The hope and the plan:
College
There
is a strong demand for a college in the area. Only a commerce college is
functioning in Roha. The students after XII have to go to far off cities for
their higher studies. We plan to start a college for the benefit of the local
population.
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| Elderly with the little ones |
There are plans to begin an orphanage to provide a home for many children who have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. We already have a old age home; Having projects like Old Age home and Orphanage together has several benefits: Normally old people in a house miss the presence of small kids to love and to be loved. The orphanages also usually miss the wisdom and invaluable presence of the elderly. The old age home and orphanage side by side could complement each other and young volunteers who serve in the community can be the strong bridge between the old and the kids.
Elderly people have so much to give, so much knowledge and life experiences to share - having children close by gives them a sense of fulfillment and opportunity to do mingle, engage themselves and share. The children get the love and nurturing care they otherwise miss from their own grandparents by being in their vicinity. This is what can be achieved by having the old age home and the orphanage together, a win-win situation. Both can complement each other and make up for each other
There
is a tribal area surrounding the community and we have noted several children
with mental ailments. So we hope we have a school or home to serve and take
care of these children in the future within the community.
Medical Clinic
Opening
a clinic providing medical care to the rural community in the area is also a
dream. There is a proposal to have a
mobile medical clinic to serve the rural society.
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| To serve, not to be served |
All
these along with a full-fledged Retreat Center (we already have a chapel and a
small local congregation which worships here along with the community), an
International Center for Faith dialogue, a mission training Center are all part
of the dream of serving the land and for working in Christ's mission field in
the area. Constructing a well-furnished multi lingual conference center is one
of the aspirations.
The serene beauty, the calm and quiet setting away from the
crowded city, could bring many to the area to hold different types of
conferences, camps in the premises.
- Geevarghese Mar Coorilose Metropolitan
[This series is a presentation of the thoughts, the vision, the hope - regarding the Gregorian Community - in the words of His Grace Geevarghese Mar Coorilose - Metropolitan of the Diocese of Mumbai]
Excellent idea! It is a win-win situation. I work with the elderly people in the UK. There are several studies from Italy and Spain on intergenerational therapy (creating an ongoing relationship between elderly and young ones)which show that this could help the elderly individuals to have a better meaning/purpose for their life and would also help in their well being.For the young ones this would help develop a trust worthy relationship with some one, which in turn will help in the development of their personality.But due to reasons of extreme skepticism and vulnerability of both the groups these studies and not commonly replicated elsewhere, especially in higher income countries.
ReplyDeleteThe time has come for elderly people to realise that the extended family system does NOT exist anymore; there have to be ways of keeping the old age occupied and thereby nourishing the community they grown-in. A safe and enriched shelter can provide the happiness we deserve at the twilight years of our life...At present, it is seen as abandonment or desertion of moral responsibility, instead this should reflect as the communal homes we envisage in the world to come...May the Lord bless Bishop Coorilose with long and healthy life.
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