“I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home” - Matthew 25:35

Service to the underprivileged is a cornerstone of the Orthodox Church and the Borivali Parish has consistently strived to be a benevolent partner and provider to those in need. 

One of the long standing and fruitful charity projects of this Church is the Charitable Clinic, built under the auspices of Late Lamented His Holiness Philipose Mar Theophilus. The clinic was inaugurated on 12^th April 1998 by H. H. Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Mathews. The clinic provides free or low-cost medical service to everyone in the surrounding areas of the church. The clinic is operational every Saturday from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The Church regularly supports underprivileged persons irrespective of caste or creed. Funds collected under the Vicar’s Relief Fund, is exclusively used for a wide variety of charitable activities such as supporting medical and livelihood expenses of the deserving, covering the educational fees of students, etc. During the devastating floods which affected Kerala, the Church came together as a whole to donate food, clothing and essential goods as part of the Bombay Diocese’s relief and rehabilitation efforts. 

The spiritual organizations of the Church also play their part in holding regular charity activities around the year. Youngsters under the aegis of the MGOCSM and the OCYM conduct blood donation camps every year in conjunction with renowned blood banks. These blood donation camps are actively supported by church members and people in nearby areas. Youngsters have also engaged in food and clothing distribution drives for the poor living around Borivali and Dahisar.

The youth routinely conduct myriad other charity drives such as tie-up with NGOs like Goonj to collect old clothes and distribute it to the needy, visiting old age homes such as Mercy John Memorial Home for the Aged and spending time with the seniors, visiting orphanages such as the Hum Foundation at Mira Road, mingling with the children through games and fun activities. In addition, they also support the orphanages in the form of donation of study materials, school essentials, etc. for the children.

On 1st May 2019, the Church entered commenced its Ruby Year celebrations, with charity events planned for each month to commemorate this event. The celebrations started with the distribution of school kits comprising of schoolbooks and bag, to 40 under-privileged students of Shailendra Education Society school. This was followed up by other activities such as sponsorship of one-time meal at Turbhe, medical aids, covering the education fees of students and distribution of sewing machines to 6 deserving candidates providing them with the means to have a livelihood.

All this is but a drop in the ocean and there is still a lot more that we can do. We pray to the Lord Almighty to give us the strength and the means to continue these activities.