My dear friends,
This is that time of the year when parents who had been waiting for the academic results of their children with bated breath are looking for admissions in new schools and colleges. We the elders of the BRIDGE family have also been in the same boat awaiting as we were for the results of some of our students who had appeared for their Class X and XII exams. I am happy to share the news that all our students have cleared their exams with above-average grades. Now we are coordinating with them for their admissions in colleges and vocational institutions.
Standing out among them are two of our children Rose from Athena Institute of Health Sciences, Mangalore, and Anila from Thiruvananthapuram. Rose, a BSc nursing student, passed out this year with distinction and is preparing to go abroad. Anila was studying for her BEd degree. She graduated this year and has bagged a job as a teacher in her native Thiruvananthapuram. Both of them were supported by BRIDGE. Anila wrote to me early this month and I quote: “I am delighted to share that I have successfully completed my course and secured a job. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support and assistance, which played a significant role in my achievement…” BRIDGE donors and supporters, these words are addressed to you. God bless you all!
I have another happy news to share with you. WonderBiz Technologies, a Mumbai-based software firm, has been a silent supporter and admirer of BRIDGE over the years, thanks to the association of our Associate from the start of BRIDGE, Mr Prakash Pillai, with the company. The management of the company wrote to me in early March with a cheque of Rs 3,75,000 for the BRIDGE work. I take this opportunity to thank the people behind this fast-growing firm for their confidence and for being one of the strong pillars of BRIDGE.
Let me now share a few new stories where BRIDGE has made a difference during the past few months:
One is a tragic story from Kumbalangi village, Kerala. Shaji was an attendant in a government-run Ayurveda Hospital. A calming presence in the hospital, Shaji was the go-to person for the patients as he went out of his way to ensure that patients’ needs were attended to. When a 19-year-old boy from a very poor family who had almost been paralysed after an accident was brought to the hospital, Shaji was the one who had raised funds and took care of the daily needs of the boy and his mother, just as he did for many others. Little did he know then that he would be in the same situation six months later.
Shaji was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent surgery. The hospital stay and subsequent care drained the family financially. With the breadwinner being bedridden, the family, consisting of his wife and two sons, stared at a bleak future. The surgery expense was crowd-funded by his former hospital colleagues. Regular supply of medicines and finding means for survival remained a task. This was the situation when he was brought to BRIDGE. We did some networking among a few Good Samaritans and arranged a small amount for the family. BRIDGE has also enrolled the family in our LIVELIHOOD scheme that releases Rs 5,000 to the family every month.
I have a story from Arunachal Pradesh. A friend of mine who is in Guwahati brought to my attention the sad case of this family. Nilanjhona Mili was studying in Class II when her father Mr Dinesh Mili, aged just 40, passed away following a massive heart attack while travelling to work. With the only breadwinner of the family gone, her mother Rani Mili had no option but to pull her daughter out of school as she could not afford the fees. She already had another five-months-old child to take care of.
According to the teachers of the school, Nilanjhona is a very promising child with high intelligence. She used to stay in the school hostel since her home was quite far from her school. My friend wrote to me: I earnestly request you to extend some financial help for the education of Nilanjhona Mili as the family has exhausted knocking on others’ doors. Her hostel fee is Rs 3,000 a month. As for the tuition fees, the Sisters running the school have offered a concession and she has to pay only Rs 500 a month. So in all it would be Rs 3,500 a month. I hope you will consider this request favourably.”
I am happy to share that we have considered this favourably. In case some of you wish to directly sponsor this child, you are welcome to do so, promising to adhere to our privacy policies.
Monsoon is upon us, and already it has started wreaking havoc. The house of one of our beneficiaries, Suresha from Dakshina Kannada, who is a kidney patient needing regular dialysis, was damaged. I am happy to say that one of our volunteers Shaji Thomas has sponsored the repair work amounting to over Rs 20,000. A big salute to Shaji and family.
There are a few more instances I wish to share with you, but I shall keep them for my next mail as I now wish to present you with our financial statements for 2024-25. Not all the funds are routed through the BRIDGE account, as you know some of our benefactors are making donations directly to the accounts of our beneficiaries. Since they usually notify me about their contributions, I have included such contributions too in this mail.
Total Contribution: Rs 28,83,761.00
Break-up of Contributions:
ACT Digital Home Entertainment: 10,00,000.00
Shibu Joseph: 5,74,810.00
WonderBiz Technologies: 3,75,000.00
Michelle Mendonca: 3,63,200.00
Ajit Isaac, The Isaac Family Foundation: 2,50,000.00
Shaji Thomas: 1,90,001.00
Geetanjali Kapoor: 60,000.00
Austin Scaria: 25,000.00
Rakesh Bedi: 25,000.00
Bindu Prakash: 20,000.00
Shruti Pathak: 10,000.00
Srikanth Sampath: 9,750.00
Anitha Francis: 6,000.00
The primary component of our outgo has been on education. More than 35 students are going to schools/colleges, thanks to BRIDGE. Another major outgo was in Livelihood where we release roughly Rs 5,000 a month to around 20 families. In addition to this, we also spend on medical expenses, emergency needs, wedding and house repair work of our beneficiary families. At the close of the year, we have just about Rs 4,50,000 in our accounts, thanks to the year-end contribution by WonderBiz Tech.
I wish to thank all our benefactors who have been contributing regularly. You are the strong pillars on which our BRIDGE is being built. You could have been just concerned about yourself and your family. But you chose to be different, seeking happiness on the road less taken. I have always maintained this: We are where we are not because we were better than others who are less fortunate, it’s just that we were simply lucky. Therefore, there is no place for condescension. God placed us where we are so that we can be happy by being the reason for another person’s happiness. I’ve long believed and have said this several times in my past letters: There’s no greater happiness in life than being the reason for another person’s smile. Let that happiness be your reward!
God bless all!
Thank you
Shibu
A BRIDGE Over Troubled Waters
The Anchor for the Anchorless
Ph: 9739218181; 080-26830545