A payasam campaign to mobilise funds for poor dialysis patients

Payasam has hardly anything to do with dialysis treatment.

But the proceeds from a campaign selling 1,000 litres of payasam on the eve of Thiruvonam are set to help patients from impoverished backgrounds undergoing dialysis treatment at Fatima Hospital, owned by the Diocese of Cochin at Perumpadappu. The campaign was organised at St. Teresa’s College and select churches of the diocese.

“Over the past seven years, we have helped nearly 13,000 dialysis patients, spending nearly ₹1.50 crore. In the initial three years, dialysis was free before we had to call it off in the face of hardships, including the pandemic. Since then, poor patients are given dialysis at a nominal fee,” said Fr. Siju Joseph Paliathara, director of Fatima Hospital.

The payasam campaign marked the end of months-long fundraising programmes. For one, the hospital has been earmarking 1% of its revenue since last November to achieve the target of ₹25 lakh towards the dialysis initiative, and the payasam campaign is likely to bridge the gap in achieving the target. The campaign at St. Teresa’s College was meant for major sponsors of the hospital’s dialysis programme, and payasam was served in earthen pots, complying with the green protocol.

Two other novel campaigns were organised by the hospital during last Christmas to fund dialysis for poor patients. “We asked parish members in 26 churches to collect coins in plastic bottles and to donate them to the cause when the bottles were filled. We were able to raise ₹26 lakh through the campaign named ‘Chillarakkaran,’” said Fr. Paliathara.

In another initiative, named Cake Vandi (Cake Vehicle), a low-floor air-conditioned KSRTC bus was hired to raise funds through selling cakes. By the time the bus, which was flagged off by the Kochi Mayor, returned after touring Ernakulam and Alappuzha districts, the cakes were all sold off, raising ₹10 lakh.