FOOD BANK FOR THE POOR , SANGOLDA GOA completes 6 years as of today.

What started on 27.5 2017 with just a single fridge for over 6 months at Sangolda, today has taken a totally different approach.

27th May is the birthday our late Uncle , 

Rev Fr Walter Gomes , SFX , who expired in August 22 and we had innaugrated this fridge on his birthday 6 years back with his blessings.

Running a food bank was always considered risky due to food poisoning as a threat to the one running a food bank.

But in the last 6 years of our food bank program,  with the Grace of God we have never ever faced any issues of food poisoning or anything which brought bad light to our food bank.

With over 26 fridges installed in Goa of which 11 such fridges are in Police Stations, we on an average accept and receive daily 500 kgs of cooked good food enough for our 8 shelter homes and rest goes to other associates who feed the poor.

Our expansion of our Food bank fridges was planned across India way back in Jan 2020 and we had even sent 3 fridge to Bangalore, 2 to Delhi and 1 in Maharashtra but Covid lockdown early March 2020 brought this expansion plans to a complete halt.

Now on our 6th Anniversay of our Food Bank and which is also rhe birthday of our Late Fr Walter Gomes , we are installing 5 new fridges in a Jharkhand in North India on 30th May 2023.

This coming 6 months we intend to set up if possible with The blessings of The Almighy close to 200 + fridges across many states as food banks ( and shelter homes go hand in hand) are the need of the hour as hunger is everywhere as well as food wastage is increasing.

The only One regret in running the food bank program for the poor which I FAILED,  was we are not accepted and supported in GOA by the FSSAI / FDA DIRECTOR inspite of our excellent track record.

Infact we conceptualized and popularized the term FOOD BANK FRIDGES In public places , after which the FSSAI put a program and plan in place.

This is the only Government department I can say is not pro hunger towards the poor .

After 6 years we @ our food bank is collecting monthly on an average only 15 tonnes of cooked good food which if the FSSAI had supported could have been 150 tonnes a month.

♡♡♡ We thank alot of our benefactors who have in the last 6 years donated close to 80+ fridges towards this once upon a time A UNIQUE CONCEPT called FOOD BANK FRIDGES.

♡♡♡ We also thank our only FRIDGE supplier,  Global Enterprises,  Mr Savio from Porvorim for all the sales,  service and credit facility given to this food bank program. 

To all the factories, bakeries and unknown people who faithfully drop their good food in our fridges. GOD BLESS YOU .

♡♡♡ To my Wife and my little children ( 6 years back all 3 of them were small, infact  one child was an infant ) thanks for the support & patience you all had with me especially in the 1st 6 months but the rewards are now plentiful.

♡♡ To Late Fr Walter Gomes ( Uncle Babush ) your prayers,  motivation, advice and support is now only memories as we take this vision of yours forward both @ the food bank fridges, & the shelter home projects for the homeless with our 1st shelter home out of Goa being innaugrated in Jharkhand on 30.5.2023.

Www.streetprovidencegoa.com 

God bless you all

STREET PROVIDENCE GOA has a AFTER STROKE RECOVERY facility cum mini PALLATIVE CARE both for men & ladies separately in Bardez Taluka.

We @ Street Providence Goa primarily run  :

♡♡♡ We thank Alcon Resort Holding Pvt Ltd for the CSR grant which enabled us to purchase 25 Fowler beds and additional aids. 

With a good set of Physiotherapists & latest equipment at our Physiotherapy centre's we are treating already 6 such stroke related homeless and poor goans in our homes. 

Looking at the rising no of cases of homeless people suffering from stroke commonly from those who are consuming alcohol on tbe streets we set up these two after stroke recovery facility.

This trend is going up especially among the homeless and the cause is purely cheap alcohol.

Handling after stroke recovery patients is not easy task but with a huge manpower in our homes, qualified nurses and a perfect set of team force,  it was a desire to set up this after stroke recovery unit.

In the coming 6 months, we will have close to 

10 additional nurses trained for over a year, with specialty in Pchyistric care & after stroke recovery to help us meet the demand for the ever increasing cases of STROKE issues.

We are appealing for good Doctors both ladies & gents to assist us on part time basis especially if one has empathy for the poor and the homeless including our poor goans.

Both these facilities are primarily set up for poor goan homeless people & the homeless suffering from after Stroke and who require some support to get back on track till they regain some stability and mobility.

