British retiree spends savings to feed stranded labourers in Goa

Covid-19: A former social worker, Fuller came to Goa in August 2019. The plan, she said, was for her husband Peter and her to travel the world, leaving their life in the United Kingdom behind.

Rowena Fuller, a 63-year-old retiree from Britain who was holidaying in Goa when the lockdown was announced, has used up most of her holiday nest egg — a tidy sum of Rs 90,000, set aside for a trip to South Africa — to feed migrants stranded in Agonda, a coastal village in the southern part of the state.

Initially, Fuller initially used her own money — paying Fatima’s Rs 100 per meal — but it has since run out, prompting her to approach her friends to spread the word around. (File photo/ Representative image)

“I think I have found my purpose,” Rowena told Hindustan Times. “We have crossed 1,000 meals per day and by May 3, we will have served over 2200 meals,” Fuller said. “But if the lockdown continues beyond that, I don’t think we will be able to continue with it.”

A former social worker, Fuller came to Goa in August 2019. The plan, she said, was for her husband Peter and her to travel the world, leaving their life in the United Kingdom behind. When the lockdown was announced, the Fullers dug their heels in. Rather than fly home on one of the many repatriation flights that the UK government has organized for its citizens, they chose to stay back in Goa.

Agonda is one of Goa’s most well known tourist beaches, and regularly makes it to the top ten lists compiled by travel portal TripAdvisor. An idyllic village in the far south corner of Goa that has none of the crowds, nightclubs and loud parties that other beaches can boast of, but it is a popular haunt for tourists, especially foreigners, looking for a quieter, cheaper holiday. It is also home to labourers, several of whom come from states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka to earn a living in restaurants and other industries that are labour intensive. They live in shanties and make themselves available at a gathering spot each morning waiting for someone to call upon their services. Since the lockdown, however, they have been stranded with no way of returning home and no means of earning any income. In Goa, an unskilled worker is entitled to receive Rs 350 as daily wage.

Fuller got in touch with a local restaurant, Fatima’s, which agreed to cook meals for them. With their help she has been delivering meals to 65 labourers and their families in the beach village.

“I hope and pray that others will help me in this venture, but if they don’t I’ll do it anyway, I have food in my freezer, dried goods in my cupboards and am rich in comparison to so many here, even my paltry pension per month is enviable, so I shall continue. Fatima’s restaurant shall continue to cook for these deprived people, and Santosh (a local resident helping Fuller) shall continue to deliver to them all, and I shall sleep content that we made a difference,” she said.

Initially, Fuller initially used her own money — paying Fatima’s Rs 100 per meal — but it has since run out, prompting her to approach her friends to spread the word around. They will need to generate Rs 220,000 to ensure that they are fed until May 3.

“They send the money directly to the restaurant that cooks the food,” she said.

Stevie Rodrigues the owners of Fatima’s said that though the food is simple, they too are bearing some of the costs. “We have been supplying them with simple food and are bearing some of the cost. At the end of the day it’s our village and we have to look after it,” he said.

Supplies have not been a problem, Rodrigues said, as his network of suppliers ensure that he is well stocked.

Each meal consists of a portion of rice, fish curry and a piece of fried fish along with some vegetable depending on availability.

“I am not receiving donations personally, I am not a charity, just a person who cares and who, over the months and especially over the last few days, has come to realise the other side of paradise, the sick, the old, those with dementia, those who are blind, those who were migrant workers but got left by the wayside … the list is endless. I cannot help all, but by God I will help all those I can even if it empties my savings,” she said.

Since then others too have pitched in to help.

“They are day labourers, in short, if they work by the morning, they will have food to eat. No work. No food. If you have witnessed the scene of distribution, trust me you can’t have dinner. These men take their food to home where there are kids,” another tourist who has been volunteering with Fuller and who didn’t wish to be named, said.

While Fuller hasn’t yet approached the government for help, she said that she would if the lockdown continued beyond May 3.