Supporting India

Project in India since Tsunami in 2004

On 26 December 2004, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami devastated a broad region, killing 230,000, prompting a worldwide humanitarian response.

A call for help was received from Fr. Joseph Dominic Rosario Stevenson, a priest from Muttom, Tamil Nadu, in southern India, who has close connections with Malta and Gozo.

Through a joint commitment by the Malta Red Cross, the Rotary Club of Malta, and the Rotary Club of La Valette, Fr. Joseph was assisted in building the St. Joseph Home for boys, which accommodates 50 boys in Muttom, a village in the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu State, India. The children all had lost one or both parents in the tsunami.

After the completion of the Boys’ Home, the Rotary Club La Valette continued with humanitarian assistance and has also been helping in the development of this community.

Another home, St Mary’s, was built to accommodate 50 girls. To maintain a level standard of living, a sponsorship fund was set up by Rt. Matthew von Brockdorff aims to support the children at school by providing funds for uniforms, books, and one meal a day. Each Year, Matthew has managed to collect an average of €12,000. Another line of revenue is an annual sponsored club calendar that has also brought in an average of €7,000 a year for the last 10 years.

In 2014, new legislation came into place in India prohibiting males from operating a girl’s home. A new home had to be found for the girls. In early 2015, the Sisters of St. Francis Xavier Convent agreed to take in the girls from St Mary’s. The girls had no beds or mattresses, nor did they have tables and chairs, so studying and eating meals took place on the floor. With help from friends, we provided beds, mattresses, tables, chairs, refrigerators, wall fans, new toilets, water tanks, a refurbished kitchen, gas burners instead of unhealthy wood fire cookers, a communal bath, and general maintenance.

India is split into 28 states that together speak 23 different languages. In 2010, while Edward Fenech was President of RCLVM, Fr. Joseph Dominic Rosario Stevenson, as Chairman of the Stevenson Trust, proposed building a school under the Central Board of Secondary Education of India to provide English education from primary to secondary levels.

Fr. Joseph Dominic Rosario and the Stevens Trust donated the land for all the projects. After some deliberation, the decision was made to help build St. Joseph’s CBSE School in Manavalakurichi, near Muttom, a colossal undertaking and responsibility.

The school has a target of 2,000 pupils. It offers education at a reduced rate while also taking in a substantial number of students from less fortunate backgrounds, free of charge.

Through hard work, donations, and Rotary Foundation grants, we have managed to meet our targets Year in and Year out.

The quality of the education is also of interest to us, as we strongly believe in participating with the school in many areas. With a hands-on policy, Rotarians, family members, and friends have made visits to the school and homes, in some cases holding English and drama classes, as well as games and educational entertainment at the homes.

In recent years, Rt Edward Fenech initiated a Dyslexia Awareness programme not only at St Joseph’s CBSE School but also in other schools, colleges, and universities throughout Tamil Nadu. In 2015, the University of Malta sent an expert on Dyslexia for a week. In that week, we addressed just under 2,000 students and teachers.

In 2016, the first International Seminar on Dyslexia and Learning Difficulties was held from 8th to 9th April. This was the first of its kind and was well attended by numerous academics from Universities and Colleges not only from the state of Tamil Nadu but also from other states.

This was the beginning of a long and important road in a land with so much promise yet so many difficulties. Dyslexia should not be a disadvantage.

For this work in India, Rtn Edward Fenech has been presented by Rotary International with the Service Above Self Award, the highest award for a Rotarian. The University of Bangalore has also awarded him an Honoris Causa degree for his work related to Dyslexia and his interventions in favour of people with low incomes, lepers, and blind people during the COVID-19 period. This work Edward carried out with the help of Rotarians in India because, he says, ‘It is our duty as Rotarians to lend a hand to whoever is in need both in our respective communities but also to distant communities.’