What Happens ( to your Money )

        ANBAALAYAM, ‘A HOME FOR THE NEEDY WITH A DIFFERENCE,’ was a mere Idea in December 1999.        

        ANBAALAYAM started functioning on the 20th of December 2000.
The first building of ANBAALAYAM, a simple 30 feet by 16 feet Corrugated Iron Structure, was completed on the 20th of December, 2000. From the very next day, we started to get people asking to stay here.

        Writing this in March 2002, we find that this the first building is FULL. There is not even 6 inches of space between the beds, which is of course a sad thing; yet on the other hand shows us how ANBAALAYAM has grown.

        ANBAALAYAM, ‘THE HOME FOR THE NEEDY WITH A DIFFERENCE, ’THROUGH YOUR KINDNESS, provides the following services. It is HOME for An Old Lady, 3 Old Gents, 2 Children, One Young Man with a Spinal Problem and One Young Woman Paralyzed below the Hips. There are Others too, so that the total in there comes to 11 people, male and female, young and old, Sick and Handicapped. 

        In the photograph at left, the person sitting on the chair wearing the Yellow sweater is Shanti, and she is 19 years of age! Meghala, on the other hand, standing behind Shanti, is 6 years old. RANGARAJ is standing Fourth from right.

        The MEDICAL HELP undertaken by ANBAALAYAM comes to quite a little bit every month. First of all, each and every one here gets the famous Arishtam, CHYAVANPRASH, an Ayurvedic preparation.  

        In spite of taking these Colds, Coughs and Fevers are very common here as their bodies are weakened by Years of Poor Food. Then we give them SAMAHAN, which is a bit costly, but seems to help. Besides, Medication, Doctor’s Fees, Ambulatory Expenses, Scans and X-rays, etc, are provided, not only for those staying IN Anbaalayam, but for many outsiders as well.  

        As seen in the picture, Sr. Tresa is very active in taking care of the sick. She practically runs a small Dispensary at our place, due to which people are able to save Time, Effort and Money.  

        Many children approached us for help with their EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES, in the form of School Fees, help for Uniforms and for Notebooks, etc. Thanks to You, more than Six Thousand rupees were spent for this purpose in June 2001. This may seem a small sum, but please remember, Anbaalayam had started just months before!

  
        One of those helped this way is Punita, at left and in the spotted Skirt to my right in the picture above. 16 years old and studying in the 9th class, she just recently lost her mother. As her father had died many years ago, she is left with her very aged grandmother. 

        They are both depending on Anbaalayam for their future, which includes Punita’s Marriage in the not too distant future. This photograph was taken just before the demise of Punita’s mother. As You can understand, Punita finds it quite hard to smile these days, and the grandmother has taken it very hard indeed. Now, RANGARAJ and SHANTI are worth mentioning. 

        Rangaraj, seen at left with our children, is a mere 27 years old, but has some sort of bone growth on his spine which causes him severe pain. Due to this he cannot sit or stand for long, and we found that even getting on to, and off his bed, is very difficult and painful for him. His mother, a widow, who has moved in with him, helps him by lifting his legs on and off the bed for him. For all this, he is a very cheerful young man, very helpful, very well liked by one and all, and a blessing for us!
 

        Shanti is 19 years old. Her father had died when she was young and just months ago she lost her mother. She is tiny, (maybe 25 kilos in weight). She is also paralyzed from the hips down, and is so thin that she cannot even feed herself. Sr. Tresa in particular takes care of her, but all our ladies are happy to help this young woman. Shanti is also so cheerful that she brightens up our little HOME. In the picture at right, Shanti gets ready to cut her Birthday Cake! The child in the brown scarf, Meghala, is Six years old. You can see how small Shanti, aged 19, is in comparison to her.

        More than 55 MEALS are cooked and eaten every day at Jyoti Ashram at present! Besides the Eleven and we two volunteers, there are always more than half a dozen children as well as some adults at Breakfast time. At lunch we have a rather elderly woman with her two very young children. 

        Spices are bought in Kilograms! 

        This year we were able to provide about a dozen people with WARM CLOTHES in the form of Shawls. Many others were helped out with Ordinary (Bed) Sheets for which they are very grateful. They use it to cover themselves with at night in bed, as well as using it as a Shawl in the mornings and evenings. 
  

  
        Eight students are attending an English Coaching Class that I am conducting in the evenings. Though this does not involve any expense, they do receive, thanks to Your generosity, Meals or Snacks as well! 

        ANBAALAYAM IS ALSO SERVING AS A ‘HALF-WAY HOUSE’ TO MANY. Some of the people who approach us are so Shocked with life that they find it difficult to settle down. So a few move out. And some of these come back. For all that, they find a Welcome, Dignity, Peace and Strength within our walls.   
  
        BESIDES THESE, ANBAALAYAM provides Sustenance to Five Other Whole Families, though they all remain in their own houses. It can very well be said that if they did not receive Monetary and Other Help THROUGH YOUR KINDNESS, from Anbaalayam, they would be living Hungry, Sick and Very Sad lives. THE AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT ON THE RESIDENTS OF ANBAALAYAM AND THOSE OUTSIDE IS ALMOST THE SAME! 

  
YOUR HELP IS MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE INDEED! 
  
  

YOU CAN BE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT ALL THESE PRAY FOR YOUR WELFARE! 
  

  GOD BLESS!

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  Designed for Fr. Yesudas by Agnelo Fonseca email: [agnelo12@rediffmail.com]