Treats for the trio today

Sunday should be a day of rest and worship. So today we went to Pilgrim Highland Church, which greatly supported the construction of Thanal House and continues to help with the running costs. The English language service is at 9am, so it was an early start. But as always it is great to worship with fellow-Christians of other cultures and to learn from them. We had hoped to meet a long-time supporter, Daisy, but she wasn’t there this week.

After a couple of hours on the beach at Kovalam and lunch, we returned via Thanal house. Salini has been building a toilet / shower / washing block for some time now, and we had given her some money to complete it at the start of the week. It was great to see that the work was almost finished, with the septic tanks lined, water connected, doors on the toilets and showers operational. There is even a western-style toilet for disabled women who find this sort more of a convenience (pun intended!).

As the day cooled, the women came out to do their part in the running of the home. Most now help in some way – washing clothes, folding laundry, sweeping or cleaning, or converting palm leaves into brooms. It both enhances their self-respect, gives them something to do, and relieves Salini, Sanil and Valsala of some of the pressure of coping with so many residents. It is a win-win situation.

Tomorrow is our last day. The time has gone quickly. We will be seeing the work of Happy Valley special needs school where we have been staying, and some tuition groups – and maybe some of the people that we have been supporting with help for long term medical bills as well.