The glimpse of Sneha!

Sneha with my kids

Since a few years I had heard about Sneha - from the media, from ICON, from friends. She was the girl taken up by the Attapadi Ashram and brought up in love and care, whose cochlear transplant operation was done enabling her and her brother Sachu to hear the sounds of the world. She has now grown up and was living with other girls her age at the St.Gregorios Balikabhavan in Adoor, Kerala when I caught up with her. (I have now learnt that she is back at Attapadi Ashram going to school there - update August 29th 2013)

We visited Sneha at the home in February 2013. This was our first visit to one of our homes as a family. All of us including the kids enjoyed the experience of being in the Balikabhavan.





St. Gregorios Balikabhavan, Nazareth, Panathoppu (Adoor)



The children with Sneha in the front yard

All amateur videography below. Inserted in here since several people may want to get acquainted with Sneha and know about her well being.

We in St. Paul's Albany Sunday School have an old friendship with Sneha and Sachu and I was trying to get some info from Sneha to bring back to the Sunday School students in Albany.

 

 

 

Sneha is talking about her friends in the video below:

Sneha does not want to sing:

 

 

 

  But she does hum along. What a beautiful song they sang!:

 

Arogya Poshanam Project work in Pictures

Click on the photos to view enlarged.

From left: Fr. S. Paul, Dr. Sibi Tharakan (Mission Project Director), HG Dr. Yuhanon Mar Thevodorus (Co-Chairman, Mission Board, HG Dr. Yuhanon Mar Chrysostamos(Chairman, Mission Board), Fr. K.I. Philip Ramban (Director, Mission Board), speaker: Fr. M.D. Yuhanon Ramban

Honorable chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy

Attapadi premises in pictures

Our St. Gregorios English Medium school in Attapadi tribal belt



The Road less travelled.

view of the chapel

St. Thomas Ashram - office, kitchen, dining areas.





Araogya Poshanam Pathathy (Life Sustenance Project among Attapadi Adivasis)

The Kerala Government appreciates Aarogya Poshanam Project

Attappady: The Government of Kerala appreciated the Aarogya Poshanam Project (Health Enhancement Life Project-HELP) initiated by Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church to tackle the malnutrition problems faced by Adivasi children of Attappady. The project started on 2 June, 2013 by Attappady St.Thomas Ashram, Nellippathy is a windfall to children, lactating mothers and pregnant women of eight adivasi hamlets in Agali and Sholayoor Grama Panchayaths. Within two months of initiation the number of benefactors has risen from 65 to 500 comprising Nellippathy, Boothuvazhy, Karara, Kathirampathy, Guddayoor (Agali Grama Panchayath), Kottamala, Chundukulam and Venkakadavu (Sholayoor Grama Panchayath) adivasi hamlets. Every day volunteers from the Ashram visit adivasi settlements and supply boiled egg, milk and bread to children below 15 years old, lactating mothers and pregnant women as part of their mission.

The Honorable Minister for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes Kumari P.K.Jayalekshmi appreciated the efforts of the Ashram and the Orthodox Church to provide nutritious food to adivasis. In her letter to Ashram Superior F.R.M.D.Yuhanon Ramban, she said that “the Government considers your mission as great as the children of adivasi hamlets who are backward in the social stratum are provided with nutritious food through your efforts. Moreover this service is a role model for others”.

The Aarogya Poshanam Project started as a constructive response to deal with the recent malnutrition hazards faced by adivasi community in Attappady. The project received considerable support from the general public and church members. F.R.M.D.Yuhanon Ramban is the Director of the Project. Fr.S.Paul is the Treasurer and Dr.Siby Tharakan, Mission Project Director serves as the Coordinator.

The project initially formulated for one year will be reviewed stage by stage and if necessary will be extended to other villages in due course.
 

Honorable Minister's letter of appreciation

 

Project among the Adivasis.

Fr. Paul and Fr. Yuhanon Ramban among the Adivasi children

In response to a very recent tragedy of about 50 children dying due to malnutrition in the local Adivasi Area, the ashram has now got involved in a project called HELP (Health Enhancement Life Project). I just called up and spoke with Fr. Paul who gave me some details about the project.

500 glasses of milk is prepared, 500 eggs are prepared and 500 buns are bought each day as part of this project. Every day in the evening 3 jeeps leave from the Ashram for the Adivasi area with this food. Starting from the beginning of June 2013, its now past 2 months - we are planning this for an initial phase of 2 years.

Paul achen said he has suddenly become very busy because of this - but in his words "when something like this happens locally and we turn a blind eye - we will be asked by God". This project is led by the mission board of the Church under the direct supervision of Chrysostom Thirumeni, and is supported by the St. Thomas Ashram.

