Feeding the hungry

ON any given Monday, Wednesday or Friday afternoon in the capital city, you're sure to find a group of women scurrying from the sidewalk at the Reserve Bank to the Ivi Triangle, each with a basket of food parcels nestled on a forearm. While waiting for the traffic lights to change on one of these days, Oni Kirwin introduced herself as the founder of the Pacific Indigenous Samaritan Organisation Inc, a religious not-for-profit organisation registered in Queensland, Australia. Her eyes were glued to the centre of the meeting spot, wary of the time and the rules of crossing. She had a look of anticipation as if say no matter what, she had to be on time with the delivery of the food packs. But who was the food pack for? The answer soon became clear as one by one the hungry and homeless came out from the street corners to receive their portion of food under the big ivi tree. They were not expected to pay for the food nor were they forced to convert to Christianity. There were no conditions attached to the evening meals. They understood it was a simple act of kindness and compassion that Ms Kirwin and her group of followers had committed themselves to as part of their Christian duty. The 'soup kitchen' women belong to different religious denominations but come together for prayer fellowships every now and then. It was through one of those midnight fellowships that they came across the homeless on the streets in Suva. "There are beggars in the city who are there in the day, but come night they're gone so they must have a home somewhere but there are those that are in the city 24 hours a day, seven days a week they are the ones we provide meals for," said charity worker Ms Kirwin. "This is one of two things we do the second is Christian counselling at the various prisons women's prisons, Korovou and Naboro. "Our objectives really define who we are as a religious not-for-profit organisation, we work ecumenically for the promotion and advancement of the Christian faith by developing personal relationship with Jesus Christ that results in peaceful co-existence and manifest healing and restoration in indigenous communities across the Pacific region. "We hope to open a main drop-in centre in Suva but that's still a work in progress. You know, there are a lot of people in the city are who are affected mentally. "People say they have relatives who can look after them. We can't tell them to go home or who their relatives are because obviously there are issues at home - why they're there in the first place. "Since we started with the soup kitchen on January 9, three people we had fed have died. "They are here today and gone tomorrow, that's the nature of the soup kitchen. If they want to talk, we talk with them because that might be the last time they talk to someone. "Some people we give the packs to are alcoholics. "Others tell us we shouldn't give it to them because they always spend their money on alcohol and other things but we have no right to ask them where or how they've spent their money. "This is a compassion ministry work. We do it out of a passion for Christ. "We really feel the Jesus in them and hopefully the mercy that we show them will convict them or turn them around." With 56 financial members from Suva and Lautoka, Ms Kirwin says the organisation does not discriminate accepting volunteers as they come. So far, members from three religious denominations organise the three-day provisions a week from their own pockets. "On Mondays, the Calvary Church women that belong to the fellowship collect donations of $40 for the shopping. "On Wednesdays, the Lami Gospel church provides the budget and Fridays is the Centenary Church and Service Street Methodist church," Ms Kirwin says. "We get about 40 packs ready of curry and rice or chop-suey. "We give that out three times a week allowing them two days in the week and the weekend to fend for themselves. "With the soup kitchen, we give them something that is wholesome and perhaps a balanced meal. "We try to give them fruits as well but it comes out of the pockets of the women from these religious bodies who are part of this fellowship. "When we first gave out food, they said 'no, I have no money'; they thought we were selling food but we said 'no, we're giving it to you free of charge'. "At first they were confused but we explained who we were. "It's very hard to tell people that we need to do things like this because everybody's so tied to the church unlike in Australia, you can do things out of your own initiative as a challenge or part of a church just do something as a witness for your faith. "There are quite a few of us who are mission-minded and go out and do things." A permanent resident of Australia, Ms Kirwin has been involved in similar work with aboriginal communities in Townsville and Palm Island, a 'tropical island with a complicated history'. The violence and crime rates that plague this community had not deterred Ms Kirwin from her role in making life a little less 'unpleasant' for some of the residents. In June last year, she even organised for a team of local missionaries to travel to Australia for hands-on charity work in Happy Valley and Dean Park. In other words, she gave them the opportunity to witness first-hand what she normally faced during her mission work. "The first time I called for airfares for people who wanted to come with me. "They had to pay $1648 to go to Sydney, Townsville, across on the ferry to Palm Island and back the same way to Fiji," Ms Kirwin said. "Within three weeks, we raised almost $70,000 and this was after the women had paid their visa application fees of about $200. "They had families in the United States, British Army and the United Kingdom who supported them and they saw how you can really put your faith in God and it works. "Two weeks ago, I handed them ownership of the organisation because I have to go back to Australia. "It's important to have ownership of it before anyone else and that's what I needed to see when I was with them here so they will know it's theirs and not mine." Today, the women continue with their soup kitchen program. They have since forged a special relationship with those they've touched on the streets, giving them a glimpse of hope that even though their lives have hit troubled waters, there are Samaritans in our midst who are genuinely concerned and willing to lend a helping hand in times of difficulty.