COIMBATORE: The jaded shelter home at RS Puram has sprung back to life, after two forlorn years. Inmates do not want to reminisce the isolation and loneliness they all endured as the pandemic stifled every little laughter and happy moment they were lucky to have pre-Covid. From the shelter windows, they peeped at the shut gates of the corporation school nearby, despondently.
With the government permitting offline classes again, students are back to school. The inmates of the shelter home, which is run jointly by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and the Eera Nenjam Trust, now wait for the 4 pm school bell, when the kids from the school rush to them for delicious evening snacks, and for help with their studies.
“The kids all live in the locality and hail from under-privileged backgrounds. Many of their parents are conservancy staff. They have to leave for work early in the morning and struggle to provide even breakfast for their children. So, the shelter inmates in 2018 decided to contribute a portion of their own food. Eventually, the elders also began to cook snacks for the kids,” says P Mahendran, Managing Trustee of the Era Nenjam Trust.
They also set up a ‘Neer Mor Pandhal’, a make-shift tent serving water and buttermilk, in front of their shelter for the passers-by to quench their thirst in the summer months. “Abandoned by their own families, the shelter inmates now consider the whole society as their family. Most of them are no stranger to the pangs of hunger, and so they want to feed everyone,” Mahendran says.
“The two years of Covid were an ordeal. But the kids are back now. We are cooking snacks for them and also helping them with studies whenever we can,” says a visibly-happy L Amirtham (71), a destitute woman who has been at the shelter home for the last five years.
Like Amirtham, around 80 people, mostly elders, stay at the shelter. Lakshmi Ammal (75) said, “Initially, we used to visit the school to provide snacks. Now, the children come to us. We feed them sundal, biscuits and other snacks along with coffee or tea. We hope to resume serving breakfast too for them. But we will need support from donors for that.”
Though the home is run by the municipal corporation, many people have heartily bonded with the inmates and come forward to donate groceries and other essentials. “Recently, we rescued a woman from the streets. Her family came to know about this and they contributed generously to our service. Donations to the home not only go towards food and medicines for the inmates, but also for feeding hungry school children,” Mahendran adds.
Speaking to TNIE, headmaster of the corporation school, Soundararajan, commended the inmates for their selfless service. “They now offer evening tea and snacks to Class-10 students who have to attend special classes. It is not just snacks that they are serving, it is lessons that the students would hold close to their heart for the rest of their lives. They are a great inspiration to all of us,” he says, with a smile.