Sachu and Sneha finds home at Attapadi Orphanage

October 20th, 2003

The almighty father never abandons anyone. Finally, Sneha and Sachu finds home at the Attapadi orphanage in Agali, Nellipathy, Palakkad District, which is run by the missionaries of St.Thomas Ashram, Attapadi.

Binu’s parents and Sheeja’s family are financially poor and are unable to provide for the treatment and care for the two children.

Binu’s father handed over the kids to Nellippathi St.Thomas’ Ashram. The ashram administrator Fr.S Paul is currently taking care of Sneha and Sachu. Their treatment, education, living expenses will be taken care by the Ashram. Currently there are 16 children living in this ashram.


[This article appeared in the Mathrubhumi newspaper on October 20th, 2003. Please double click to enlarge the picture]

Binu's father (P Varghese), Sheeja's mother (Thresiamma), Ashram care takers (Fr. S. Paul, Fr. M.D. John, Fr. Varghese Joseph, Sister Sally, Brother Vinayan), Ellamala parish members and Shiruvani estate workers were present at the time when the two kids became a part of their new home.

Sneha and Sachu - An Orphans Transition

September 18th, 2003

The fate has been very harsh on the two little kids – Sneha (3) and Sachu (1 1/2). Not only were they born with birth disabilities to hear and speak (deaf and dumb), they also became orphans after they lost their parents. Their pain has become the pain of Sholayur panchayat.


[This article appeared in the MalayalaMaronama newspaper on Sept 18th, 2003. Please double click on the article to enlarge it.]

Located in the Sholayur panchayat, Attapadi, Palakkad district Sneha and Sachu were born to Eelamala paanikuzhiyil Payippra veetil Binu and Sheeja. Their parents lived on the mere income they earned from the daily wage work and small scale farming in their land.

When the kids were born, Binu and Sheeja spend all their savings to find a cure for their illness. For years, they spent everything with the hope that someday their children will be cured. Unfortunately, their prayers were never answered in their life time.

Finally, finding no hope in the treatment and their prayers, in utter desperation, the parents committed suicide to escape from their demanding life. On Sept 15, 2003, the kids lost their father and on Oct 11th, 2003, they lost their mother who tried to burn herself after witnessing her husband’s suicide.

Sneha and Sachu witnessed their father’s dying moments and their mother blazing in fire. They were so unfortunate that they could not even cry for help in a situation that could not have been more scary than any nightmares that anyone could imagine.

Binu’s parents and Sheeja’s family were equally poor and are unable to provide for the treatment and care for the children.

[This article appeared in the MalayalaMaronama newspaper on Oct 16th, 2003. Please double click on the article to enlarge it.]

Unaware of the tragedy that would change their life for ever; the kids find comfort on the shoulders of one of Binu’s friends and search for their parents. The scene is heart breaking to anyone who sees them.

Worries of a Sick Orphan in Attapadi (Part 2 of 2)

Say, somebody tried to talk to you and you did not hear it, what would be the typical reaction of the person who tried to talk to you. The person may raise his voice and try to talk to you once again. Say, we still didn't hear. The person might get irritated and could yell at you, saying "are you deaf?” Definitely, nobody would like to be in such situations.

Consider Sachu and Sneha living in this situation for their entire life. Lack of communication inhibits the interaction between people and affects personal development. Inability to hear is definitely a barrier to communication. People, who cannot hear from birth, typically have difficulty in talking. The chances are that regaining the ability to hear can restore the ability to talk.

All these led the caretakers to go ahead with the surgery and cochlear implant for Sachu & Sneha at a cost of 12 lakhs.

What is a cochlear implant?

If you have partial hearing, you can use a hearing aid to amplify sound. If you have total loss of hearing, hearing aids won't help, as there is no signals to amplify. A cochlear implant is used instead. Cochlear implants compensate for damaged or non-working parts of the inner ear. A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf. The implant is surgically placed under the skin behind the ear. A cochlear implant simulates the functions of the ear by converting sound waves in the air into electrical impulses which are sent to the brain to be recognized as sound.
Attapadi is a tribal belt in the financially backward Malabar area. The main focus of the orphanage where Sachu and Sneha lives is on the tribal orphans. The orphanage is operated by the missionaries of St.Thomas ashram. (One of IOC's ashrams)

We all visit orphanages when we visit our home towns. How do we choose the orphanage that we visit? Most likely it will be the places that are close to our homes. So if the number of people living close by is less, the number of visitors visiting the orphanage is less, the support for the orphanage is less. That is the case of Attapadi. There are very less number of people living in this area.

