Teachers' DayOut

The 2nd of October dawned bright and sunny - a beautiful day out for the teachers from St. Mark's Matriculation School, Perambur. They started off by window shopping along the Pursawalkam Main Road, and stepped into the newly opened Saravana Stores where everything and anything is available for a real good bargain. After that expedition, we gathered at the YMCA for a little meeting. The teachers were thanked profusely for all the hard work they put in at school and each was presented with a token gift. A lucky dip was also had and three travel bags were won by the really lucky ones! We said a little prayer for the sponsors of the program, the teachers and their families and all for all those who are in need of prayer.

As always something exciting happens and we couldnt let the day go by, without wishing Mrs. Rajamani on her 81st birthday. The lady was garlanded with roses and was draped with a silk shawl as is customary. A lovely cake was provided and the birthday song was rendered with much gusto from all those present. We wish that her twilight years will be spent gracefully and peacefully; may the good Lord bless her abundantly with good health and happiness.

We take this opportunity to thank Mr. Williams, President of the YMCA, for providing us with the space for our meeting and also for the sumptious lunch at a nominal price thereafter.

Visit to the Jeevodaya Hospice

On the 29th of August, joined by Jennifer White, Mr. & Mrs. Marcus, we visited the Jeevodaya Hospice to spread some much needed cheer among the patients. This noble facility takes care of cancer patients who are in an advanced stage. Jeevodaya provides the patients with tender loving care and attention; their main aim is to ease the suffering of the patients and help them to die with dignity. Mr. Marcus entertained the patients with a lively puppet show and also prayed for them. We sang some songs and were surprised to see that all the patients (and their attenders) joined in chivarously inspite of their pain and trauma. Thanks to the generosity of Mrs Purnima and Miss Akshita, we were able to provide health drinks, offered a special meal and plenty of biscuits.
To protect the privacy of the patients, photos were not taken.
Jeevodaya Hospice can be contacted on 044 25555565.

A Promise Kept by Whispering Hope

Two young chaps - Sagar (aged 10) and Samir (aged 6) celebrated their birthdays on 31 July. Thanks to Lochlan Fernandez, both these young kiddos had a fabulous birthday party last year and wished to have a repeat performance. Instead of the usual party at home, Whispering Hope decided to celebrate this birthday bash in grand style at the Bishop Aelen's Home for young girls in Chennai Egmore. Armed with goodies, cake and cokes, we trotted down to the hostel and spent a fabulous afternoon with the 40 young ones (aged 5 to 15). Whispering Hope had earlier promised these girls, cake, soft drinks and icecream. We couldnt give them the icecream this time because of the rains (children tend to get ill and we wanted to avoid that) but we did give them a real super time. The girls sang the traditional birthday song with much gusto and wished Sagar and Samir the very best for the year ahead. The boys then distributed the little goody bags ("surukoopai") and each girl was gifted a delightful pink Whispering Hope Tee Shirt. Their joy knew no bounds. Photos on display for all to see. All this was made possible thanks to the generous contributions received from Joan Cleaur and Rebecca Dickson from Australia, our angels from Mumbai, V. Kumar and Manoj Barai from Bangalore. God bless you abundantly.

Whispering Hope's Monsoon Magic

One may have heard about the monsoon that has drenched India over the last few weeks. While we sit warm and cosy in our comfortable homes and offices, a thought goes out to the lesser mortals who have to work hard for their living whether its raining or hot and dry. Whispering Hope cannot keep these people warm and cosy, but what we could do is give them an umbrella to protect them from the rain! And this is what we started doing and on one fine evening, 25 umbrellas were distributed. More umbrellas have been ordered and we will be distributing these over the next few weeks. Please do come forward and donate to this worthy cause.

The Holiday is Over

Whispering Hope and its angels provided the summer holidays as planned. Three lucky families visited Guntur during the month of April and May and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. My beautiful home provided a perfect setting and the families relaxed, shopped, looked around town, visited the park and the exhibition; generally had a good time away from their daily routines and problems. Icecreams, chocolates, biriyanis, cakes, puffs, soft drinks - you name it and it was all there to spice up the lives of all who visited. Check out the photos of one group.

We do hope this will be a regular feature from Whispering Hope and give people a much needed break from their routines. A big Thank You to all who made this possible. Aunty Gladys and her family from Australia, Biju from Muscat, Balu from Mumbai, Manoj and Kumar from Bangalore - Cheers to you folks!!

We’re all going on a summer holiday!

Sun, sand, surf, sports, fun times, ice cream, biscuits, chocolates, and all the goodies that a child can think of – Whispering Hope is planning to reach out to the young ones this summer and ensure that each child is given a real good time over the next three months. Plans are being made to distribute sports goods, indoor games, plenty of ice cream, biscuits and chocolates to the children in Chennai and Pondicherry. Picnics to the beach with a snack on the shore and a dip in the sea are also on the cards.

A holiday home has also been set up in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) and ‘timeouts’ are being planned for families. A trial run was done with 7 guests (two ladies, 2 young adults and 3 young children) and was a huge success. The train ride from Chennai to Guntur added to the thrill as the children had never been on a train! Here’s hoping that this will continue to be a success and families will get a much needed break from the stress that they go through every day.

Whispering Hope would like to thank the angels who have come forward to make these dreams come true. The credit goes to our Angel from Mumbai who volunteered to provide the sports goods to the young boys and girls. Joining him are our other Angels who are : Gladys Fernandes and her sons Don and Lochlan, Douglas Hurtis and Philroy; Joan Cleur and Rebecca Dickson – all from Australia; Cuneyt Meran and Zafer Atici from Turkey; Biju Damodaran from Muscat; and Alun Long from UK. Thank you, Dears, for making wishes come true.

The Easter Bunny was kept busy!

Hello there! Thanks to the sponsors who dont give up even though I feel like doing that sometimes, a few lives were touched by Whispering Hope over the Easter period.

As planned, Whispering Hope donated 10 bottles of Horlicks to cancer patients through Mr. Britto of Jesus Park. A big Thank You to Mrs. Maggie Nigli who supported this cause totally.
Rebecca and Joan from Melbourne provided the yummy snacks - potato bondas, vermicilli upuma and sooji sweet for the young girls at the Bishop Aelan's hostel for young girls. Since only a few girls were there, the bigger treat is being given during the summer holidays - the girls screamed for ice-cream(!!) and Whispering Hope intends doing just that.

An angel from Mumbai sponsored tickets for a movie for 20 teenagers and this was followed by a trip to the famous Marina beach where the teens enjoyed themselves at the balloon shooting range, horse riding, merry go round, etc. Munching on popcorn, peanuts, yummy green mango with chilli powder and salt, they were in the seventh heaven!

A visit to a boys hostel in Pondicherry provided me with an opportunity to give them a small contribution for their afternoon tea. I also found out that they require sports goods - cricket sets, badminton racquets, a net, generally the full works. Contributions towards this would be much appreciated. There are 40 boys here and the SALT Children's Home is run by a Mr. Melquie who can be contacted on +91 9486852374 for further details.