Our NGO has not only set up  Shelter homes in Goa , but we have diversified into Physiotherapy units, after stroke recovery unit and very soon we are starting shelter homes across many states in India.

For us @ Street Providence it's always about looking at the future seeing the number of homeless rising on the streets and our poor goans turning homeless due to mental disabilities.

I have seen the poor go through when they suffer from a stroke and this was one project that I was carrying on my mind for a very long time.

We plan projects based on the current homeless situations but looking at a long term futuristic situations where homelessness is going to be one big issue.

WE DARE TO DREAM.

Www.streetprovidencegoa.com 

God bless you so much 

This local goan mam is genuinely homeless last many years as his family has abandoned him due to his disability.

Are there genuine ethnic homeless Goans homeless on the streets in Goa ?

Few days back the  media highlighted through various channels that there are no ethnic goans on the streets.

Ganesh Gaonkar for years has been sleeping on the streets of Shiroda in horrible and pathetic state and it was a sad and horrible life he was leading all alone and abandoned.

Attached a picture of him.

Close to 18 months back we rescued him from the streets with the help of ponda police and we tried to rehabilitate him and put him on medication.

Thrice he escaped from our home and all 3 times we went in search of him as he is genuinely homeless and can't think and manage himself without medication.

The last time we rescued him was from margao circle when one of our care givers recognized him as a rag picker with a sack full of bottles

Counseling and medication is not working the way we expected it to work and if he gets another opportunity he will definitely walk away.

Whenever we have repicked him from the streets one will 100% conclude that he is a non goan as his appearance just changes beyond recognition.

Today we understood his mind very well and we have put him on alot of work like washing the utensils, drying the clothes, sweeping and mopping the floor daily.

Kept him so busy that at night he sleeps like a log.

Small small activities give them that sense of understanding that they are wanted by society.

Video attached.👇

Various times I SCAN the CCTV in all our 8 homes numbering close to 120 cameras running non stop 24 *7 and I evaluate each and every inmate to see how best their disability can be worked up upon so that they can get help.

Very difficult at times trying to evaluate close to 165+ people and fit a schedule for each one of them.

In and around MARGAO CITY there are like 200 to 300 of such unclean men and a few ladies of whom 50% are ethnic goans who are genuinely homeless due to disabilities.

And we call them GHATIS & OUTSIDERS which we are totally wrong.

No one in Goa knows Margao city better than me regarding the homeless and vagabonds that this city is having.

This issue was bound to explode , moment our shelter home in Margao was shut down.

Now who is facing the trouble?

We very rarely, under genuine circumstances  accept homeless street people from margao city.

People need to understand the value of shelter homes. 

We are often highlighting  with actual facts and details of the number of genuine goan turning homeless in our own state and something needs to be done to address this issue.

Our homes are getting loaded and at some point we will Have to stop taking in more admissions as we just don't have space.

Government needs to address these issues before things go out of control.

The only way to reduce homeless is to 1st accept the fact there are genuine homeless and plans are put onto place to solve the homelessness.

No one should deny or refuse to accept that there no genuine homeless goans on the streets of Goa today not after 25 years.

Denying the fact only compounds the problem and that is why homelessness is increasing in Goa by leaps and bounds.

We @ Street Providence are fighting with our backs against the wall against an unseen enemy but one thing good is The Government of Goa through its various departments is backing us up.

But that's not enough .

We require more support from the Government of Goa to reduce if not halt homelessness in Goa 

Www.streetprovidencegoa.com 

God bless you so much 

Are there genuine ethnic homeless Goans homeless on the streets in Goa ?

Few days back the  media highlighted through various channels that there are no ethnic goans on the streets.

Watch this 90 sec video and decide.👇

This ethnic goan homeless red saree lady was on the print & electronic media late February & early March 23 for many days as she was living on the streets in the heart of the Capital of Goa for months.

For years this lady has been living on the streets of Bardez and sleeping under trees and in bus stops due to severe mental disabilities.

We were requested in the last few years but we failed in trying to rehabilitate her.

The press in March 23 took it up, Goa police picked her up one night and dropped her home without attempting to admitt this ethnic goan lady into the IPHB so that she stabilises & bang next day she was back in Panjim.

☝️The above link if clicked will show you her condition two months back on the streets of Panjim.

