SSVP Reaches Out to Needy Families in Raikia, Kandhamal, Odisha

Raikia, Kandhamal, November 14, 2025: In a moving act of faith and service, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP) local units — St. Louise de Marillac and Our Lady of Charity Conferences of Raikia Area Council under the Bhubaneswar Central Council — distributed essential rations to poor and deserving families. The charitable initiative was held in the presence of Fr. Pradosh Chandra Nayak, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar and Spiritual Advisor to the SSVP, along with S. John, President of the Bhubaneswar Central Council, Raju Digal, Vice President, and Chandan Parichha, President of the Raikia Area Council.

Expressing her gratitude, Sabodei Pradhan, a beneficiary from Dodingia under Our Lady of Charity Parish, said, “I am happy to receive the ration from these charitable conferences. May God bless and guide them in their initiatives.” Another recipient, Samuka Mallick, a differently-abled young girl from Maria Pali, Raikia Parish, shared, “I experience the love of God through SSVP.”

Recognizing the importance of education and skill development, the conferences also installed a new computer system to help the local youth gain essential computer knowledge. Raj Montri, one of the parish youth, remarked, “The computer knowledge will definitely help in my study career.”

Founded in 1833 in Paris by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and inspired by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a global lay movement dedicated to serving the poor with love, respect, and justice through personal encounter. The Raikia conferences embody this spirit, combining Marian devotion with the Vincentian call to service, striving to see Christ in the poor and to serve with humility and simplicity.

The Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar currently has 78 SSVP conferences, with 68 in Kandhamal alone and 8 Area Councils under the Bhubaneswar Central Council. Each council looks after several adopted families and regularly visits the poor, prisoners, the sick, and the suffering.

Chandan Parichha, President of the Raikia Area Council, noted, “Every council has four to five adopted families to look after. The members visit the poor, prisoners, sick, and suffering.”