Dear Friends in Christ,

Here we come again before you to thank you for all your generosity during these past years. Our special thanks to the District of France for their special drive to raise money for us.

Here are some news bits of what happened here these past months. At the end of November last year our Mother General Madre Maria Rita came here for a short visit of one month. The children welcomed her by playing the band and singing in Italian. She was so touched by their welcome and would have loved to stay here for a longer time if duty does not call her back to Italy. The kids even put a Christmas play for her in Italian! Mother went back being very edifed with everything she saw.

In December, on the Feast of the Immaculate Mary, twelve of our girls consecrated themselves to Mary. They started their 33-day preparation in November under the guidance of one of our sisters. They took it very seriously and we were able to see a change in them for the better at the days progressed. They were all happy and  radiant as the big day arrived and they solemnly consecrated themselves to Mary. Keep them in your prayers that they may maintain their frst fervour.

At the end of April, we conducted a girl’s camp and around 40 girls participated. They were kept busy with lot of activities like artwork, cooking, games, storytelling, catechism, quiz etc., They enjoyed their stay very much, away from all the cell phones, television etc., On the last day they put up plays, directed and acted all by themselves, of course with the help of our big girls who acted as volunteers. They  were reluctant to leave at the end of 3 days. Some of the girls requested and stayed back for some more days even after the camp!

This year the summer was very severe, and the girls kept praying that we may take them on an outing to a cooler place. Well in May, finally after lot of planning we organized a trip to a hill station for 3 days. Our prior, though tired after his European trip, agreed to accompany us to give us Holy Mass every day. The weather was nice and cool, and we were able to see the mountains, cascading waterfalls, tea gardens, flower gardens and running water streams where wild elephants come to drink water. Since rains had already set in there, the elephants did not come for the last few days, it seems. After a bit of travelling up and down the hills we arrived at the place and the girls did not want to leave without seeing the elephants, so they had recourse to the Holy Trinity and lo and behold, three elephants, mom elephant and two baby elephants, came walking slowly down the hill to the stream and spent some time drinking and playing in the water. The girls were beside themselves with joy. On the last day they enjoyed their visit to the adventure park where they were able to try their hand walking and cycling on a rope, going on the ropeway, walking on a suspension bridge and many adventure and fun rides.

The school year started in June in India. This year we got around 10 new girls. The youngest, Abinaya, is 5 years old. There are around 45 girls under our care, 40 of them are here and 5 are studying outside staying in hostels. In addition, we have 12 elderly or sick ladies under our care.

Most of the children come from broken families. The main reason for the breaking up of the families is alcoholism, especially of the dad. Most of the other kids are from single parent families, if it is the dad who is alive then there is 99% chance of him being an alcoholic. Poor kids, they have to suffer because of their parent’s bad habits. But once they come here, they are happy to be here.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Please continue to pray for us as the orphanage enters its 25th year of existence. May we serve God and His people for many years to come.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Maria,
Consoling Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
01-Aug-2024