Emergency Chennai Flood Relief

During the late 80’s and early 90’s, consumption of toddy and arrack had consumed the life of many men in the rural areas around Minjur. “Love Foundation”, established in 1994, was designated to provide food, shelter, clothing and love to the children of these destitute or broken families.

The home now caters to the need of around 40 residents of which 21 are children and rest are geriatrics. The home is maintained by Mr.Selvaraj, aged 72, and his wife, who greeted us with a compassionate smile as we reached the home. We learnt that the couple is meeting out the expenses of the home out of their pensions and some charity funds collected through the church. On account of lack of funds, the maintenance of basic infrastructure was by itself, miserable. And the deterioration caused by the Dec 2015 Chennai floods had deepened the pitfall. 

During the rehabilitation phase, Bhumi had identified this home and its plaintive situation. Electronic goods and appliances that were in need of, including LED bulbs, fans, fridge-freezer box with stabilizer, and an RO water purification system were procured and installed. Many walls of the building have been cement-plastered. The rains destroyed the roofing and lavatories for the most part; 4 lavatories cum bathrooms for boys and 6 for the women have been constructed. The construction of the bathrooms were made possible by a grant from Global Giving. Without a proper compound wall and only Galvonised Iron (GI) sheets as a replacement, the rains had invited various reptiles and insects into the shelter home making it extremely difficult for the children to live in. Bhumi has also constructed a compound wall. 

Before we could leave, Mr.Selvaraj, far energetic for his age, led us to the children who had assembled in the prayer hall. They wanted us to carry their message of thanks and love to Global Giving and its donors, and having done that, Mr.Selvaraj shared with the children how important it is to give back to society what they had now received.