Independence Day Celebration - Flag Hoisting

The students and members of the Chartiable Society on August 15th, 2017 at the Flag Hoisting Ceremony. We had all the children joining us. We also had a lot of our senior citizens, our neighbors,  and members of the society joining us.

Our Teachers Ms. P. Ponlakshmi and Ms. J Amudha

Annual Report 2016-2017

Deuteronomy 15:10
You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.

The Marthoma Charitable Society, Established in Oct 1994,  works to strengthen and empower the underprivileged in our Society. The society focuses on education of children and good health of a few hundred families in and around Kallukuttai. Kallukuttai is one of the largest slum areas in Perungudi, Chennai and is right next to our Charitable Society.

This year we introduced the MindFresh program to further improve the potential of the child, computer training and  conducted a musical program for fund raising. Additionally there were a lot more non-monetary participation by the members of the charitable society too. Special attention was also taken to convey activities about the society to the society members via the bi-monthly newsletter.

Education
A major activity by the society is supplementing the educational needs of 140 children from the nearby slum area. Mr. Samuel Gnansekaran (MSW, M Phil social work, MBA HR, Diploma in Labour Law) leads a team of other four  teachers in educating the sponsored students.

The four teachers are:
Mrs. K Mahalakshmi BSc. Maths, Diploma in Teacher Education. (teacher in St. Antony’s)
Ms.  A Parameswari DTE (teacher in St. Antony’s)
Mrs. K Anandhi B Com., DTE (teacher in St. Antony’s)
Mrs. S J Chinnammai D.T.Ed

The students come to the society premises every weekday between 7 AM to 8:45 AM and between 4 PM to 6 PM. We also provide basic snacks or dinner based on sponsorships.

This year we paid the school fees of 36 children and stopped paying school fees for others as we wanted the parents to take an active role in the education of the child too. We instead spent the amount in other activities to improve the abilities of the child like the MindFresh Program.

Medical Clinic – Ten Years of Service
Dr. Abraham Joseph led weekly (Wednesday) medical clinic completed 10 Years of service for the poor and needy. Currently it is being ably supported by Mr. George Joseph (Regi - Adyar). The Society thanks  Dr. Abraham Joseph for the valuable service and Mr. George Joseph for his dedicated service.

Our sexton Mr. S N. Ravi and church member Mr. Joseph help in day to day operations of this activity.

MindFresh Program for Emotional Intelligence:
A total of 36 High School and 98 primary school children attended the  MindFresh program. Our sponsored children come from families affected by alcoholism, poverty, physical and mental torture and abuse. The sessions provided counseling for positive thinking, removing inferiority complex, avoiding comparison with others, empowering them to grab opportunities that come their way and memory techniques to prepare for exams.  There were a total of 3 sessions each for both primary and high school students.

House Visits :
August 15th saw a Flag Hoisting ceremony followed by House Visits by the members being split into 10 groups. Each group was joined by a student representative. The team visited all the students’ houses.

Active Participation by Members of Marthoma Charitable Society:

Computer Hardware and Basic Software Training:  A formal syllabus was chalked out and computer training was introduced by Mr Thomas John (Regi). Classes were conducted punctually every weekend. There were both theory and practical classes. Desktop computers were donated by Parish members and The Hindustan University and are being actively used for the training program.
Cool drinks Sale by children on Sept 10th, 2016  held after church led by children namely Richa, Shruthi, Neha, Niharika, Nuthan, Karun, and others fetched Rs 7500 towards sponsoring English Dictionaries and English grammar books for the high school children.

Christmas Gift by Sunday School and Prize Distribution Day was a first of its kind.
The prize distribution for various sports activities were organized and conducted by the Sunday School on Dec 11, 2016. In addition to their prizes, the children also got a surprise Christmas gift from the Sunday School. It was followed by the arrival of Santa Claus who gave sweets and taught a few songs to the sponsored children thereby giving them a taste of a Christmas celebration. It was a great experience for the Sunday School Students too.

Members Volunteer to teach students: 
We have 5 members of our parish who have volunteered to teach students of the charitable society. They come to church in the evenings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around 5 PM. The fruits of their teaching are showing as some students started getting higher marks than usual. The society records special thanks to Mr. Mathew Kuruvilla, Mrs. Renjini, Mr. Babu Kurien, Mrs Elizabeth Kurien and Mr. John M. John.

