And a Lil' something for the Oldies!

It is the Festive Season and after all that we did for the children, how could Whispering Hope not do something for the golden oldies?!! Gifts (basic toiletries and a hand towel) were packed, mint fresh 10 Rupee notes were ready with a 2 Rupee coin for that extra luck and distributed to about a 100 people. Pushed aside by their own families, they were really touched that someone somewhere remembered them at Christmas. A hearty breakfast was also given to the poor folks of the Vincent de Paul Society of St. Joseph's church, Vepery, Chennai.

Pensions were given to the ladies on our list, a ceiling fan was provided to a poor family, and food rations given to a few selected families.

This completes our program for the year 2010 and we look forward to doing much more in 2011 with your support. God bless all of you and your families!

Festive Celebrations - December 2010

1. Something Special for those with Special Needs - this event was celebrated with much gusto at the Day Care Centre run by the Guanellian priests at Sivagangai District, Madurai, on 19th December 2010. Rev Fr. Francis sent in a beautiful thank you note. Whispering Hope had sent in a contribution towards the day's festivities and a sumptious meal was enjoyed by all. A couple of photos taken on that day is displayed alongside.
Rev. Fr. Francis can be contacted on +91 98 841 71398.

2.Time Out for the little patients at the Old Cancer Institute, Adyar - 22 December 2010. What can one say about this? Our hearts go out to these little mites in various stages of this dreaded disease. Armed with loads of presents, Whispering Hope put up a little show for these young ones; a Charlie Chaplin look alike put up a little magic show which enthralled our young audience; the students of St. Mark's Matriculation School performed a couple of dances to entertain them; and then it was time for Santa Claus and ofcourse PRESENTS!! It was amazing to see the happiness and joy that we could give these kids and the gratitude received from the parents and care givers was overwhelming. Take a look at our photos which speak volumes.
Cancer Institute, Adyar - Tel. No. +9144 22350131
Mrs. Jean Marcus, Headmistress, St. Marks Matriculation School - Tel. No. +91 98 847 37597

3. A Christmas Party was held on the 23rd December for the children we meet from time to time. Fun, games, presents, cake - thanks to Jude Jayasingh, ice cream and more cake generously supplied by Mr. NC Williams, President of YMCA - were the basic highlights. Mr. Williams also gave us the YMCA premises to conduct this show which brightened the lives of the 180 children who popped up for it. Our photographs speak volumes about the good time had by all.
YMCA contact No. =+91 44 26400147
Mrs. Jebamani - Tuition Care Taker - Tel. No. +91 98 402 58338
Mr. Gunaseelan - Annamal Childrens Home - Tel.No. +91 98 845 86992

4. The Pilgrims' Progress : One fine day in early January, Rev. Fr. Gerry took a little band of elderly women for an outing. Casting aside their burdens, trials and tribulations, the 22 ladies enjoyed the time out when they visited a lot of churches in and around Chennai, and had a sumptious lunch provided by a friend. So sorry that we have no photos of this event on hand.
Rev. Fr. Gerry can be contacted on +91 94 441 42644.

A Promise Kept

A promise made earlier this year to the little fellas at the SALT home in Pondicherry was kept in the month of November. On Diwali Day, accompanied by the charming Fenella from Bangalore, her sweet old Aunt 'Dede', I went across to Pondicherry and delivered the promised goods! Badminton racquets, the net, shuttle corks, footballs, indoor games, etc; the children were absolutely thrilled and more so when they received some impromptu little gifts - caps, whistles, balloons, smiley balls and the like.
To add to the excitement, a little chap turned up to share his birthday cake with these orphans. Our pictures tell the story.
Bro. Melquie, Salt Children's Home, Tel.No. +91 94 868 52374

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.