First Christian lay-led hospital in Bangladesh will tend to the poor with special fund

DHAKA, Bangladesh (OSV News) -- The Charity Fund of Divine Mercy Hospital was launched March 24 in the capital city of Dhaka to provide medical care to the poorest patients in Bangladesh.

Divine Mercy Hospital is the flagship project of the Christian Cooperative Credit Union, or Dhaka Credit, a financial institution run by lay Christians in the country.

The charity fund aims to support financially disadvantaged patients seeking treatment at the hospital, ensuring they receive the care they need despite their financial hardships. The project was launched under the leadership of Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, retired archbishop of Dhaka, with the support of laypeople.

"I express my gratitude and thanks, on behalf of the poor, to those who have donated to this fund. Just as Divine Mercy Hospital is a symbol, this charity is another symbol of love," Cardinal D'Rozario said in his remarks inside the premises of the clinic.

"Today is a very happy day for me, as this is the month of sacrifice for both Christianity and Islam, so I am happy to inaugurate this fund during the month of Lent," the cardinal said in a Muslim-majority country.

"I urge all of you who have the minimum ability to come forward to serve the poor through this fund," Cardinal Rozario said.

Divine Mercy Hospital operates as a commercial hospital. The Charity Fund will invest in other financial organizations and further profits from the funds will serve the poor.

Initially, the employees of the Dhaka Credit contributed their one day's salary and the employees of Divine Mercy Hospital their half-day's salary to the fund. In addition, local organizations and individuals, especially Catholic lay leaders, contributed money to the fund.

Ignatius Hemanta Corraya, chairman of the hospital and president of Dhaka Credit, told OSV News "we want this hospital to be a brand and stand out from other hospitals, to be an example in Bangladesh."

Corraya referred to the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10: 29-37, where a Samaritan, traditionally viewed as an enemy, shows compassion and helps a wounded traveler, teaching the importance of loving and helping everyone, not just those we consider our own.

"Just as this hospital is being run following the teachings of Christ, the charity fund will be run according to the story of the Good Samaritan," he said.

Divine Mercy Hospital is the country's first run by a lay Christian.

The Catholic Church is playing a vital role in the health sector in Bangladesh, where Christians make up less than half a percent of the country's 180 million population and often face persecution.