an extension of all this, to respond to the difficulties created by the economic crisis”.
All help is welcome: contacts to make donations were published on WhatsApp and Facebook. A benefactor who prefers to remain anonymous told that “it was a great pleasure for my wife and me to be able to contribute” because “hunger is the first human need”.
Sumithra, one of the women who comes to the Kadawatha soup kitchen, said that after her daughter-in-law’s death, she had a hard time finding food: “Our neighbors give us something from time to time, but when I heard about this opportunity, I hurried to go. It is a great blessing for people like us.”
Sri Lanka declared default in mid-April. The country cannot import fuel or basic necessities due to lack of foreign currency. For months the population has been protesting against the rising cost of living and calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Meanwhile, talks continue between the Colombo authorities and the International Monetary Fund to evaluate the approval of a line of credit.
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