Physical Development – Sports/ Arts Competitions
The annual Arts Competition for the students were held on August 27th, Saturday 2016.  It was made mandatory for all children to participate to see their performance in writing stories and other artistic activities. Additionally the Sports Day was conducted on Sept. 24th and saw excellent performance by the students.

Good Samaritan Day Program: 
By the grace of God, the Good Samaritan Day Program was held on Sunday Nov 27th.  The chief guest for the day was  Padma Shri Kurian John Melamparambil.  He besides being a humanitarian is an entrepreneur par excellence and is the founder and chief promoter of Melam group of Companies and Melam Foundation. After a brief meeting in the church, the sponsored children unleashed their talents in a cultural extravaganza in the Parish Hall. The talent display by the  children  included prayer and song in English, a unique welcome speech in the form of a “Villu Pattu”, group song, dance by the primary and high school students and a wonderful national integration themed dance number. Prizes for rank holders were distributed. The program was an eye opener on the real talent of the children.

Fund Raising Program - Musical Evening by St Louis Orchestra of the Blind:
The society had a major fund raising program by conducting a Musical Evening at the SPMC Hall, Velachery on  February 05, 2017 Sunday at 6 PM. The musical program was conducted by the St Louis Orchestra of the Blind, 16/19 G.S.T. Road, Pallavaram, Chennai 600 043. The orchestra consisted of 12 main musicians and Bro. Octavian. It was well received by the audience, sponsors and donors too. The society conveys special thanks to Mr. Gigi George, Mr. Sennie Varghese, all prayer group secretaries and organization secretaries for their efforts in fund raising and organizing the program. We convey special gratitude to The Hindustan Group of Institutions and Dr. Elizabeth Varghese, Mr. P. J. Mammen and Mr. Ajith Thanikal. We also thank Raj TV for covering the program.

House affected by Cyclone Vardah rebuilt:
This year saw another natural disaster affecting Chennai. December 13th, 2016  witnessed the Vardah Cyclone. Giriarasi’s (student of class VII) home was completely destroyed in the cyclone. The reconstruction was fully sponsored and monitored by a member of the Charitable Society and the family happily moved in to their new  home on March 12th 2017.

CONCLUSION
The year 2016-2017 was an eventful year for the Marthoma Charitable Society. By God’s grace, we had some memorable first time activities initiated and changes made for the betterment of the society.  On behalf of the society, we convey our special thanks to Rev. Thomas C. Alexander and Kochamma for their active support to the society.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see - Mark Twain .
We would also like to place on record our special gratitude to Dr. Abraham Joseph for his untiring efforts. We also wish to express our gratitude to  our Social Organizer Mr. Samuel Gnanasekaran, Mrs. V Elizabeth Rani and the four teachers.

We pray and thank God for the volunteers, office bearers, members of Marthoma Charitable Society and all donors for their contributions, support and prayers.

Committee Members 2017-18

Rev. Thomas C Alexander   President
Mr. Gigi George         Vice President
Mr. Mathew Kuruvilla Secretary
Mrs. Ajitha Gigi George Trustee Finance
Mrs. Annie Mathew Trustee Accounts

Committee Members 
Mrs. Aley Philip
Mr. Gibu K Mathew
Mr. Nirmal Kishore
Mr. Biju Cherian
Mr. Thomas John
Mr. Daison Mathew
Mrs. Mary Mathew
Dr.  Nitha Mary George
Mr. Mathew Zacharia

Auditors
Mr. P.G James
Mr. Koshy C Uthup

ANNUAL GENERAL BODY MEETING

NOTICE

The Twenty Second Annual General Body Meeting of the Marthoma Charitable Society, will be held at the registered office on Sunday 7th  May 2017, at 10.30 a.m.
You are requested to attend the meeting.
                                                AGENDA
1) Approval of the Annual Report for the year 2016-17.
2) Accounts for the year 2016-17.
3) Budget for the year 2017-18.
4) Any other business with the permission of the chair




Chennai                                                                    By order
23th  April 2017                                           –sd-
                                                                               Secretary

Members Volunteer to teach students

We have 5 members of our parish who have volunteered to teach students of the charitable society. They come to church in the evenings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around 5 PM. The fruits of their teaching are showing as some students started getting higher marks than usual. The society records special thanks to Mr. Mathew Kuruvilla, Mrs. Renjini, Mr. Babu Kurien, Mrs Elizabeth Kurien and Mr. John M. John.

