Do you believe in miracles? Well I do. On 31 August, Sister Selvi and 25 children from Muttom moved into the new St. Adrian's Reachout Centre - just under eighteen months from the time the tsunami hit their fishing village.
Thanks to the wonderful generosity of so very many people, the Bede Griffiths Charitable Trust has been able to help Selvi and her trustees buy an acre of land overlooking the sea just outside the village. Michael -- a delightful person and excellent designer and builder -- has built a truly beautiful building to house the Centre. The children and Sister Selvi are so thrilled with their new accommodation, especially since they've spent the past year in a very small four roomed house that leaked! Plus, the rains have been very heavy this year.
Sister Selvi has her own room with a bathroom and there is a children’s dormitory or rather one for girls and one for boys, with their own washroom and loos. An unheard of luxury for these children. (Bathrooms put the price up!). A kitchen and dining area, a chapel and meditation room, office, computer and tailoring rooms, staff bedroom and a guest room for visitors to stay and enjoy the St Adrian’s Reachout Centre. Selvi writes to say the children are also so excited to have so much garden to play in and each child has planted a coconut tree and has to keep it watered and loved!
The cost of buying the land and doing the building work has been about £ 50,000! Yes truly a miracle. Thank you so much to everyone who has so generously donated money to make this happen.
The Reachout Centre will be officially Inaugurated on 9 January, the feast day of St Adrian of Canterbury. Anyone who would like to come and join in the celebrations will be most welcome. Please email Sister Selvi. She and the children will be so happy to see you.
If you can’t be in Muttom, then the next best thing could be to go online to our brand new website www.muttom.com and follow the progress of the project on the web. Here you can read the children’s stories, the programme and vision of the Reachout Centre, learn about life in a fishing village, see pictures and add your own comments and observations. Adrian and I are off to Muttom on 7 November to help with the preparations and will certainly post information on the new blog.
If you would like to make a donation towards the running costs -- roughly £6000 per year -- then email me or write:
Bede Griffiths Charitable Trust
Beech Tree Cottage
Selling, Kent ME13 9RH UK
Standing orders are particularly wonderful!
We should love to hear from you. Love Jill and Adrian
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