Best Out of Waste

Theruvoram NGO has been working towards the betterment of the people who find themselves on the street. These people are offered a shelter home at the NGO’s centre and taken care of by the officials of the organisation. This includes food provided to them all the time, a place to sleep, hygienic requirements, etc – basically anything and everything required by a person to live a good life. The NGO gets its funding by generous donors as well as an amount allocated by the government for this project. Although it is not enough to sustain for a whole year, the NGO has found its own ways to use the resources, which are often considered to be waste by the others.

Interns and inmates helping out at Theruvoram NGO

Kerala is well known for its tropical climate and unbearable heat during the months of April and May. In a state, with its abundance of coconut trees, people find solace by drinking coconut water, which is the most affordable resource to cool down the body after a long day in the sun. The NGO has asked a local coconut water seller to give the organisation the waste generated in the form of coconut shells, which will then be used as a fuel resource for the organisation. Not only coconut shells, but materials like sugarcane waste as well as dry, waste wood from the furniture stores are given to the organisation. This waste is used as fuel for the kitchen, in which the food is prepared for all the inmates there. This way of using the resources has helped the organisation save a lot of money which would otherwise be used up as ‘gas money’.

The front yard of Theruvoram NGO  

Taking coconut shells in Kochi.

The organisation is trying their level best to recycle as much as possible. The founder of the NGO, Murugan S says that, “These materials are often thrown away by the people and not looked back upon. We on the other hand are using them up like this and I am sure we are ending up saving a lot of money as well as resources. Today, when the world is getting devoid of its resources, it is important to notice one’s day to day waste and its potential. I believe we are contributing towards the environment in a good way by continuing this.”

Not only that, the volunteers in the organisation are also giving their hand to serve these inmates. This fuel waste was cleaned up by the volunteers as well as the inmates, which was then used as fuel for the kitchen. The officials themselves indulged in the cooking of food for all these people and everybody enjoyed a hearty meal together. The NGO is trying its best to sustain with whatever resources are available to them and has been successfully doing so for six years now.

Six Years of Theruvu Velicham

Theruvoram NGO founder Murugan S, after rescuing children off the street.

Theruvoram NGO has been working towards rescuing the people thriving on the street for more than ten years now. Today, that is 16th May 2019, marks a very important day for the organisation – it was six years today on 16th May 2013, that the organisation started its effective project “Theruvu Velicham”, along with the support of the government. ‘Theruvu Velicham’ as a project aims at saving people from the street – mentally challenged, old, abandoned, everybody finds a home at this project centre.

         

Another rescue operation by Theruvoram NGO.

Located in Kakkanad, the techpark of Ernakulam, the centre of ‘Theruvu Velicham’ has been able to house more than ten thousand inmates till date. This blog features the experiences and challenges faced by the founder of the project and the NGO, Murugan S, in the form of an exclusive interview.

Q: How and why did you start an organisation like this?

Murugan: As a child, I would say that I did not have a proper childhood that a child deserves. My family was poverty stricken, there was a point where my parents could not afford my education as well. I have spent most of my life at orphanages and it was only after the age of 18 that I was exposed towards child help centres – where I found my calling. I was sure I had to do my best to help these people – the people who found themselves on the streets after harrowing experiences, I just wanted to provide them with opportunities to help them and grow. I had the support of many people to do the same. I will never forget the help I received from all of them and will be forever grateful to them.

              

Murugan S on duty.

Q: Can you share some of your experiences with the people who are reading the blog?

The man with the steel wire rescued by Theruvoram.

Murugan: As a team, we have encountered many experiences. I would never forget a few of them. Like once, we found a man near the railway station who did not have a home. He was fully clothed but there was an unpleasant smell emanating from him, nobody dared to go near him because of the smell. Our team was called and we realised that there was a metal wire which had been wound around his arm, and because of the untreated wound caused by it there was the smell which could not be ignored. We took him to the doctor and got him treated. Currently he is in the rehabilitation centre. One other case like that is about a person suffering from leprosy. The person, who cannot be named because of confidentiality, didn’t have fingers and could not even clean himself after going to the loo. Nobody came forward to help him and our organisation was contacted. This was about five years ago. Our team rescued him, cleaned him, and currently he is in the rehab getting treated.

