NEWS & EVENTS
Visit to “Home OF HOPE”
Co-Workers with Destitute Home For Women
As part of celebrating the “Jubilee Year Of Mercy”, one of our programmes included visiting the inmates of the” Home of Hope “on 19th March, 2016.
We began our day with a visit to St. Francis Xavier Cathedral where we prayed at the Door of Divine Mercy. From there, we proceeded to our destination, the “Home of Hope” located at Doddagubbi village, which is run by Thomas Raja, fondly known as ‘Auto Raja’ by all.
The place by itself is vast, with men, women and children housed at different locations. Every person over there had a different story to tell. Some were handicapped, some mentally challenged, many suffering from various ailments - physical as well as mental. The one thing they all had in common was that they were all rescued and cared for by Raja.
All of us members of CEC pooled in some money and bought food like rice, dal and clothes which we distributed amongst the inmates. We spent time interacting with them. We then sang songs in English, Hindi and Kannada and gifted them with Bibles, prayer books and handbills.
Raja, a juvenile delinquent, is quite a story himself. At the age of 16, his father threw him out of the house for stealing and drinking. He roamed the streets alone and resorted to petty thefts, got arrested and was put in a remand home. There, when he fell very ill, he reflected on his life and his erring ways, and prayed to God and begged for His mercy. He made a deal with God that if He helped him out of prison, he would devote his life to serving God. And sure enough, once out, he was a changed man. He began driving an auto around Bangalore, rescuing the poor, troubled and the destitute, and the rest is history. To date he has rescued 4,000 people, and given a dignified funeral to 2,000 dead bodies he found on the roads. He has been recognized by the government for his extraordinary work on several occasions.
This visit left us feeling fulfilled, content and most important, grateful for whatever we have in our lives as we realized that the good things that we have are just a dream for many.
