Heart to Heart
Ms. Indrani Malkanthi lives in a small house with her elderly mother. They both live in a small town in Sri Lanka and struggle to make ends meet with welfare money they receive from the government.
Indrani has a heart condition that cannot be cured. She must take medicine everyday to stay alive. The sick daughter and the elderly mother take care of each other with lots of love. They are simply not capable of paying for the expensive heart medicine and doctor visits.
Indrani was sent to me by another monk who knew about our humanitarian work. He requested that I consider helping her and told me that she is in genuinely in need of help.
When she came to see me, she brought a file, which contained all kinds of information about her health condition including doctor’s reports and bills from the pharmacy. She owed money to the doctor, the pharmacy, and to some of her friends. Although she was supposed to see the doctor every two weeks, at the time she came to see me she had not seen him for about two months because she had no money to pay. She had also reduced the recommended dosage of medication by half to make it last longer.
Indrani has requested help from many people, but the little help they have offered, was in no way enough to pay the bills. She is not capable of working because of the heart condition. Her mother is now too old to work.
After she shared her sad story, I had no problem in trusting her. I offered Indrani my help. I sent a monk to their home to verify some information. We all agreed that she needed immediate assistance.
Triple Gem Society has now been paying for her medical expenses including medicine and doctor visits, for over one year. We have made a commitment to take care of her medical needs for one more year.
As you might know, Triple Gem Society has a special interest in helping women and children. We are glad to support and improve the quality of life of one more needy woman. In a recent letter she thanked me so much for understanding her health condition, and helping her with such great compassion and caring. She said that the help had changed the lives of her mother and herself, and lifted a great burden from her.
Keep Indrani Malkanthi in your thoughts and prayers, and wish her good health and a pain free life. Let us hope that the compassion, which flows from our hearts, will help keep her heart healthy and strong.
We are grateful to everybody who supports TGS. Let us continue to help and share our compassion with one person at a time.
Bhante Wimala
