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Oct 01 2015 : Mirror (Mumbai)He serves kind helpingsGitanjali Das TWEETS
@GitanjaliDasMark D'Souza ensures that senior citizens do not worry about
where their next meal will come from
Among the many letters pinned on the wall in Mark D'Souza's Borivli office is
one from Grandma Angela. The letter reads, “He saw the desperate state I had
reached, and He showed me the way to reach you, and get the help, kindness and
warmth of heart that you so readily gave me.“ Angela Fernandes, 92, is one of
over 30 senior citizens who say they have found their `guardian angel' in
57-yearold D'Souza. For the past three years, he has been hand-delivering
dabbas to each of them at their doorstep, free of cost. Many of those he serves
now live alone and have no one to care for them.Others are ill or handicapped.
D'Souza got the idea to serve the elderly while talking to his wife in 2012.
“After my parents passed away, I really wanted to do something for senior
citizens. I am old too. When you grow old yourself, only then can you
understand the difficulties that come with it. I told my wife Yvonne that I
wanted to do something for the elderly. Within seconds, she fished out Rs 5,000
that she had saved up and I remember her saying, `Start tomorrow',“ he
reminisces.
With that money, D'Souza went shopping for dabbas the next day. He then
wondered about the menu. The dabbas that go out today carry wholesome food
-chapattis, rice, dal, a vegetable dish and, as D'Souza likes to add, “a dollop
of love“. The food is cooked with minimal salt and spices to make it easily
digestible. Sometimes D'Souza also packs ice cream or sweets.On Sundays, he
includes chicken or fish. “I keep changing the menu so they don't have to eat
the same food over and over. The dabba is sufficient for three meals. It gives
me peace to think that they are sleeping on a full stomach,“ says D'Souza.
Within weeks of beginning service, D'Souza started receiving several calls.
There were some who personally visited him. A young man working for a call
centre once called on him unexpectedly. “He told me that he needed my help as
his uncle and mother were disabled. To make ends meet, he had to take up extra
shifts, and he was unable to afford a cook for them. He asked me how much I
would charge, and I said noth ing. He could not believe it. I told him to go
home in peace and I would take care of them. Today, I deliver dabbas to them
every day,“ said D'Souza.
Sharp at noon, D'Souza sets off in his car for his door-to-door deliveries.
With a bright, cheery smile on his face, he walks to each door, and hands over
the dabbas personally. He does not leave without enquiring about their health
and their families.The dabbas are always met with grateful smiles and countless
`God bless yous'.
For D'Souza, this daily ritual is a duty he never misses, come hail or high
water. When asked about what gives him the strength to do this every day, he
points upwards. “God is giving me the strength to do it. It is because of this
work that I can hold my head up high. Whoever comes to me, I always tell them,
`Why do you worry, Mark is here.' Some days I do feel tired, but this work
makes me feel young,“ he signs off with a cheery glint in his eye.