We were again requested to help but by that time the Anjuna police got her relatives to give their assent in writing so that we could rehabilte her.

By then she was in panjim , Mermaid Garden and changed her saree so difficult to spot her.

A kind hearted & responsible Goa Police officer  Mr A Khan PSI , late March 23 spotted her , picked her up and brought her to us.

We appreciate the support given by the Doctors at IPHB bambolim in admitting , treating & stabilizing this ethnic goan homeless lady.

Something which did not happen in the last many years happened in just 1 month.

Today the red saree lady was discharged from IPHB and we admitted her into our home.

Never ever in the last 10 years have I seen this red saree lady walking without her bags under her arms and hanging from her shoulder.

And always muttering and murmuring to herself.

Today she has been totally set free of her mental disabilities and has left her bags.

No grumbling , no muttering. Cool & calm.

I was told that on the day of her admission into the IPHB & even after a few days she was clinging to those bags.

But now, the medication has started taking effect &  the treatment & the care and compassion shown at IPHB by the doctors & nurses is amazing.

If not kept in a shelter home for rehabilitation,  she will be bang again on the streets just wandering away to no where and sleeping back in the gardens, bus stops,  under trees,  etc.

For those who read and believed the reports in media few days ago ” there are no ethnic goans on the streets of Goa ” please read this post again and all facts can be verified at :

What do you feel ? Are they ethnic goans living on the streets of Goa ?

There are close to hundreds of such ethnic Goans suffering from mental disabilities & crying silently on the streets of Goa for a hand to start afresh. 

But no one, I mean no one in Goa , except our NGO is hearing their cries and we are opening our doors 24*7 to these ethnic goans living like destitudes in our own state.

This is our 2nd case we are highliting to send a message that there are ethnic goan destitudes on the streets of Goa and the state needs to do something about it.

I admitt this was one of the most complicated and difficult rehabilitation case as it involves 2 police stations and the lady was not easy to handle at all.

But WE DARE TI DREAM & we took the challenge and took the problem by the horns and today she is totally set free after years and years of torment on the streets of Goa.

Tonight she sleeps in a home witn other ladies, has a nice hot bath,  eats a warm meal in a plate and watched TV .

WE DID IT.

Thanks to all our team members and staff @ Street Providence Goa. 

Www.streetprovidencegoa.com 

God bless you all

Can u imagine living in hospitals for over 15 months ? 

And add to that being old, abandoned, unable to walk properly, no bowel control, sleeping on the floor on a hospital mattress and not sure what to do next. 

Yesterday we accepted for PALLATIVE CARE from District hospital margao,  into our shelter home , these 2 elderly homeless abandoned men.

One is bed ridden and orher struggling to walk.

And I am told that many other NGOs were coming to this hospital for months but non volunteered  to rehabilite both these men as both are very very difficult cases to handle.

@ Street Providence WE DARE TO DREAM.

Yes a whopping 15 MONTHS 

Totally not in control of his bowel moments , very very weak and undernourished, was living on a hospital mattress on the floor and just ignored.

Can't walk straight and got some major leg issues.

Watch the 2 minutes video.👇👇

Our volunteer Mr John Baptist has taken alot of trouble to get all the required paperwork ready in the last 2 months as most of the system at district hospital margao is not favoring rehabilitation of homeless in this government hospital which is a big setback to the poor and homeless abandoned here. 

A sad state of affairs for both these men.

We will attempt to provide FREE Pallative care to the extent we can manage and afford to these two men.

It's not an easy task and that's the reason one of these men has been ignored and has been living for 15 MONTHS in a hospital.

We @ Street Providence are more of Hardcore ground work rehabilitation.

We put our effort at the weakest and neglected section of society be it :

Your Continues support to our NGO is required so that we can provide so many services to the homeless , to the poor goans suffering from disabilities and to the street people.

This is what drives us to do what we are called to do and with commitment and care.

Some times the requests are pathetic and difficult to consider but WE DARE TO DREAM.

Www.streetprovidencegoa.com 

God bless you so much 

STREET PROVIDENCE GOA requires your help to  raise Rs 4 lacs to repair our biggest men's rehabilitation home at Quepem which is having some major unavoidable issues.

》1. Monkeys are around the roof and tiles are getting broken. Hence we require 50 nos powder coated sheets of 18 feet each on this roof.

