On to Racherla....

Our third and final program in Andhra Pradesh was held on the 9th December at a little village called Racherla, West Godavari District. The parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church and the village children took out a small procession around the church to the beat of drums expertly conducted by the school children of St. Mary’s English Medium School, Prathipadu.

A ceremonial mass was held for all the faithful gathered there. Soon after the service, the young village girls welcomed us with a beautiful dance. Santa also popped in to add to the cheer and with much gusto, the start of the Christmas season was celebrated in Racherla.

A festive lunch of palav, chicken curry, and curds raita was served to all the people gathered there, with plenty of left overs to take home too. Fruit cakes for the ladies and loaves of bread for the guys were given out so that they could have something to eat in the evening. Love filled the air, Peace reigned supreme, Bellies were filled and a good time was had by one and all.

Rev. Fr. Arockiasamy, Parish Priest, could be contacted on +91 95 539 52320.  He is also the Hostel Warden of St. Mary's English Medium School, Prathipadu.

And the feeding continues...!

Our next session was on the 27th November at Obul-naidu-palem, a village located about 20 kilometers away from Guntur.  Here again, we hosted a grand dinner for around 80 people after a prayer session conducted by Mr. Abraham.  Buns and cup cakes were distributed to the women and children and everyone tucked into the hearty meal provided - Palav, chicken curry, gongura, raita and pineapple kesari - being the staple traditional festive meal in these parts of the country.  Check out our photos alongside.

Mr. Abraham could be contacted on +91 863 2255235.

Ho, Ho, Ho...Let the Festivities begin....

The 25th of November - the count down begins for that special date 25th of December and all of a sudden its CHRISTMAS! 

'Feeding the poor' being the theme this year, Whispering Hope started the ball rolling for a group of slum dwellers in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.  Mr. Praveen conducts weekly prayer sessions for these people at his prayer hall in Sai Baba Colony, Guntur.  The people were happy to have us with them and after a small prayer session which included a lot of singing, a Christmas message was imparted to them by the vivacious Dr. Patricia.  While Mr. Suresh strummed his guitar melodiously,  English carols were sung with much gusto by Dr. Patricia and her charming daughter Priyansha.  This set the mood and it was an early Christmas for all of us gathered here.  Goody bags were distributed and a delicious dinner was served for around 80 people.  Our photos tell their own story.

Dr. Patricia runs a missionary hospital in Guntur where treatment is either provided free or at nominal costs to the poor.  She can be contacted on +91 863 2332331.

Mr. Praveen, who spreads God's word and with his prayers has successfully healed many people can be contacted on +91 92 471 78847.

A Summer Treat

June is also time for a birthday party and along with the two birthday boys - Sagar & Samir (two of Whispering Hope's favourite kids) - we went to a hostel for prisoners' children.  'Arunima' is in Egmore, Chennai, and a group of nuns take good care of these children. The kids were very excited and sang the birthday song with much ardour.  Cakes and puffs were distributed to fill their little bellies.  There was song and dance and after all that the big surprise landed up - Charlie Chaplin and guess what?  This Charlie had a few magic tricks up his voluminous sleeve and had the little ones enthralled throughout his performance.  The photos alongside tell you our story. 

We gratefully thank the Sekri Foundation of Chennai for providing the delectable treats for the goody bags and Devrim Tuncay from Turkey for the colourful hand towels which were an instant hit with the kids.

Rev. Sr. Lily, who is in charge of the children could be contacted at Arunima on Tel. No. 044 28553183. 

Back to School

Come the sunny month of June and once again its time for parents to pay their children's school fees.  Thanks to our Pillars of Support, we were able to help pitch in and school fees for 6 little children were paid.  We are yet to get further details from one of the schools that we patronize and will be helping a few children there too.

Please help!

Its time to help parents pay their children's school fees and we beg you to help us in our endeavour to reach out to the poor and needy.  Its getting tough as the days go by and any help would be appreciated especially by the students whom we sponsor from year to year.  School fees range from Rs. 4000/- to Rs.20,000/- depending on which school the child goes to and anything that you can give will be a great help to us.  Thank you very much.

We still do the 'little' things!

Whispering Hope hasnt scaled 'great heights' but continue to do the 'little' things to spread smiles around.  Since January we have been doing the rounds and distributed bread and cup cakes to the poor.  Staple food was supplied to a few families when their shelves were empty.  A used gas stove was given to a servant enabling her to switch from a kerosene stove thus making her home a healthier environment for her child to grow up in.

Kevin and Anita Mawdsley of Chennai donated 25 kilos of rice to the Parish Priest of a little church in Andhra where many poor people come to pay homage to Mother Mary.  We also gave the Priest celebration robes to celebrate the Easter service in this little village.

Whispering Hope helped 'Jesus Park' in a tiny way by donating a few Horlicks packets.  Jesus Park distributed over 300 Horlicks to the patients at the old Cancer Hospital, Adyar, Chennai.  We thank Mr. Britto (tel.no. 91 94 448 62717) and Mrs Marlene Nicholas for giving us this opportunity to serve; we also thank Mrs. Jennifer White and her sister Sona and friend Yoly for the Horlicks that they gave for this cause.