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.