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Torch - a NGO |Photo: Alisha D' Souza
Mangalore: On March 28th, twenty-five children and five adults headed by Fr. Joy from Sneha Sadan along with members of The Torch went to see the Jumbo Circus, a two hour entertainment and comedy show specially organised for the children at Karavali Grounds, Mangalore. The Torch is an NGO organization, headed by students of St. Joseph’s College, Mangalore.
As part of their activities, the members took the children between the age group of 12-15 years to the circus. These children reside in Sneha Sadan, a social service organisation located near Kaikamba, Mangalore where adults and kids suffering from AIDS have found a home. Presently, there are about fifty patients within the institution. Preetam Winston D’souza, organiser of the event said, “These children barely have the next few years to live. They have come from all spheres of life, some abandoned, and others with their families who suffer with them in this deadly disease. Yet I spent the day with a noisy, chirpy group of children, who were as excited as a kid should be, and who gave us organisers a good challenge in keeping them together!” The children were taken by bus, were provided snacks and profusely expressed their gratitude on having a fantastic day in their mundane lives. Fr. Joy commented, "I was taken up by the way the entire trip was organized for our kids. Thank you so much."
Officially registered on 17th April, 2008, the Torch is an effort towards “Lighting up Lives”, as their motto suggests. One of the upcoming features they are trying to involve people is wherein the interested members can contribute one rupee a day, which implies that in a year they collect Rs.365 from every contributor. Hopefully, the organization can find ways to touch more lives in the future, and influence more people to join in this venture.
Sub-edited by Sara Mohd Siddiqui
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