My dear friends,
My heart is brimming with happiness while writing this. The reason for this is a mail from the CEO of ACT Group, Bala Malladi sir. You won’t need an introduction to Bala sir as you know he has been a co-traveller of BRIDGE right from its inception. He has been one of our staunch supporters both financially and emotionally. Last month he wrote to me saying he is aware that this is the season when BRIDGE would be required to pay the fees of many of our students and that it would be tough for BRIDGE to meet the requirements. Therefore, he said he was sanctioning Rs 10 lakh towards BRIDGE’s activities.
Friends, when I received this mail, I shed happy tears. Here is someone who, as CEO of a major consumer-facing company with important issues to tackle every day, had the time and the heart to foresee the need of BRIDGE and addressed it without waiting for a request from me. I know he had assured me at the start of our journey eight years ago that BRIDGE would not have to stress over funds as long as he was around. He has made good on this promise several times in the past. Only a person with Bala sir’s heart can discern on his own the current need of BRIDGE considering that we have grown during these years in terms of the number of families that we support. On behalf of all of you, I wish to thank Bala sir and his team for the gesture.
I must also report to you another great gesture from Wonderbiz Technologies, a Mumbai-based fast-growing IT company that has been supporting us during the past few years. We received Rs 2 lakh from this company in continuation of the support it has given us in the past. What is remarkable is that to date I have not met any member of this wonderful company to explain the BRIDGE activities. But they have been keen observers of BRIDGE activities after being told about us through our Mumbai Associate Prakash Pillai whose missionary zeal is a shining example for all of us.
I also want to place on record the support of Ajit Isaac sir, the founder and boss of the Bangalore-based Quess Corp. He has made a fresh donation of Rs 2.5 lakh from his family foundation. Ajit Isaac sir was introduced to BRIDGE by Ajit Varma sir, the I-T commissioner who, after hearing about BRIDGE and the kind of work we do, became our zealous supporter and unofficial spokesman.
Friends, with such wonderful people on our side, I do not have any reason to worry about bringing the bacon (so to speak) to the homes of our BRIDGE beneficiaries. We never felt the need to employ anyone to raise funds like many NGOs do. Our good works do speak for us. In addition to these big supporters, there are individuals who are bitten by the BRIDGE bug and send us funds every month trusting us to support deserving families. To decode Paulo Coelho, when we are genuinely committed to something, the whole world will conspire to help us.
In my anniversary mail next month, I shall share the full details of our fund availability and its deployment as part of our efforts to always keep our operations transparent.
During the past few months, we have been able to intervene in the lives of many new and existing families through financial and psychological help. To avoid making this a long mail, I shall mention only some of them here.
I wish to share with you the disturbing story of a young girl and her mentally challenged younger brother. When her younger brother was just about a year old, their mother left the children and the husband. A few years down the line, the children lost their father to a heart attack. The two children were then taken care of by their grandparents who struggled to bring them up toiling as daily wagers. A few years later the grandfather passed away followed by the grandmother a year ago. The girl, by now 22 years old, started to work at a small shop to eke out a living. They live in a shanty of a house which is uninhabitable during rain. This was the situation when someone brought their case to me. I visited the place and I was aghast to see the horrible condition of the place. I contacted a civil work contractor who gave me an estimate to build a proper roof and fix tiles so that the children can sleep without fear during rains. We completed the work a week ago and it cost us Rs 70,000. I am happy to tell you that the children are extremely happy and grateful to BRIDGE. We will stay in touch with them and provide them emotional support too.
There is another tragic case of a family whose breadwinner father had met with an accident and is more or less incapacitated. The lady of the house then had to take up small jobs to look after her husband and their two children. With the help of some wellwishers, she opened a small pastry shop and was doing more or less fine for about two years. Their two boys are extremely good at studies and the elder one is currently pursuing engineering on scholarship. The younger one has just completed his Class 12 with top honours. Just when they thought that things would be on track, came the bad news. The lady was diagnosed with a rare form of bone disorder, and within a span of three months, she was confined to bed. Just as the disease began to crumble and disintegrate her bones, it did crumble the family’s hopes too. BRIDGE has joined the efforts of some of the friends of the family to support them in their hour of need.
Let me briefly touch upon other support we have extended in the past few months:
During April and June, we paid the fees of 11 children, some in colleges and schools, and a few in nursing institutes.
We have part-funded the hospital expenses of some of the BRIDGE families. One is a lady suffering from cancer. The lady has a daughter who is preparing for her nursing admission abroad.
I am happy to share the news that one of the daughters of a lady from Bihar residing in Bangalore whose children’s education we have funded, was married in May and we have provided them some financial support.
Thank you friends for the years of support to BRIDGE which has made things easier for many families. Although they do not directly know who their benefactors are, I am sure they are all praying for all. The glow in their eyes and smile on their faces once again strengthen the BRIDGE’s credo: There’s no greater happiness in life than wiping a tear from someone’s eyes and being the reason for that person’s smile. Thank you for being the reason for the smiles on many faces!!!
Thank you
Shibu
A BRIDGE Over Troubled Waters
The Anchor for the Anchorless
Ph: 9739218181; 080-26830545