A Social Outreach Programme of Sacred Heart College, Mawlai.
Caring for differently abled children is an initiative started by Fr. Jose Chunkapura SDB, back in 1989 with the involvement of the students of theology. It is a service in favor of children, primarily thoseaffected by rickets, to heal them partially or completely of the deformities and debilitating influences caused by the illness. Other fathers like Fr. George Kottuppallil, Fr. Kariapuram Mathew George and Fr. PuykunnelShajiand Jude Sebastian did much to creatively develop the ministry and to extend and diversify its services and to find financial sustenance for all its varied initiatives in favour of poor young people.
Caring Ministry organizes medical camps and awareness programmes in the College premises once in every month and in distant villages a few time during the year. The camps are carried out with the voluntaryservice of many doctors, nurses, a few staff who are employed especially for educational and medical service, students of Sacred Heart College and many volunteers, both religious and lay.
Caring Ministry includes an afternoon school and tuition centre for ricket-affected and other poor and neglected children of the neighborhood. After Covid 19 Caring Ministry has been making and supplying masks and providing food for many poor families in the neighbouring villages, many of whom who have lost their jobs or are not able to find jobs.
Caring Ministry also branches out into
* Caring Literacy Programme
* Caring Educational Scholarship for poor and needy Children
* Caring Study and nutrition centre
* Caring Housing Project for the Poor and Marginalized
Caring collaboration with other NGOs working for children with disabilities.
In the past 31 years caring Ministry has reached out to nearly 30,000 children from various parts especially of Khasi Hills, Meghalaya and facilitated the partial or complete healing of thousands of children affected by Rickets. We have also been able to support the education of thousands of poor children, helping many to complete university studies or job-oriented training and thus to earn on their own and support their families. All this was possible also because of the generous and continued financial assistance from many friends in India, Italy and Germany and more especially because of the support of a great number of doctors, nurses, volunteers and government officials too who have got involved with us for the benefit of our people.