A patient spending her leisure time at Sisters of Providence ‘Talitha Cum’ Welcome Home; an institute that caters to the needs of patients battling cancer. (Pic taken by Kushan Pathiraja)

 Earlier we could afford the medicine and the chemo with the help of the Presidential Fund, but now it’s hard. As a result when the patient is prescribed chemo treatment and if it is not available in the hospital, we have to provide it,

 ‘TALITHA CUM’ is a welcome home, run by the Sisters of providence for destitute cancer patients who have been abandoned by their families. Due to this the vision of the Sisters of Providence is to ensure a peaceful and loving home for the Cancer patients while enhancing their physical, psychological and spiritual well-being.

The mission of this home is to bring hope, courage and consolation to those affected irrespective of class, creed or race and to look after destitute patients who have no guardian while providing them with the necessary nursing care, nutritious diet and dietary supplements along with the provision of spiritual psychological counseling.
This is a mission that commenced in 2016 and the sisters have worked throughout by carrying out different missions. Until 2016, they had mainly taught the children attending preschool and the day care centre. This land was a donation which was given with the intention to serve and care for little children. However, in the year 2016, the congregation decided to commence this mission. Since this is the only convent in their congregation based in Colombo and is the place which is considerably closer to Maharagama, the sisters had to hear about pathetic stories and sufferings of a few cancer patients to which the Sisters with authority gave their consent and full support.
A Sister who serves for this mission and speaking on terms of anonymity stated “Initially it was decided to care for children who suffered with leukemia, but when we were asked to provide each child with a bathroom many conditions were imposed in terms of their ‘sanitary facilities’. At that time we didn’t have the capacity or the abilities to meet these conditions since we had to find funds.”
 As a result the sisters had to discover other dimensions where they could deviate from their mission and that is when they found this category of males and females, both who were abandoned by their families and had no one to take care of them after being discharged. “During our visits to the hospital we found these categories of patients and deviated from our mission and started to bring them here,” the Sister explained.
The Sister in charge of the mission, who also spoke on terms of anonymity, said, “The main problem in Sri Lanka is the financial issue and they can’t afford such facilities; hence being unaware of this fact they are neglecting these patients. We are also facing issues sometimes for the chemo and for everything because a lot of things are needed day by day.”
The Sister added “A few issues that we are also facing are the cost of transportation and medicine.” She went on to state “Earlier we could afford the medicine and the chemo with the help of the Presidential Fund, but now it’s hard. As a result when the patient is prescribed chemo treatment and if it is not available in the hospital, we have to provide it,” the Sister said. 
The home is largely operated with the support and the donations of people. Some people provide for the patients’ meals, transportation and the medicines with the intention of helping this home function effectively. The three sisters who work here work tirelessly in fulfilling their mission and vision to expand and run this home effortlessly with the donations and funds provided. However given the present financial situation and the economic crisis even the Sisters aren’t able to hire more caretakers making the sister’s work twice as hard in catering to the patients’ needs and requirements.
The objectives of the sisters of the home are to provide care and the ideal home to those destitute and in need. The home is also dedicated towards creating an atmosphere of hope and courage to those struck by terminal illness while easing their financial burden. “The message we wish to convey to the society is that if you have a patient at home, accept him or her and be with such individuals. We say this because although we’re able to provide for and help them, we cannot fill in for the loneliness they feel due to the absence of their loved ones,” concluded the sister in charge of the mission.
As a result, the Sisters also provide counseling sessions to ensure that patient’s are able to express and talk about their hardships openly. Through this service Sisters are able to understand the feelings of the patients and are determined to create a home with love and affection while catering to their requirements.

 Individuals who are interested in helping ‘Thalitha Cum’- run by Sisters of Providence- can obtain more details by calling 0112877942.