》2. Sleeping space is an issue , but there is a 

75 Sq Mt hall on the 2nd floor which is of plain red coated rough floor, which we require to fit floor tiles so that atleast 10 to 15 men can sleep at night on mats.

》3. We need to increase urinals as these men keep wasting water as they just go on flushing the water when ever they use the washrooms as they suffer from mental disabilities including water phobia.

Our Quepem home for homeless men has a capacity of 80 men with close to 20 rooms.

Most of the men are suffering from severe mental disabilities.

But we Have never crossed rehabilitating more than 50 men at any point of time.

For these reasons :

Remaining 13 rooms @ 4 men per room makes it very difficult to live in.

The rooms are 16 sq mtrs each .

Plus some men have chronic skin disease which needs isolation and some men are on Pampers as they can't control their toilet movements which it itself at times is a form of disability.

So bathing the men is a big issue.

We have only 6 washroom cum toilets and 7 bathing rooms.

This home was innaugrated in Nov 21 and before we started this home it was closed for over 12 years so all the infrastructure is old and needs constant upgradation

We had collected donations of Rs 15 lacs through 20 benefactors in Sept 2021 to repair and start this home and for close to 18 months this home was being used to rehabilitate the homeless until the following issues started.

We are close to a situation that very soon we will have to reduce drastically intake the homeless as all homes are getting overloaded and this home in particular at QUEPEM being the biggest can only accommodate another 20 men but has the worst water issue at the moment and Sanitation is a big issue.

We can accept help also in kind like :

Or you can please donate through cheque or NEFT so that our homeless street men with mental disabilities can be taken care off before the monsoon kicks in at this big home at QUEPEM.

All queries and questions can be done through whatsapp on 8380097564.

One can also visit this home with an appointment to see for yourself incase you wish to help us repair this home.

Www.streetprovidencegoa.com 

God bless you so much 

Goan woman suffering from mental disabilities, married off without telling the husband,

chronic case of running away on trains,

now not wanted by both families & 

suffering from complicated disabilities. 

Very often we hear in print and social media platforms about missing people suffering from mental disabilities who walked away or just disappearing and weeks or months later found dead. 

Well rarely you hear though print or social media how few kind hearted souls actually find such people suffering from mental disabilities especially on far away railway stations or bus stops thousands of kms away and take the trouble to get them back home. 

But angels do exist in this world and recently such an angel dropped this lost Goan lady on a platform 1200 kms away from margao station right back to her family in Goa, without a single charge. 

And we have such many  such ladies in our psychiatric rehabilitation homes with these running away symptoms on trains or bus to far away states. 

The issue here is ” mid way homes or half way homes to rehabilitate such people with disabilities are not available”. 

This goan lady close to 50 years as of today was suffering from mental disabilities about 10 years back and still her mother got her married a couple of months back saying it's just depression 

Husband works 24 hours duty and next day 24 off so basically it's not possible for him to administer the medication to his wife and that's how the issue is going haywire. 

Last few weeks she has reached her mother's home and now uncontrollable. 

Both sides are blaming each other. 

Ultimately if not treated and rehabilitated life will be one day lost in some tragic way. 

And this is not an isolated case but there are huge no of such ladies suffering from this situation. 

So many questions in my mind leave alone the families suffering from such issues and daily who go thru such traumas . 

It's a fight with an unseen and undefeatable enemy which is the most frustrating part at the moment. 

At some point of time, our homes  will get full and we too will throw up our hands and just watch innocent lives going no where. 

Its a matter of great concern that more and more young goans are diagnosed as persons with mental Disabilities and yet the state government,  religious heads,  religious institutions, big time NGOs , are not showing any interest in starting mid way homes to rehabilitate the ever rising no of people In goa and this issue is bound to snow ball into a crisis very soon. 

I and my entire team have no formal education either of being students of MSW or any clinical psychology courses or any psychiatric education but we have developed and acquired hard core ground work experience and ground reality, living with and caring for close to 800 such severe, chronic and hard core people suffering from mental & physical disabilities disabilities last 5 years 

It's a choice I made and it's a difficult calling in today world of fast life and fast money. 

But we require more homes and more collaboration to address the issues of rising no of people suffering from mental disabilities. 

Government is supporting us @ our NGO  and I can't complain much against the government but its the rising nos which is troubling me. 

