Grace Review | Meet Chandradasa | Poverty is the Worst Form of Violence | Volunteer Profile

Meet Mr. Chandradasa, Mercy Home ‘Hero’
Every knows him as Gandhi – Mr. Gandhi – with utmost respect both the famous bearer of that name and to Mr. Chandradasa himself, among the first to live in Mercy Home, Grace Care Center’s residence for destitute elders.

There was concern last month that Mr. Chandradasa would no longer be part of the Mercy Home community, an environment he greatly helped create since coming to the complex last year. In early November, Mr. Chandradasa successfully survived a surgical amputation, a procedure whose outcome seemed uncertain for days on end. He was recovering, although some complications are further challenging his condition. (See this month’s Grace Report and news updates for more information.)

Diane McLaughlin, manager of Grace Care Center, calls Mr. Chandradasa, “Our resident hero, Mr. Gandhi,” and watched him take to the community of Mercy Home right from the start. The stories of Mercy Home’s elders share a common wisdom of life’s harshest challenges, from poverty to war, but are unique in their specifics. Mr. Chandradasa was born in Colombo in 1949, the son of a postmaster and the family’s tenth child. Mr. Chandradasa worked a variety of trades, often on farms, until a heart attack in 1994 nearly ended his life at age 45.

Unable to work, Mr. Chandradasa struggled in the years following his heart attack, taking assistance where it could be found while battling a weak heart. In recent years he moved to northern Sri Lanka, and last year qualified for residency at Mercy Home. Among the first residents of Mercy Home, Mr. Chandradasa was eager to take responsibility for chores around the compound, and encourage (and lead) his fellow residents in doing the same. The sense of community at Mercy Home was exemplified by the efforts of Mr. Chandradasa, who felt gratitude for – and pride in – his new home. He was glad, he said, to watch the people from Sri Lanka’s many backgrounds live together in peace.

“Not separate,” Mr. Chandradasa said. “Together, like at Mercy Home, with all our friends and sisters. I can stay here without any fear. Everybody is here, and feels safe.”

Grace Review | Meet Chandradasa | Poverty is the Worst Form of Violence | Volunteer Profile