WHAT WE DO
Defining new destinies.
Hope
Breaking through barriers created by society and circumstances, the Children's Home of Hope gives every child an opportunity to RISE UP, STAND STRONG, and FLY HIGH.
When the worst of life's disasters came upon Vetrichelvi and her two sisters more than ten years ago, the Children’s Home of Hope came to their aid. The three girls had been abandoned by their mother, had almost immediately lost their father and were left with no financial resources. That’s when the Children’s Home of Hope stepped in to give each of them a future of possibilities. Nurtured in the loving environment of the Home, two of the sisters went on to become nurses in reputed hospitals in Chennai, while the youngest is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Commerce.
The Children’s Home of Hope has been changing the destinies of children like Vetrichelvi for over forty years.
Nurturing Care
Every child at the Home is recognized as an individual with unique gifts and talents. The eight staff members who live with the children know their backgrounds and work to nurture their potential. Each child receives individual counseling and care.
The Home works with children like Kavita who was barely ten years old when her father murdered her mother and is now in prison. Or others like Rachel who in her 10 years at the Home has never had a single visitor. Thanks to the prayers and commitment of the staff, these children are recovering from the scars of the past and are encouraged to follow their passions. Kavita is one of our very talented dancers, and Rachel has graduated from the Home with a secure job.
Whether it is artistic talent or academic pursuits, each child is given the opportunity to grow. The younger children are educated in our in-house Nursery and Primary School. The older children go to a good school in the city. About 20 of the senior children are in college, one of whom is doing her M.Sc in Bio Tech. This is just the beginning of each one of them flying toward their dreams, culminating in job placements that make them self-reliant.
Shelter
CHOH was the first initiative in India to integrate healthy children of leprosy patients with orphan children and destitute children of single parents. We currently care for about 100 children, as young as 5 years old.
2013 saw the emerging of a new chapter in the history of CHOH, when a new building was constructed for the children. The new campus includes:
- Residential facilities with playground, nursery and primary school
- Computer lab and library
- Health care center.OUR STORY
It started with one woman reaching out to 10 children. Moved with compassion for children of leprosy patients, Mrs Lily Prabhakar, the wife of an IAS officer, started the orphanage in 1970 in a rented house in Chennai. Very soon she realized she needed to integrate these children with others so that they do not carry the stigma of 'children of leprosy patients'. She then started to take in other children as well; the Home now reaches out to orphans as well as destitute children of struggling single parents, especially those parents in poor health. Kudos to the team of housewives who worked alongside Mrs Prabhakar, when the odds were against them. Undaunted by the extremely limited finances, this dedicated team were determined and daring, giving their all for these hopeless children.
The Tamil Nadu State Government gifted land to the Home in Maduravoyal, on the outskirts of Chennai, and the main building was constructed in 1974. In 1995, the Tanya Nursery and Primary School was started on the premises of the Home. Here the children receive primary education, after which they are sent to local schools to continue their studies. A clinic and medical dispensary in a separate building on the campus were added in 1999.
In 2010 we started the process of re-constructing a new building for the children to meet the growing needs. As of February 2013, we have moved the children into this new facility, made possible by the generous donations of kind sponsors. Today, it is a new Home with a renewed passion to pursue the founding vision and achieve the many goals ahead of us.
Our grateful thanks to the untiring efforts of all the sponsors who have so generously supported the Home from the very inception. May God bless each one of you.
We look forward to new visionaries to take each child to their destined destination. The sky is the limit as the children are encouraged to dream, to breakthrough into unchartered areas.
BUILDING PROJECT
Building the new Home
THE KIDS
CONNECT
The Children's Home of Hope, located in Maduravoyal, Chennai, is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies - Registration Act 27 of 1975 (registered # 15/80).
CHOH address : 288, Poonamallee High Road, Maduravoyal, Chennai 600095
Phone
+91 9003230122
Email
info@
chohindia.org
