Good Shepherd Children's Home, Mankulam - A centre for Hope, Peace and Harmony -
30 Dec 2013
Good Shepherd Children's Home, Mankulam
- A centre for Hope, Peace and Harmony -
By: Raymond Rajabalan
Life is about bringing hope to the hopeless and breathing life into people's lives. If you want the world changed, then understand that change starts with you. Just one small or one large act of generosity can impact lives - Benjamin Gresham
After nearly six years, I had the opportunity of visiting Sri Lanka last year, November 2013. Apart from meeting my relatives and friends, the highlight of my journey was a visit to the Good Shepherd Children's Home in the town of Mankulam.
Mankulam is located in northern Sri Lanka, about 3.5 hours drive south of City of Jaffna. A Major road A9 and a railway line connecting North and South of Sri Lanka goes through Mankulam. Mankulam is also located a few hours drive south of Kilinochchi and another few hours drive north of Vavuniya. Highway A34 connects Mankulam to eastern coastal City of Mullaitivu.
When we visited the Good Shepherd Children's Home located along Mullaitivu Road, we were pleasantly surprised by the variety of joyful emotions expressed by the 60 young children - both Christians as well as Hindus - who are being looked after with great care and compassion by a dedicated team led by a devoted nun Sr.Mary Rajesh.
Though deprived of parental love, these innocent children having faced numerous trials during the civil war impressed us by their variety of talents. We were amazed by the dedication and service of the nuns and dozens of care takers who amidst trying conditions are determined to mould the lives of these children and train them to be productive members of the society.
As soon as we entered the spacious compound of the Children's Home, we were surprised to see the meticulously maintained garden with a variety of colurful flower plants and fruit trees, which obviously contributed to the peaceful atmosphere. The verdant vegetation within the compound was a clear indication of the dedication of the nuns who manage this organization. On seeing our group, the children came rushing and surrounded us and we all were overwhelmed by their pleasant response. Once we were intoduced to the children by Sister Mary, the children who had just returned from school had their lunch in a meticulously set up dining hall. After a short interval, the gleeful children gathered around us in and in the presence of Sister Mary Rajesh entertained us with variety of dance performances and some of them recited very meaningful poems that portrayed the sufferings they had undergone during the recent years.
Some of the children then displayed some beautiful hand crafted items and we were truly impressed by their creativity and talents.
The love and reciprocation we received from the children was amazing. Even though it was our first visit to this Children's Home, we soon felt at home and we enjoyed ever moment of our stay. The way these children mingled with us and posed for photographs was a great experience .The children were happier than anyone could imagine. It was one of those moments that reminded us of the power of human spirit and hope.
The children then bombarded us with a variety of very intelligent questions wanting to learn about so many things, especially about the life in West. After a few hours, we left the Children's Home promising Sister Mary Rajesh and the children that we will return the following day. The next day afternoon we once again visited the Home and that day being the birthday for two of the children, we shared birthday cakes and sweets with all of them.
We had a pleasant discussion with the children and at times we were mesmerized by their intelligence. We then inquired us about their immediate needs from Sr. Mary Rajesh. She explained in detail the difficulties she faces in running the home and looking after 60 young girls. She explained to us that it was mainly due to the donations from expatriate community that so far she has been able to manage to run the home as effectively as possible. We saw for ourselves the audited financial statements that indicated a very efficient administration of the funds and were convinced that more funds are needed to meet the growing needs of the Home.
We understood the enormous nature of running such an organization and after providing some donation we promised Sister Mary to do our best once we return to Canada. Already some here have come forward to help the Children's Home in whatever possible way.
This definitely is a worthy cause and Lord God will abundantly bless all those who help those who are in need. Those who would like to know more about this noble institution can contact the administrator of the Home Sr. Mary Rajesh at her email address frjames2010@ gmail.com
(This article is exclusively written for The Monsoon Journal and will appear in the January 2014 - print edition)
- A centre for Hope, Peace and Harmony -
By: Raymond Rajabalan
Life is about bringing hope to the hopeless and breathing life into people's lives. If you want the world changed, then understand that change starts with you. Just one small or one large act of generosity can impact lives - Benjamin Gresham
After nearly six years, I had the opportunity of visiting Sri Lanka last year, November 2013. Apart from meeting my relatives and friends, the highlight of my journey was a visit to the Good Shepherd Children's Home in the town of Mankulam.
Mankulam is located in northern Sri Lanka, about 3.5 hours drive south of City of Jaffna. A Major road A9 and a railway line connecting North and South of Sri Lanka goes through Mankulam. Mankulam is also located a few hours drive south of Kilinochchi and another few hours drive north of Vavuniya. Highway A34 connects Mankulam to eastern coastal City of Mullaitivu.
When we visited the Good Shepherd Children's Home located along Mullaitivu Road, we were pleasantly surprised by the variety of joyful emotions expressed by the 60 young children - both Christians as well as Hindus - who are being looked after with great care and compassion by a dedicated team led by a devoted nun Sr.Mary Rajesh.
Though deprived of parental love, these innocent children having faced numerous trials during the civil war impressed us by their variety of talents. We were amazed by the dedication and service of the nuns and dozens of care takers who amidst trying conditions are determined to mould the lives of these children and train them to be productive members of the society.
As soon as we entered the spacious compound of the Children's Home, we were surprised to see the meticulously maintained garden with a variety of colurful flower plants and fruit trees, which obviously contributed to the peaceful atmosphere. The verdant vegetation within the compound was a clear indication of the dedication of the nuns who manage this organization. On seeing our group, the children came rushing and surrounded us and we all were overwhelmed by their pleasant response. Once we were intoduced to the children by Sister Mary, the children who had just returned from school had their lunch in a meticulously set up dining hall. After a short interval, the gleeful children gathered around us in and in the presence of Sister Mary Rajesh entertained us with variety of dance performances and some of them recited very meaningful poems that portrayed the sufferings they had undergone during the recent years.
Some of the children then displayed some beautiful hand crafted items and we were truly impressed by their creativity and talents.
The love and reciprocation we received from the children was amazing. Even though it was our first visit to this Children's Home, we soon felt at home and we enjoyed ever moment of our stay. The way these children mingled with us and posed for photographs was a great experience .The children were happier than anyone could imagine. It was one of those moments that reminded us of the power of human spirit and hope.
The children then bombarded us with a variety of very intelligent questions wanting to learn about so many things, especially about the life in West. After a few hours, we left the Children's Home promising Sister Mary Rajesh and the children that we will return the following day. The next day afternoon we once again visited the Home and that day being the birthday for two of the children, we shared birthday cakes and sweets with all of them.
We had a pleasant discussion with the children and at times we were mesmerized by their intelligence. We then inquired us about their immediate needs from Sr. Mary Rajesh. She explained in detail the difficulties she faces in running the home and looking after 60 young girls. She explained to us that it was mainly due to the donations from expatriate community that so far she has been able to manage to run the home as effectively as possible. We saw for ourselves the audited financial statements that indicated a very efficient administration of the funds and were convinced that more funds are needed to meet the growing needs of the Home.
We understood the enormous nature of running such an organization and after providing some donation we promised Sister Mary to do our best once we return to Canada. Already some here have come forward to help the Children's Home in whatever possible way.
This definitely is a worthy cause and Lord God will abundantly bless all those who help those who are in need. Those who would like to know more about this noble institution can contact the administrator of the Home Sr. Mary Rajesh at her email address frjames2010@ gmail.com
(This article is exclusively written for The Monsoon Journal and will appear in the January 2014 - print edition)
By Raymond Rajabalan 