Charitable support for old, destitute and sick people

There is no healthcare system in Bangladesh. If a poor person falls ill, it can result in financial ruin for the whole family. Even though hospitals do provide low-cost care, the overcrowding often results in life-threatening waiting times. Therefore, middlemen wait outside the clinics and try to direct patients in dire need to expensive private clinics. For the poor, every option is either too risky or too expensive. The Taizé Brothers have been taking in sick people for many years to accompany them to the hospital for adequate treatment. If there are sufficient funds, some medicines and sometimes even surgeries can be financed. Elderly people who are frail, single or widowed regularly come to the Taizé Brothers to collect a small pension. As they have almost nothing to live on, their survival is often nothing short of a miracle. Although they are invited to dinner, they almost never stay, but leave inconspicuously after receiving their small amount. Sometimes they bring small gifts with them, signs of genuine generosity: a mango, a few bananas or an egg.