Christmas with Whispering Hope

From a humble beginning a few years ago when Whispering Hope started its First Christmas with Rs.1,000/-, we are proud to say that in December 2009, we crossed the Rs.100,000 mark. Whispering Hope never ceases to amaze one and each time we experience one miracle upon another – God does seem to be the wind in our sails! A bounty of approximately 400 gifts were distributed among the less privileged; this comprised of 200 bed linen, 100 bath towels, 100 hand towels, 100 saris, 200 Tshirts, 100 caps, 100 sets of drawing books & colouring materials, 25 indoor board games, 120 ‘smiley’ balls, 100 whistles, 100 pens, 150 shopping bags, 50 travel bags, 200 balloons, 100 biscuit packets, 200 chocolates, 200 lollipops. Clothes and toys donated by our angels from around the globe were also distributed. We took the giving a step further and gave away 2 second hand fridges, two brand new portable TVs, 1 second hand TV, one cot and mattress with two pillows. We do hope that these ‘extras’ will enhance the lives of the families that received them!

A very big THANK YOU to our angels who made dreams come true for all the children and adults this last Christmas. Our Angels : from America was Sabrina Bernard; from Australia were Helen, David & Marcus Bakes, Sharon & Troy Gomes, Yvette & Vicky Mohan; from Canada – Bernie & Don Toomey; from Dubai – Rita & Steve Gregory, Betty James & Shridhar, Cyprian & Imelda Fernandes; from England – Alun Long, Yvonne Ryan and Barbara Bolder; from Switzerland – an anonymous angel(!); from Singapore – Juan & Anna Fradera; and from India, we have our very own : PR Balasubramanian, Sandeep Shenoy, Manoj & Tripta Barai, V. Kumar, Mahalakshmi & Lakshminarayan, Jennifer White, Bridget Kumar, Aunty Hermie, Chitra Satish, Kalpana Dhuri, Sahiti Musti, Jessie & Nirmal, Monica Charles, Julie John, Anita & Kevin Mawdsley, and Nigel & Wayne Lazar. Another anonymous Mumbai Angel was responsible for paying the full year’s school fees of 4 little boys and for this we are eternally grateful.

Volunteers Shirley, Marlene, Judy, Sita, Little Sagar & Samir, Thomas, Pearl, Anita and Debbie helped in getting the following programs on the road. Without their able assistance, we couldn’t have conducted the activity with such enthusiasm and fanfare. During this time, the gifts and goodies were distributed to our honoured guests.

Prize Distribution & Inauguration of Library at St. Marks Matriculation School, Perambur, Chennai - 19 December

As done last year, the top rankers from the Kindergarten to Standard 8 at this school were recognized for their efforts. As an incentive to strive harder and score good marks in the final examinations, Whispering Hope gave out Trophies to these students. A Rolling Shield (the first of its kind!) was presented to the Best Class of the Year and surprisingly it was the Kindergarten who bagged it!

What’s a school without a library? Whispering Hope’s angels presented the school with a book case and story books were collected over the last few months. A very big THANK YOU to my nephew Wayne Lazar and Ms. Purnima Shah from Chennai for providing us with a variety of books and giving us the incentive to make this dream come true. The Chief Guest, Mrs. Iola Thomas, cut the ribbon to inaugurate the library in the traditional manner.

Mrs. Jean Marcus, the Headmistress of the school can be contacted on: +91 9884737597.

Rehabilitated Alcoholics at Colachel, Kanyakumari District - 21 December

Reverend Sister Lourdes of the Presentation Convent, Colachel, has done a good job over the years in rehabilitating hard core alcoholics. With the able support of her team, she has given these people a new life away from alcoholism. These families have been thru a lot of misery, families have been torn apart, children were neglected, wives were beaten by their drunken husbands, and the women also took to drinking because of their miserable situations. Rev. Sr. Lourdes has quite a few success stories in this field and to give her more momentum, Whispering Hope hosted a get together for these achievers. With some games and delectable snacks, a good time was had by one and all.

Rev. Sr. Lourdes can be contacted on +91 9486652236.

For the Children being treated at the Cancer Institute, Chennai - 24 December

C-a-n-c-e-r : the word itself sends jitters down our spines. Much more is the misery of those who are living with it. While an adult may be able to understand and cope with the suffering, a child with this dreaded disease is left clueless and turns to its mother for consolation. It is pitiful to see these children in such pain, going thru the paces of chemotherapy and radiation. Their eyes speak volumes of distress, questioning their fate; their parents are so helpless and disheartened seeing their child’s torment day after day, night after night. Cancer may be a silent killer but JESUS is the silent HEALER! This Christmas we prayed that each of these little ones would find Jesus’ love and ours as we spent time with them on the eve of Christmas. A puppet show ably performed by Mr. Marcus David, singing, dancing, and a visit from Santa brightened their day. Their happiness knew no bounds when Santa presented each with a big bag of goodies. The Duty Doctor and the nurses mentioned that it was the first time that they saw such happy smiles on their patients’ faces. The doctor begged us to host more shows like this one and keep the children’s mind off their health problems.

Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai – Telephone No. 044 22350131

Home for Aged Men (a branch of Mother Teresa’s charities), Little Mount, Chennai – 26 December

Thanks to Mrs. Shirley Huffton, Whispering Hope was introduced to this home which caters to abandoned men (aged 50 onwards). These men are in different states of health, some blind, some suffer from physical disabilities. Shirley recommended that we provide them with some tea leaves, coffee powder, sugar which could tide them over for a couple of weeks and this we did. We just added the extra touch and gave them some oven fresh vegetable puffs to munch on as well.

Widows at St. Francis de Sales parish, Thiruvallur - 27 December

Thanks to the untiring efforts of Reverend Father Gerry, this group of around forty women, who lost their husbands early in life, has found different ways of empowering themselves and making a decent living. Fr. Gerry has been instrumental in guiding them, spiritually and mentally, to overcome their hardships. He has also motivated them to earn a living, supported their children in their studies by rustling up the much needed school fees from his own resources and a few well wishers. Whispering Hope spent a day with him and gave these women a sumptuous lunch – chicken biryani and the works – no less!! They were also gifted a colourful sari and we hope this effort of ours will indeed brighten their New Year.

Rev. Fr. Gerry can be contacted on +91 9444142644.

The Poor at St. Joseph’s Church, Vepery, Chennai – 3 January

The Vincent De Paul Society attached to St. Joseph’s Church, Vepery, do an excellent job, week after week catering to the basic need of the 35 beneficiaries they have on record. Every week a bag of staple food – rice, lentils, sugar, oil – is given to these really poor people. Come Easter or Christmas or any festivity and one can be sure that this branch of the Vincent de Paul Society has something unique planned for their poor. Whispering Hope joined hands with them and presented 35 shopping bags and bath towels for distribution among this select group during the festive season.

Mrs. Deborah Thomson, President, Vincent De Paul Society @ St. Joseph’s Church, can be contacted on +91 9962910442.