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| Sister Tessy, Aaswaas |
The power of compassionate words - either written or spoken - can kindle the spirits of a drooping heart that has lost interest in continuing the worldly existence. That is what Sister Tessy and her team have been doing since 2003. They have been penning empathetic letters to those who have lost their near and dear ones in accidents.
It was a news story that she read in March 2003 that set the trend of Sister’s acts of kindness. A 17-member group on a pilgrimage to Velankanni had met with a road accident and died. It had converted Don, a young boy into an orphan overnight. Sister Tessy could not forget the news and so she wrote to Don after a few days. And later he became an intimate member of Aaswaas, the organization that Sister and her team began.
Aaswaas initially writes to the unfortunate ones two weeks after the tragedy, when most of the relatives would have gone back from the house of mourning. If there is a reply, then the Sisters visit them. They also organize get-together of such persons twice a year and provide counseling too.
The novel idea of writing to the relatives of accident victims has been appreciated by their congregation. The team shares among themselves the jobs like collecting stories from obituary page of newspapers, writing to the needy, arranging counseling etc.
“During four years, we have been able to write to 2000 families. Accidents are on the increase. And so such acts have significance,” says Sister Tessy.
Courtesy:
Ranjith Nair (text), Abrid Shine (photo), Vanitha, December 15-31, 2007
Contributed by: Administrator