Murugan also adds, “As an organisation we try our best to help the people in need while trying to make the best out of what we have. We have cultivated various types of plants in the space provided to us and also indulge in bird rearing, especially pigeons. Currently we house around 25 people, especially old people. The NGO does not have the license to house children yet. But we try to make the best out of whatever we can. We face a lot of challenges in the process – even though many people provide us with all sorts of material support, the NGO primarily requires monetary support from the helpers.

Just some farming by the founder of Theruvoram NGO.

This post will also serve as a big thank you post to all the people who have helped reach the NGO to where we are today. To all the help that we received from the police department as well as the government, it is only because of them that we have been able to pursue this noble cause. And a final thanks to all those who are reading this post, to take their time and read our experiences. Together, let us try to make this world a better place for everybody.”

People of Theruvoram as Chefs for a Day

Theruvoram NGO founder Murugan S, cooking along with Chef Chengotte Rajesh for the inmates.

The people of Theruvoram faced a new challenge today. As mentioned in the previous blogs, Theruvoram’s ‘Theruvu Velicham’ project houses a minimum of 25 people from the street and takes care of them by providing them with everything – including a place to stay, food and facilities for maintaining personal hygiene. 

All of this is taken care of by the officials at the NGO themselves and the food is prepared inside the NGO premises itself. Today, due to certain reasons, the food was not prepared for the inmates and once the officials realised it, they came up with a new idea in order to make the task interesting.

Interns helping out Murugan S.

The people of Theruvoram – including all the six interns from different colleges currently volunteering there, the staff and the founder himself, Murugan S, took it up in their hands to prepare the food for the day.


Assisting chef Chengotte Rajesh, who also happens to be a relative of the founder, the food was prepared by them in less than three hours. After managing to make a considerably big spread, the food consisted of several items ranging from items served in a typical Kerala Sadya including Aviyal, Sambhar, Beans Thoran (Coconut based vegetable dish), Cabbage Thoran, Rasam, Papadam, Payasam (Kheer), served along with Rice, to typical Keralian Chicken Curry. All of these items were prepared by the team from scratch and they had a lot of fun in doing the same.

Interns helping out Murugan S.

A completely different experience for a few, every body assisted in all sorts of work – be it washing utensils, making the curry or washing ‘Banana leaves’ which are often used in traditional Kerala culture to serve food on.

Although tiring, the team had fun doing the work. All the items were made for many people as mentioned before and most of the times it is difficult for someone to manage cooking for so many people at the same time often leading to the loss of taste in the food. But the inmates liked the food prepared for them lovingly by the team and thoroughly enjoyed eating it. The team also served the inmates lunch in order to complete the experience. Afterwards, all of them enjoyed the wholesome meal together.

Understanding People: A New Learning Curve

Kochi, Wednesday: Known to many people across Kerala, Theruvoram NGO works towards the rehabilitation of the people on streets – the people who have been abandoned by their ‘families’ and left to survive on their own. Murugan, the founder and the present secretary of the NGO, considers these people to be his children while affectionately calling them his ‘Theruvu Makkal’ (Street Children). Devoted to the cause, Murugan and his team face no less difficulties. Most of these rescued people are in dire need of medical treatment, mostly mental treatment. The NGO tries its best with what little resources it has. One such program took place on Wednesday (8^th May 2019). A group of five people from the NGO were supposed to be admitted to the Thrissur Government Mental Hospital for them to get treated. Being a government hospital, the hospital provides treatment for minimal charge – the NGO cannot afford the private hospitals for its kids.

Inmates being taken to Thrissur Government Hospital by social work volunteers and Theruvoram NGO founder, Murugan S.

“Being a Social Science student, I never really realised how hard it is to take care of MR (mentally retarded) patients in real life, before interning here. We were a part of everything – from taking care of exhilarating experience,” shares Sandra Oommen, an MSW student from Amrita them to travelling till Thrissur with them, I can vouch that it was an Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Coimbatore), who is currently interning at the NGO.

