Merry Christmas

Wishing all of you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a lovely New Year. May God be with you and bless you with abundant good health, happiness, prosperity and all the graces you require to lead a blessed life.

For the birds too!

Every morning as the sun rises and sheds its warm glow around us, families of pigeons line up on the balcony wall looking for something to eat. A big bowl of grain brings these pigeons together and they flock to get the first feed! With wings flapping and a little fighting among the males, its exciting to see them flutter around trying to grab a bite. A few photos have been taken. A little giving, no matter to whom or what, brings such joy and happiness to the giver. Lets hope that this Christmas, we will all dip into our pockets and make someone happy. Let there be miles of smiles all around the world and not only in Guntur!

Thank you!

Whispering Hope would like to thank its volunteers, Mrs. Hema Rajasekhar, Miss Deena Kumari, Mr. & Mrs. Guravaiah for the invaluable help and support rendered during the recent Christmas programs. We also wish to thank the sponsors of the program, Dyllis Almeida and her daughter Wanda, Ashley & Helen Bakes from Sydney, Sharon Gomes from Melbourne, Biju & Sudha Damodaran from Muscat, Cuneyt Meran from Turkey, Kudzai Chinhengo from Zimbabwe, Vikram from Mumbai, and Sangeetha Veena from Chennai for their contributions towards these programs. May the Blessed Infant bless all of you in a very special way at Christmas and all through the year 2014.

Christmas at Chebrol

The 8th of December saw Whispering Hope make its way towards a little village called Chebrol. We visited the Carmel Convent and distributed plenty of goodies to the nuns. These nuns visit the villagers every week offering them comfort and solace, tending to the sick, counsel the young ones and spread the blessings of Christ among the needy. They also have a school which serves the surrounding villages. When parents find it difficult to pay the school fees, the nuns offer them free education. Anyone willing to sponsor a child can contact the Mother Superior, Rev. Sr. Resin on +91 8818 251370. We also visited the Church of Mary, Help of Christians, also known as the Church of Instant Miracles. A lot of goodies were given to the Priest and his helpers. Fresh buns and fruit cakes were gifted so that the village people could be fed during the cool evenings after the services. If anyone wishes to provide any kind of contribution towards feeding the people, you could get in touch with the Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Anthony on +91 8818 252233. The beauty of this little church is that many miracles have taken place over the last two years and people have been flocking to receive the many graces that our Lady and Lord Jesus give to each and every one who visit. Rev. Fr. Anthony could also be contacted for prayer requests on the number given above.

Family time at Christmas

The First of December heralded in the Christmas Season for us here in Guntur. What was supposed to be a special lunch for the ladies turned out to be a fun time for the whole family. The ladies brought in their children, brothers, husbands, parents and a gala time was had by all. A sumptious meal was hosted at Hotel Vajrams, Guntur. The invitees were asked to bring in a small gift and after the lunch, there was an exchange of gifts - from one to another. Whispering Hope had gift bags for the ladies and every one present received a gift. Christmas, being the season of giving and receiving the blessings of the Holy Infant, was experienced by one and all.

Surekha celebrates!

To celebrate her birthday, Mrs. Surekha Grace decided to give a small treat to the children from a backward area in Guntur. Armed with the birthday cake, cup cakes, egg puffs, soft drinks and little chocolate pouches, Surekha and her family, my volunteer and I made our way to the Sai Baba Colony in Guntur on Sunday, 22nd September. Mr. Praveen conducts regular Sunday School services for these children and they kept singing and praising the Lord with much gusto. Despite the power fluctuations, we sang, we prayed, we played games and at the end of it all, distributed the snacks and drinks to the children. All children were given chocolate treats and the winners were given little prizes. Check out the photos alongside. We thank Surekha and her family for giving us this time out and for the delectable snacks provided. We also thank Biju & Sudha Damodaran from Muscat for sponsoring the gift packs. To find out more about his ministry, Mr. Praveen could be contacted on +91 92 471 78847.

A little something for the kiddies

When you drive down the highway from Guntur to Chennai, you find some village schools dotting the sides of the road. One such school is located about 20 kilometres from Guntur and had caught my eye. The little girls and boys playing around, the teachers trying to control their exuberance make interesting viewing. Despite being closed for holidays, the teacher in charge said she would call the children to school and Whispering Hope could conduct a small program for them. The day was fixed for the 12th September, but the heavens opened up and down came the rain and washed up our plans! We were so disappointed but not to give up, we prayed for a sunny day and behold! Friday the 13th wasnt so unlucky for us after all! There was a bright sun and the party started. Curious children from this primary school gathered and inspite of the puddles all around, we had a good time. Gift packs were given to the children and to the teachers. Delicious fruit cakes and buns were distributed. Our photographs tell our story of our lucky Friday the 13th!! We take this opportunity to thank Cedric & Maureen Pinto from Sydney, Australia, and Biju & Sudha Damodaran for their generosity in giving us this beautiful experience with the children of Naidupet, Guntur District.