When you consider 12 lakhs, for on an orphanage in Attapadi, it's a huge amount, something close to their entire assets. On the flipside, you could look at it as the love and care that they are providing to the orphans. They trusted the Lord, we can be sure that miracles will happen. We can help, we can become the Lord's Angels that Sachu & Sneha are waiting for. If your church has charity funds that you distribute to eligible people, please consider this need of this orphanage.

Their address is
St. Thomas Ashram,
Agali P.O, Nellippathy, Attappady, Palakkad District, Kerala - 678581

If you can, call them and ask how Sachu and Sneha are doing. Build a relationship with these orphanages.
Phone: 91-492-425-4430

The Lord told Abraham "you are blessed, to be a blessing". Is this true for us? He has given us the ability to hear; and hence, we surely know, we are blessed. The question is "will we be a blessing", in particular to these orphans.

Thanks,
Rajesh
St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Austin, TX

Source: ICON http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/12645

Worries of a Sick Orphan in Attapadi (Part 1 of 2)

Worries of a Sick Orphan in Attapadi (Part 1 of 2)

If you were from a financially sound family, and you became ill, you typically worry mainly about your illness. But you have the confidence that you can go to the best doctors and get you illness cured.

Let's go one step backward. Now consider, you were not from a financially sound family and you became ill, you not only worry about your illness, but also about the cost of treatment. But you have the confidence that your parents will somehow manage to get the money for the treatment.

Let's go one more step backward. Now consider you were not from a financially sound family, you were an orphan and you became ill, you not only worry about your illness, the cost of treatment, but also about the absence of moral and financial support from your parents to handle the treatment. But you still can have the confidence that there are many good Samaritans around your orphanage and they will help you to get the money for the treatment.

Let's go one more step backward. Now consider you were not from a financially sound family, you were an orphan, you belonged to a place like Attapadi where there are not many believers and supporters to support your orphanage and you became ill, you not only worry about your illness, the cost of treatment, the absence of your parents, but also the source of money and support for the treatment.

In short a lot of things to worry about. Wondered why I would portray life as a struggle. Only because this is the cross roads where Sachu and Sneha, two orphans at the St. Gregorios Bala Bhavan, Attapadi stand, in the hope that Lord's Angels will help them take care some of these worries so that they can live a life that is at least closer to a normal life.

Sachu is 3 years old. Sneha is 5 years old. Sachu is the younger brother of Sneha. Their parents were from a very poor family. Sachu and Sneha where born with two birth defects: unable to hear (Deaf) and unable to speak (Dumb). Their parents knew it would cost a lot to treat Sachu & Sneha. Unable to live up to the needs of the family, desperation led to their parents ending up their lives. This brought Sachu and Sneha into the hands of the caretakers of St.Gregorios Bala Bhavan, Attapadi.

The caretakers of St.Gregorios Bala Bhavan, Attapadi had two choices. First, do nothing and let the two children suffer for the next 70-80 years. Second, treat them at a cost, that's unbearable by any orphanage. The only way they could have chosen option 2 is to pray to the lord and trust in the Almighty Father that he will show them the means. They trusted the Lord and they choose the second option.

They are planning to have a surgery and a cochlear implant for Sachu and Sneha. The total cost is estimated at 12 lakhs.

For a moment, let's put ourselves in Sachu and Sneha's shoes and think if this was one of our own children, which option, would we choose. We have the choice to become the Lord’s angels. Will we?

(To be continued...)

Thanks,
Rajesh
St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Austin, TX


Source: ICON Article http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianOrthodox/message/12613

Welcome to the Indian Christian Charities Blog

The Voice of the Orphans…

Welcome to the Indian Christian Charities Blog, a blog solely dedicated for creating awareness across the globe about the charitable initiatives in India by the Indian Orthodox church.

For centuries, Christian charities, in particular, the Indian Orthodox church has been in the forefront in helping and reaching out and has always been the source of compassion and comfort for the needy of societies.

The church operates numerous charitable organizations; orphanages, old-age homes, homes for the mentally challenged, hospitals, schools to mention a few.

An Orphan is defined as one who is deprived of some protection or advantage. We want to be the Voice of the Orphans to make the world hear their cry.

We hope to bring volunteers together to learn and educate people across the globe about the needs and challenges faced by these noble organizations. In the first phase, we will primarily focus on orphanages and old-age homes. In addition, we also plan to motivate people to feed orphans and poor senior citizens in the most financially backward areas.

We work closely with ICON (Indian Christian Orthodox Network) and other forums, spiritual organizations of the church (Sunday School, MGOCSM, Youth Movement) to bring people together in the fight against hunger and poverty.

Stay tuned for the latest on this blog.