A touch of 'Independence'

To celebrate the true spirit of being 'Independent', Whispering Hope organised a day out for the little children from the Anamal Orphanage, Chennai, on 16th August. This orphanage is run by Gunaseelan and his charming wife; they have about 36 children living under their roof. When I met Gunaseelan on New Year's Day to give him a food hamper, I was impressed with the way he brought up these children. On enquiring what he would like me to do for them, he asked me to organise a day's outing for them. In an unimitable Whispering Hope style, sponsors were found and we had the show on the road on the 16th of August, a day after India's Independence Day. Ruby & Kevin Joshua contributed towards the lunch - it was their Silver Wedding Anniversary on 16th July; an angel from Switzerland contributed towards the transport, the mouth watering snacks and the presents. And with the help of my three volunteers, Judy, Jessie and Fenny, we spent an eventful day out of Chennai. We visited the Infant Jesus Shrine at Manali New town and the little ones sought the blessings of the blessed Infant. From there, we moved onto the St. Jude's shrine at Kattur. Rev. Fr. Jacob, the parish priest very graciously allowed us to use the church premises for our picnic. It was heartening to see the little children running free, unshackled from their daily routine of school and home, participating whole heartedly in the games and enjoying the sumptious biryani and snacks. The smile widened when they found out that there were presents too! In the end, every child was given a gift and their happiness was ours too! A big thank you to the sponsors and the volunteers for making this an eventful day! Please see the photos of our day out in the attached album - Photo Bucket.