And its THANKS to....

With the continued support from our sponsors and friends, we managed to do our bit to spread a mile of smiles.  Our heartfelt thanks go out to Yvette & Vicky, Sharon & Troy Gomes, Pam & Ashraf from Melbourne, Helen & Ashley Bakes from Sydney, Juan & Ana Fradera from Brazil, Bernie Vanspall Toomey from Canada,  Kudzai Chinhengo from Zimbabwe, Cuneyt Meran & Devrim Tuncay from Turkey, Biju & Sudha Damodaran from Muscat, Betsy, Mahalakshmi & Lakshminarayan from Mumbai, Bridget White from Bangalore, Jenny White and her friends Avril & Julia from Chennai, Aunty Hermie Vanspall, Anita & Kevin Mawdsley, K. Sathya, also from Chennai, Julie John from Chirala, Pearl & Nagaraj from Muscat.  Very special thanks go out to Ramesh Kavuri, Guntur, for the bonanza of chocolates and biscuits that he supplied to get this show on the road! Ramesh..you've been great!

We pray that the Good Lord will bless and keep them in His care, showering them with blessings all through the year.

St. Mary's English Medium School, Tadepalligudem, AP

Whispering Hope had the pleasure of conducting its first program in the delightful state of Andhra Pradesh.  This was held at St. Marys English Medium School at Tadepalligudem (tade - palli - gudem : not so bad now to pronounce the word, is it?!). 

Our volunteers - Thomas, Vittal, Arul, Edward, Michael and Riyaz came down from Chennai to give a helping hand.  They packed all the gifts for the students, teachers, Priests and servants, decorated the hall where the program was held, taught the kids a few dances.  Arul, who was the Santa Claus, was the Star of the show as the children didnt expect to find Santa in their midst.  They jived, they danced, they sang and we all enjoyed ourselves till the very end. 

The most Rev. Fr. Charles and his team welcomed us whole heartedly and stood us a magnificent lunch.  We in turn, gave them 5 kilos of fruit cake and 100 buns which came in handy at the children's tea time.

Rev. Fr. Arokiaswamy, the Warden, can be contacted on +91 95 539 52320 for details on the school.

Our pictures displayed in the Photo Album speak for themselves.

The little things we do...

During the months of November and December 2011, Whispering Hope set out to do a variety of little things to make the smiles go around.  Staple rations were given out to a couple of families, school fees were paid for a few students, children were sent to the movies with their parents, loads of chocolates were given out to the young and old alike, new clothes - saris, trousers and shirts for the adults, pensions to the ladies on our list were given out. 

A lavish breakfast was given to the poor members of the Vincent de Paul Society of St. Joseph's Church, Vepery.  Each of these also received a little gift bag with biscuits, chocolates and a little money for the way.  Special thanks go out to Joseph Sagayaraj and Deborah Thomson for giving us this opportunity to serve the poor.
We look forward to receiving plenty so that we can give out much much more and make that smile a mile long!!

A wish for a Bible

It was a glorious moment when a maid working at my office asked me for a Bible.  The very thought that someone needed a Bible was exhilirating.  Through a friend, I managed to lay hands on a couple of Telugu bibles and gave her one.  She was so thrilled that she could have her own Bible to read when attending the prayer service on Sundays.  This gave me the momentum to go forward and get some more Bibles, New Testaments and distribute them amidst the needy.

Maybe we could take this one step further and our Hindu and Muslim sponsors could contribute some copies of the Bhagwad Gita and the Holy Koran. 

Everyone needs something to believe in and what better way to start than to possess the Holy Book.  Not only does this enhance our faith and trust in God, but also gives us the graces we need to lead a better life.

Santa's heart is heavy!

Yes, my dears, Santa's heart is very heavy as our call for toys went unheard and unanswered!  Despite mails being sent out, not a soul came forward with used toys.  This was a big disappointment for Whispering Hope.  But then, we still would like to carry on and if anybody, somebody has some toys which are not being used any more, please do let us know and we will make arrangements to collect the same.

Santa needs some help!

Looks like Santa needs some help this year and is looking for used toys in good condition for little boys and girls (babies to 10 year olds). At Christmas time, any goodies for the children will be very welcome. We were thinking of filling up some bags with these toys and goodies and distributing them during the Christmas week. Someone out there needs your help - please do be generous in giving.

Taking it slow....

Was I kidding when I said I would take it slow this year? Looks like it just cant happen and over the last few months, steps were taken to ease the misery of some poor folk and their families. Second hand furniture (cot, mattress, pillows, tables and chairs), a gas stove and a washing machine were given away to enhance their lives. Staple rations were given to 7 families thus providing them with good food for atleast a month; new saris were given to a few ladies; school fees for the next term were paid for a couple of students; we even pitched in some money to help a friend in need who was undergoing chemotherapy. Our reaching out just never ends.... and with God's grace we are able to help where its required.

The above was made possible only with the timely assistance from our sponsors - Ashley & Helen Bakes from Sydney, Philomena Harding and Florence Barnes from the UK, Rebecca, Yvette, Pam and Ashraf from Melbourne, and Anita Mawdsley from Chennai. Thank you, dears, and may God bless you abundantly for your generosity.