The day started with Murugan, accompanied by the 6 volunteers at the NGO, trying their best to get the inmates who require treatment, into the ambulance. Resisting because of being introduced to an unknown environment, everybody tried their best to make them comfortable in the ambulance while making sure that nobody gets hurt. The first stop of the day was Ernakulam Government Hospital. It is important to take a report from the doctors over there in order to take the patients to Thrissur. So for the same, the patients were shown to the doctor there, one by one, while she diagnosed them. After that the team had to go to the Court in order to get the approval from the judge, in this case the CJM.

Murugan S, in front of Thrissur Government Mental Hospital.

Later, the inmates were taken to the mental hospital in Thrissur in an ambulance, personally driven by the founder along with the assistance of interns. The doctors there took the inmates in for a treatment period of ten days. While the journey was full of its ups and downs, the inmates were taken to the hospital on time and were provided with good care.

“As a communications student, I did not expect the work to be any thing more than simple documentation work. But, this opportunity served as a medium to understand the intricacies of social work and the work that the NGO does,” says Parvathi Sajiv Kumar, a student of Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communications, Pune. She adds, “It was a different experience for sure. Even though the ambulance did not smell pleasant because of the lack of bathing of the inmates, for sure we faced many difficulties. But the overall experience was amazing. I indulged in activities that I would not have got to indulge in anywhere else.”

Murugan S with Sandra Oommen, Parvathi Sajiv Kumar,
and Aishwarya Nair,interns at the NGO.

A fact to note here is that, as on a normal day, the court was busy with other hearings. The team had to sit with the inmates over there for about an hour but the judge was busy. The CJM, after realising that the team had been waiting for so long, passed the order without even seeing the inmates – that is the level of professionalism that the organisation has followed till date. People might think that the organisation is boasting about itself, but the fact is that even though after facing so many difficulties, the organisation makes sure to do everything in a systematic and professional way, which is also recognised by other people.

Aishwarya Nair, a student of Christ University, Bangalore, says, “It was a fun experience. We did not expect it to take up the whole day. Usually, when one sees a person on the street, they call up NGOs to ‘save’ the person. It is important to realise that there is much more to do after that. As interns, it is amazing that we got to be a part of such a task. It made us understand the work that is put into saving people, and how the public can be a part of it.”

The journey was super tiring, and the team got back to the NGO only by dusk. But the fact is, that this task had to be completed no matter what. After all, it is the responsibility of the organisation to take care of its beloved children.

Mother's Day in a Different Way

International Mother's Day as usual went along with children posting pictures of their mothers on social media but for director Krishnabhaskar Mangalasserri, it was a day with new beginnings.  12th May saw the screening of his new short film, "Innaleyolam" at Padma theatre, in Ernakulam. The important factor about this was that Mangalasserri’s movie was based on a story of a mother, while the movie was also screened for the first time on Mother’s Day.

Shortfilm director Dr. Sabu Mangalasseri with NGO Theruvoram founder S Murugan, TWE director Indu Ramesh, “Swanthanam Charitable Society” director Radha Menon and the mothers of Theruvoram outside Padma Theatres, Kochi.

The mothers at the organisation had a fun filled day on this special occasion. Meanwhile the
people in the theatre left with a heavy heart because of the way it ends, not giving any spoilers
though. The mothers of the organisation were happy to catch a break from their routine, and
were delighted to be acknowledged by the people outside of the NGO.

His movie talks about a mother ailing from dementia and the emotions her son goes through while taking care of her and once he starts to be with her.

“Innaleyolam” stars State award winner Sethu Lakshmi, Sudhhy Koppa, Shabareesh Varma and Sreedhanya in the lead roles. The short film has rich musicals. The BGM and the song “Innaleyolam“ is arranged by Kailas Menon and the title song “Manamaake” is arranged by the emerging youth band “Chumadu Thangi.”

The audience was the other highlight of the day - mothers of Theruvoram NGO were present and they were complimented with gifts. The founder of Theruvoram NGO, Murugan S and his wife Indu Ramesh were also felicitated at the premiere.

The mothers at the organisation had a fun filled day on this special occasion. Meanwhile the people in the theatre left with a heavy heart because of the way it ends, not giving any spoilers though. The mothers of the organisation were happy to catch a break from their routine, and were delighted to be acknowledged by the people outside of the NGO.