For the Ladies BY the Ladies

As a tribute to the Indian woman, colourful saris and churidar sets were distributed to the many beautiful ladies we meet from time to time. These gifts brought much happiness to the ladies especially since they couldnt afford to get themselves a new one - they sacrifice the little that they have for their children and end up with nothing for themselves. The young girls who were given the churidar sets were all agog at receiving a trendy set of clothes and immediately rushed to the tailors to get them ready for the upcoming festivals. How women love new clothes no matter which strata of society they come from!! Whispering Hope wishes to thank Dr. Luba Petrusha from West Bloomfield, USA, and Mrs. Tripta Barai from Bangalore for their generous contributions which made the above gifting a reality. Please do visit Dr. Luba Petrusha's website which is very interesting - www.pysanky.info

The Jeevodaya Cancer Hospice at Chennai

The Jeevodaya Cancer Hospice at Chennai takes care of patients who are in the last stages of cancer. Each patient is looked after with tender loving care by the nuns until the end. It is a very emotional time for a visitor to be with these patients who have nothing to look forward to. One can feel the gentleness, the caring touch, the prayerfulness, and the peace provided to them by the nuns and the nursing team. All one can do is to thank the Almighty God that there is someone for these patients to help them leave this world peacefully and with much dignity. To say a little Thank You to the wonderful people at the Jeevodaya, a special lunch was given on the 4th September 2013 to the staff and the patients. This was also in memory of my beloved sister, Irene Ephraim, who succumbed to the same disease on 7th July 2000. If anyone would like to make a donation towards a meal at the Jeevodaya, they are most welcome to contact Rev. Sr. Jophy, the PRO of this outstanding institution. Jeevodaya are also in need of used cotton clothes, bed linen, medical supplies especially bandages, cotton, dettol and the like. Rev. Sr. Jophy can be contacted on +91 44 25555565.

Our little deeds...

Despite the frenzy of school fees, Whispering Hope takes time to do the little things that bring happiness to the desperate and lonely.  A meal here, some pocket money there, a little help with medicines, a new dress for some one, a sari for an old lady, and the like.  This time we made bags of toileteries for distribution and these were given out as and when the need arose.

We keep dreaming and sometimes find that dreams do come true - not only for us but also for the poor and needy.  Theres always someone out there who helps make a dream come true.  Next time it could be you!  Do get in touch if you have an idea and would like to make a poor person or a family happy in some way.  Life is for living and gets even better when we share what we have.

God bless you all abundantly.

Thank YOU!

A very big THANK YOU to our sponsors who contributed generously towards school fees for our protegees - Sagar, Samir, Bomi and Yeshwant Kumar.  Mr & Mrs Lakshminarayan from Mumbai, PR Balu from Hyderabad, Mr. & Mrs. Biju Damodaran from Muscat, Mr. & Mrs. Lochlan Fernandes from Melbourne and our annonymous angel also from Mumbai!

Everyone needs a break!

Not exactly the best of destinations during the summer, but there's no place like (my) home and off to Guntur were Sita and her two sons, Sagar & Sameer, and Shoba and her daughter Bomi!  Bringing them here during the summer holidays was quite a problem with all trains overflowing with people heading in different directions.  Wait listed tickets were not confirmed and the trip was almost cancelled.  But the kids were jumping to get out of Chennai and to Guntur they came, with hearts filled with hope knowing fully well that Aunty Flora would give them a good time.  An impromptu birthday bash, a trip to the local park, good food, chocolates, icecreams and plenty of fun in the sun made their stay very interesting.  The photos have their own story to tell.

A New Year's Resolution

Whispering Hope made a New Year's resolution to enhance its activities. 

1.  Saving Schemes for children are being implemented in Vizag and Chennai, with a view that a little nest egg will be available for the children when they reach adulthood. 

2.  School fees will be given to more children and we will try to meet all their needs for school.

3. Pocket money & pensions for young & old spinsters, widows, and children.  Some of our pensioners have passed away and we need to find some other women who will appreciate the little pension that we can offer on a monthly basis.

Please pray that our resolutions will succeed and our generosity will have no limits!!

A great big THANK U to our Sponsors

We thank our sponsors from the bottom of our hearts for all that they did for us to get our good deeds going this year.  Our sponsors were:

Mr. & Mrs. Lakshminarayanan from Mumbai
Mrs. Bridget White Kumar from Bangalore
Mrs. Jennifer White & her friend Yoly from Chennai
Mr. Prakash Das from Chennai
Mrs. Hermie Vanspall from Chennai and
Mrs. Bernie Vanspall Toomey from Canada
Mr. Cuneyt Meran & Mr. Devrim Tuncay from Turkey
Mr. Anil Rao and his friends Ralph Joseph, Neera Trehan, Sridhar and Lakshmi from Dubai

May God bless them abundantly with peace, happiness, good health, and prosperity.

The Festivities continued

To wind up in Andhra Pradesh, a lunch was hosted at home for a few poor ladies and their children on the 16th December.  Cakes, goody bags, new clothes for the young girls were distributed and their every whim and fancy was catered too.  Alls well that ends well and the ladies went back home chattering all the way about the good time they had.

From Andhra Pradesh, Whispering Hope moved onto its favourite place, Chennai, in Tamilnadu.  With Christmas already upon us, we were not able to do much for the kids as programs were being conducted for them by other charitable sources.  Instead a group of ladies were invited to a high tea and a good gossip on the 26th December.  It was a family time with grandmothers, aunts, cousins, mothers, and children under one roof.  The chatter, the snacks, the gifts, the Carols and the bonhomie made the guests feel very special and the true spirit of Christmas was brought alive!  We would like to thank the Sekri Foundation for providing us with chocolates, biscuits, fruit juice for the kids' good bags and Complan for the old ladies.  We also thank Jude Jeyasingh for another contribution of home made chocolates which was relished by all.

Back again to Andhra Pradesh, and on the 30th December, a visit to the little church in Chebrol was made.  We would like to thank Dr. Anusha for the two bags of rice donated to this church (free food is given to all the pilgrims that visit this shrine by the parish priest Rev. Fr. Anthony), Jude Joshua for donating two offering collection bags for use during the mass, Mrs. Anita Mawdsley for the 100 fruit cakes for distribution at the New Year service, young Edgar Mawdsley for his cash donation (carefully put aside from his pocket money) to the parish priest.
Rev. Fr. Anthony could be contacted on +91 91 778 23947.