If we refuse due to genuine reasons especially because of SPACE shortage in the homes , we are criticized and the families feel offended that we are simply refusing admissions. 

If we take more than we can accommodate,  the infrastructure in the homes takes a hit and that causes inconvenience to all the inmates. 

Most of the times the requests are genuine & pathetic that if we don't admit, that life can and will be lost forever. 

If you reading my posts regularly Have any concrete suggestions to help us solve the issues we are facing then pls whatsapp me on 8380097564. 

Ideas are not required. 

Practical suggestions are needed if you are having any valid ones. 

Www.streetprovidencegoa.com 

God bless you so much 

” I don't care about my sister as last 25 years our family has suffered SHAME and we have no friends & relatives because she is suffering from mental disabilities “.

The amount of requests for admissions into our PCHYISTRIC HOMS from our own Goans suffering from mental & intellectual disabilities is driving me nuts.

Everyday our manager Gets 3 to 4 requests which he brings to me to decide.

As if today we have accumulated close to 40 such requests from POOR LOCAL GOANS  and we might take 2 months to admitt these 40 by which the no waiting for admission after 2 months will be another 40 to 60.

It's FREAKING CRAZY service we have started and we are offering.

Last week this particular family approached us for rehabilitation and help and were like telling me ” pls keep our sister permanently with you as we don't want her back “

And she is only 45 years old and I was like ” what are they taking & thinking “.

25 years back as a young teenager this goan girl was married off and was forced to do cooking and dish washing in her husband Home which she could not and was sent back home but the husband Kept the child.

Husband got remarried and got more children and refused to give her child back neither any support .

Thinking about the failed marriage and the family Shame this goan lady showed symptoms of Schizophrenia and other mental issues and parents would take her regularly or often to IPHB for medication

But parents entrusted or believed that the daughter would take the medication on her own which she was not taking. rather just throwing it out.

Other sibling got married and now after 22 years the parents are old and stressed.

Non of the siblings are able or willing to look after her as she has turned violent and difficult for the sibling to handle as they are having their own children and no family member will want their small children to live with a highly volatile aunty who is extremely dangerous and uncontrollable.

Often admitted into IPHB , parents stays 15 days with the daughter, discharges her and again same story repeats.

Father is now dead and mother is weak.

It can reach a point that she might even be just knocked off as no one in the family wants to carry on this nightmare.

A few months back some proposal was arranged & she was re married with the new husband/ man and within a week she was sent back home to the parents as they had not told the future husband that she is suffering from mental disabilities. 

That added more depression to the lady making live even more stressful and difficult for all.

Now in Goa where are the government homes or mid way homes for such people?

No lady activists are raising these issues and no authority is showing any concern to this silent but rising issue.

Today we have agreed to take her in.

We convinced & counseled the family siblings that we will get her stabilised within a few  months and every two month each of the sibling looks after her once discharged  from our home and if in the future she requires re admission we will rehabilte again.

All agreed and went back to their homes refreshed and understood that she is their own blood.

When they entered the office they were like ” let's kill her or dispose of her in some orher state, why go thru more stress ? “.

Like this case I will upload a few more sad and pathetic cases of our local goans who if not helped with rehabilitation will either end up dead or taken advantage once on the streets or will just be walking to no where with no one bothered to go and find them.

I hope the CONCERNED GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS & MINISTERS on my broadcsts will read this post and do something about those local goan people suffering from mental disabilities.

We are getting overloaded. 

Our grants are not given in time both by women & Child Department and Social Welfare Department. 

Grants are promised but just delayed for silly reasons.

We are ready to increase our current capacity from 200 beds to 300 or even 400 beds but we should get uninterrupted support from the Government.

Resources are slowing down, it's going to be election season for the next 18 months so no authority will want to take interest in these issues, space is a constraint, donations are taking a slight hit , etc.

Very soon to accommodate the local goans we night have to stop taking migrants and those non goans lying abandoned in hospitals into our homes as its just going out of control.

Too many homeless on the streets and too many poor locals are suffering from mental disabilities who are reaching the streets as families are not able to care for them.

Already with 165 admissions of which 135 are pchyistric patients all our homes are overloaded at the moment.

Please do support us in your prayers, blessings,  wishes,  donations or just by forwarding our messages to your near and dear ones.

Www.streetprovidencegoa.com 

God bless you so much