Musical Evening - Thank you for your support

The society had a major fund raising program by conducting a Musical Evening at the SPMC Hall, Velachery on  February 05, 2017 Sunday at 6 PM. The musical program was conducted by the St Louis Orchestra of the Blind, 16/19 G.S.T. Road, Pallavaram, Chennai 600 043. The orchestra consisted of 12 main musicians and Bro. Octavian.

It was a success because of your prayers, support and attendance! It was well received by the audience, sponsors and donors too. The society conveys special thanks to Mr. Gigi George, Mr. Sennie Varghese, all prayer group secretaries and organization secretaries for their efforts in fund raising and organizing the program. We convey special gratitude to The Hindustan Group of Institutions and Dr. Elizabeth Varghese, Mr. P. J. Mammen and Mr. Ajith Thanikal. We also thank Raj TV for covering the program. 

You can take a look at the pictures in the below URL.

https://goo.gl/photos/ReXuaTXdwzxpkVi2A

Good Samaritan Day Program

By the grace of God, the Good Samaritan Day Program was held on Sunday Nov 27th.  The chief guest for the day was Padma Shri Kurian John Melamparambil.  Kurian John Melamparambil besides being a humanitarian is an entrepreneur par excellence and is the founder and chief promoter of Melam group of Companies and Melam Foundation.





After a brief meeting in the church, the sponsored children unleashed their talents in a cultural extravaganza in the Parish Hall! The talent display by 120 children  included prayer and song in English, a unique welcotmailme speech in the form of a “Villu Pattu”, group song, dance by the primary and high school students and a wonderful national integration themed dance number.

Prizes for rank holders were distributed. The program was an eye opener on the real talent of the children. The children were specially trained by Mr Samuel, Mrs Elizabeth Rani and the teachers.

Weekly Report - 5th Week of July

Our students have started speaking English in our premises from this week.

Instead of forcing them we are trying to motivate and make them understanding its present values and importance. Also we put an effort to remove fear and hesitation in speaking. Because these are the major barriers of our students facing now a days.

On last Friday (29-07- 16) Students had leave, who are studying in ST
Antony’s School. On that day TNPSC exam was conducted in their school.

Programmes of Arts competitions have been discussed with the teachers and also explained to our students.

10 th and 12 th standard students have written their first midterm exams well so far.


Last Thursday at 5:30 pm Our 3rd B students exhibited their skills in Class Assembly!

Programmes held are listed below

• Tamil rhyme.
• Conversation between two students about computer and its usages in English.
• National flag tells itself like Mono Act.
• Inventors and their inventions in English.
• Photos of the above are attached.
• Conducted test in Maths and English for high school students.
  

Computer Classes were held on July 23, 2016

Computer Classes were held for about 33 students on Sunday, July 23, 2016 at 3 PM. The computer teacher was by Mr Thomas John - Regi - Padur.

A test was also conducted to gauge the understanding of the children.

Committee Members 2016-17

Committee Members 2016-17

Rev. Thomas C. Alexander - President                                          

Mr. Mathew Kuruvilla - Vice President                                 

Mr. Gibu K. Mathew - Secretary                                          

Mr. Gigi George - Trustee Finance                              

Mr. C. P. Koshy - Trustee Accounts                            

Mrs. Ajitha Gigi George                                                                                            

Mrs. Aley Philip                                                                                                           

Mr. Baby Mathai                                                                                                        

Mr. Thomas John                                                                                                       

Mrs.  Shiny Samuel                                                                                                    

Mrs. Annie Mathew                                                                                                  

Mr.  Philip Varghese                                                                                                  

Mr. Samuel Koshy                                                                                                     

Auditors

Mr. P.G James                                                                                                            

Mr. Koshy C Uthup