Elderly Indian nun defies pandemic to feed street poor

At the age of 83, Sister Elsie Vadakkekara never miss-es her appointment with the poor on the streets, not even during a pandemic lockdown.
Summer, winter or in pouring monsoon rains, the Catholic nun is on the streets at midday every day to dis-tribute food to mentally ill people living rough in her neighborhood in western India’s Gujarat state.
Sister Elsie is a member of the Sisters of St Ann of Providence congregation based in Mithapur in Rajkot Diocese. She has defied the pandemic’s threat to her life to feed these abandoned people, a passion she has continued for a decade.
“I cannot sit in the comfort of my convent when my people are left fending for themselves, especially during this pandemic lockdown,” Sister Elsie told UCA News.