Besides these, there is a plan being envisioned by Rambachen and Paul achen - to begin a process in the close to 200 homes in the area - to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again. They are taking the advice of a gynecologist and putting together a nutrition kit which they can deliver to hopefully every pregnant lady and mothers who are nursing which includes Horlicks and other tinned items.

Our journey back.

The gates into Attapadi Ashram

Soon it was time to bid goodbye. We had to kinda hurry back because Sumam and kids were waiting back in Kochi and we had to go to our native land of Kodumon the next morning.

It was a very nice time spent together with Yuhannon Rambachen and Paul achen and everyone else in Attapadi. We thanked them for their time for us. Maya aunty and Saly aunty had a plan to visit the Ashram at Thadakam which was also managed by Rambachen, but we could not do it this time.

We took an alternate route, via Shornoor,Palakkad on our way back. We stopped on the way for a light snacks, and it was a smooth ride back. Saly aunty dropped me near my uncle's home and I thanked her for the ride, which had made the trip to Attapadi so much easier; I also bid good bye to Maya aunty and hurried back to meet my family in Kochi.

The Balabhavan

In the morning when we reached the Attpadi Ashram, we got a glimpse of the children in the Balabhavan as they were about to go to school. The school was closeby and they would just walk out together and into the school watched by the Rambachen and Paul achen.



children having lunch after school

Later they came back for lunch at the Ashram when we met them again. There were a couple of students from the seminary on mission work at the Ashram who helped serve them lunch. The kids finished their lunch quickly and disappeared before we knew it. Probably off to their next activity of play in the warm January sun.

We have 18 girl children and 38 boys staying at the Balabhavan and taken care of by the Ashram. They are educated in our school in the premises.


Plans for the future - a retreat center in Attapadi

view from the hill

constructions began, lot of work to be done

Fr. Paul took us to the top of the hill and showed us the ambitious plans and vision he had for the future. There is a plan and prayer to turn the hill country into a major retreat center if God wills - so that people may come and stay there for a few days, away from the routine tensions in life and in the presence of God. We have purchased the land and the work is to begin soon. The mission needs help in the support, as well as the planning of the major project. If it comes about, it could become a good resource for our Church and for our people to come and spend time with nature, in the bosom of the beauty of the Attapadi hills, in silent meditation, in retreat and in peace. Major conventions and programmes could be held here when it comes about. Hoping and praying that this becomes a reality.

We spend some time on the top, as achen articulated to us what was possible. The place is peaceful and apt for such a retreat center. Hope someday it becomes a reality. Hope some day I am able to go back and spend time there after the dream actualizes.

The Attapadi chapel

The chapel in Attapadi

We came back from our tour of the place and had the noon prayer led by Rambachen at the blessed chapel in Attapadi. This chapel is especially blessed because it is the venue of the celebration of Holy Qurbana every morning. Every day Holy Liturgy is celebrated at the altar. This was a practice that began at the Ashram since a few years ago, and by the amazing providence of God, the Ashram has been taken care of every day. The children of the Balabhavan participate in the Holy Qurbana and are well versed in the prayers, I am told, even though they are not baptized.

The blessed altar

Later in a conversation, I got a perspective of the dangers of living in the midst of a jungle that this place was. Paul achen mentioned one day when he was coming to the chapel for morning prayer, an elephant standing in the courtyard. It was early dawn and the animal might have come in search of food. Achen then called the others and it took them a lot of effort to send the huge animal on its way without it harming anyone. It was usual there to hear of damages to trees and plants on the property by elephants.

outside the chapel

Sneha Bhavan in Attapadi

With help from some good people in Kuwait, a home was built for Sachu and Sneha at Attapadi. I had read about it in ICON long back, but it was good to see it when I went there.

Sachu was there at Attapadi going to a regular school with the rest of the kids from the Balabhavan, while his sister, who had not developed her speech and hearing as much as Sachu (as she was older when the cochlear transplant was done) was being cared for by sisters at another home in Adoor, Kerala (which I visited at a later point)

The Sneha Bhavan is a testimony to how the love of God works through different people spread


Sneha Bhavan

globally by the good use of technology and media. It was satisfying to note that internet and such media as ICON and others had played an important role in spreading awareness about the need for help needed by Sachu and Sneha about a decade ago, because of which many people were able to respond and come to the aid of the ground workers like Paul achen and MD Yuhannon Rambachen (Then Fr. M.D. John) and help with the funding and arrangements for the cochlear transplant as well as the building of the Sneha Bhavan. Thank God for the power and reach of technology. Thank God for motivating the good people in Kuwait parish to build the Sneha Bhavan in Attapadi to help two less fortunate children there.