12 Sep A Memory Cherished Every Year
The Mother Earth, our common home opens her arms to embrace all and we at Mount Carmel remember this gesture with awe and gratitude as we celebrate Onam, Ashtami and Nativity of Mother Mary. The unity of Mount Carmel family is strongly bonded on these occasions, as ‘Love Offering’ pours in through our students in cash and kind. to be shared with HIV / AIDS patients, Children’s Ashrams, Mentally challenged Institutions, Slum children, Old Age Homes at Bajjodi, Prashanth Nivas, St. Anthony’s Ashram and Mother Theresa’s Home.
Student’s Experience:
On Saturday, September 12, 2015, we, the students of class X and XII were taken to Sneha Sadan and Jeeva Dhan – HIV/AIDS Rehabilitation centers, situated in Gurpura, Kaikamba. Accompanied by our staff, we first went to Sneha Sadan, where we were graciously welcomed by the little ones. This institution is home to the infected children below the age of 18 years. We presented a short programme of songs and dances which brought smiles to these little ones. The smiling faces of the little children taught us a sweet lesson that life is precious; live in the present as if it were the last moment of your life and face the future boldly. The students handed over many gifts to the prize winners of various games that we conducted.
From Sneha Sadan, we were taken to Jeeva Dhan. There, we interacted with the inmates. This institution is home to HIV infected girls/women as well as an old age home. The old women shared their experiences with us. The most shocking thing was to see a 1-year old baby infected with HIV which moved us to tears.
The collected items like soaps, stationery items, rice, coconuts, etc, as well as cash was handed over to both the institutions. This visit was a heart-rending experience for us. We learnt a lot from the inmates and look forward to another visit to those institutions in future.
