Guntur - Here we come!

As part of our annual holiday plan, Sita and her sons Sagar & Samir, Shoba and her husband Venkatesh and their little daughter Bomi, landed in Guntur to spend a few days with me.  From past posts, one can gather that these children are Whispering Hope's favourites.  From icecream treats to pizzas, from temple tours to chilling out at home, the kids enjoyed themselves thoroughly and it was  a pleasure to bond with them. 

When I ask my sponsor Biju Damodaran to help me out with my plans, he turns out to be a shiny knight in armour and gives me a giant helping hand!  I just cant begin to understand how I could do without him and his lovely wife Sudha.  Thank you so much Biju and Sudha for giving these kids and their parents the best of times - a memory which they will cherish in their young hearts for many a year.

Summer Holidays

It is not always that a warm welcome is extended to the less fortunate people that we get to meet from time to time.  This time Whispering Hope treated a young widow Lizzy and her two little sons, Joshua and Kevin.  They were accompanied by her mother Lourda Mary and came all the way from Mysore to Guntur to spend a few days with me.  From Guntur they moved onto Vizag where they spent some quality time with their relatives.  Lizzy's husband died in a road accident leaving her bereft.  Its heart rending to see her struggle to bring up her two little boys and we hope to have the privilege of giving her a helping hand from time to time.

A huge 'thank you' goes out to the vivacious Vivienne Manuel from Sydney for making this a dream come true for the young Lizzy and her family.

The little things that we do!

From the distribution of baby clothes (thanks to Dyllis Almeida and her daughter Wanda Tulloch from Sydney) and toys for children (courtesy David Gomes from Melbourne), to new clothes for the auto man (thanks to Elizabeth Pereira from Melbourne), we continue to spread a mile of smiles in the simple things that we do. 

Be it a treat, an icecream or a little gift, we reach out to many a people from different walks of life.  From pensions for young widows and old ladies, to kick-starting saving schemes for children, to medical assistance, family outings or just feeding the hungry, Whispering Hope is out there making a difference.

This wouldnt have been possible if it werent for our sponsors who come forward from time to time to give a helping hand.  Whispering Hope is so grateful to be associated with Biju & Sudha Damodaran from Muscat, Balu from Hyderabad, Sangeetha Veena and Sathya from Chennai, Mahalakshmi and Lakshminarayanan from Mumbai, Bridget White Kumar from Bangalore and Regina Rani also from Chennai.  Needless to say this has been much appreciated and we wish you well in all that you do.

Family time at the start of 2015

To begin the year 2015, it was nice to share some good food and fun times with my extended family - Sandra Das and her children Frank and Fenella, and their cousin Andrea Shipman and family.  A sumptious New Year buffet lunch was enjoyed by all of us at the Palm Beach Hotel, Vizag.  Photos have been uploaded on my Face Book Page - Whispering Hope.

Taking it easy in 2015!

Its now the end of January and I just realised I have been very lazy and not touched this blog for a long time. Maybe one of the reasons was that I wasnt my usual self with ill health adding to my woes. I have now decided to take things easy in 2015 and go slow on my charity work, though once you are in it, you always remain in it and cant really let go. While I will be making a plan to check out which direction Whispering Hope should move in, I am always ready to serve the under privileged on your behalf. Some photos of the recent activities are being uploaded into the album. Check it out!

Whispering Hope is 7 today!

Yippee! My baby Whispering Hope is 7 years old today! Its a lovely morning and I pray that all of my family, my friends, my sponsors and well wishers be blessed abundantly by our Lord Jesus Christ in whose name miracles happen. While my charity works have been going on for the last 15 years, it was christened Whispering Hope on the 8 December 2007.

A Christmas Celebration - 7 Dec 2014

When the Brilliant Bakes (Ashley & Helen and their son David & his wife Malka) and the Awesome Alves (Andy & Anita) from Sydney decide its time to help the poor through Whispering Hope, we can expect a multitude of stars to light up the lives of the poor. On this occasion, Whispering Hope under the guiding hand of Rev. Fr. Arockiasamy held a Thanksgiving Mass for these sponsors and their families at a little church dedicated to Christ the King, in Alampuram, West Godavari District. A colourful carpet was gifted to this humble church to mark the 2nd Sunday of Advent and snack packs distributed to the faithful gathered there. From there we moved onto the premises of St. Mary's School where the hostel boys gave us a hearty welcome and a variety entertainment which kept us amused. Santa also made his appearance delighting the kids gathered there. Speeches, thank you's, dancing, fun and games kept us busy most part of the afternoon. After this a sumptious lunch with palav and chicken being the main course, was served and I am now told that the number of people who were fed were 186 at the final count! Imagine that! Isnt that wonderful? I take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, Ashley & Helen, David & Malka, Andy & Anita from Sydney and Guruvaiah and Ramesh from Guntur for their contributions which made this event a memorable one, not only for Whispering Hope but also for the parishioners of Alampuram and the hostel boys. Surprisingly all the sponsors have sons and most of our guests were boys! This event seemed to have ended on a perfect note. I would also like to thank Rev. Fr. Arockiasamy and his team for giving us this opportunity to serve and also Rev. Sisters Mary Mathew and Subha for gracing this occasion with their presence. Our photo album has the story in pictures.