We are asked to remember the people of India this Lent

As Trócaire boxes arrive in homes, schools and offices this week - Ash Wednesday is today, February 13 - signalling the beginning of Lent, we are asked to remember the people of India, the focus of this year's appeal.A number of people in the growing Indian community in Westmeath are supporting the appeal.Siby and Suma Kuriakose are originally from India and came to Ireland in 2006. Siby works at Centra in Ballinderry and Suma nurses in St Mary's Hospital, Mullingar."I hadn't heard about Trócaire until I came to Ireland but I know that the Catholic Church has been doing good work for the poor in India," Siby Kuriakose said."The Church provides schools for many children, especially for girls who do not always have easy access to education."The donations which the Church receives from Ireland also helps to care for people with HIV/AIDS as well as supporting communities to make a better future for themselves."Fr Paul Crosbie explains that this year's Trócaire box tells the story of nine-year-old Ambika Paraja."In the past, Ambika's community struggled to grow food on poor quality land and had no school or clean drinking water," says Fr Crosbie."Thanks to Irish people's support for Trócaire, Ambika now attends a school in her community and has a chance to complete her education."Lent is an important time for us to put our Christian faith into action," Fr Crosbie concluded.This year marks the 40th anniversary of Trócaire's work among the poor on behalf of the Irish Catholic Church. The Diocese of Meath raised €485,000 for Trócaire in 2012 and the vast majority of this money was collected by parishes through the Trócaire boxes.Trócaire executive director thanked Westmeath for four decades of life-changing support, as the organisation marks its 40th anniversary this month."For 40 years people of County Westmeath have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the most vulnerable people in the world," said Justin Kilcullen. "They have treated families living far away as their neighbours, reaching out with compassion during times of great need."People from Westmeath and the surrounding diocese were incredibly generous last Lent, donating €483,387.39 to Trócaire's Lenten campaign, a remarkable contribution that is building stronger communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America."Ambika Paraja, who features on this year's Trócaire Box, is one person whose life would be very different without this support. Ambika is from Jhilligoan community, a tribal village in east India. For years Jhilligoan's people struggled to grow food on poor land and had no knowledge about how to improve their situation. In 2006, Trócaire, working through local community organisations, helped Jhilligoan advocate for their rights and to work with the local government to improve their village. The community now has clean water, a road, a basic school, a local health worker and is farming more successfully.Trócaire's Lenten campaign runs from Ash Wednesday February 13 to Easter Sunday March 31. To order a Trócaire box visit your parish church or office, log onto trócaire.org or call 1850 408 408.