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Grace Review – A Monthly Journal of the News from the Grace Care Center
By James A. Mitchell, VeAhavta Press Officer

September began – as so many months do in Sri Lanka – with hopes for peace in the aftermath of violence. The earliest days of August were scarred with casualties as the island nation appeared, again, on the brink of war.

Quietly, on Aug. 31, the Grace Care Center in Trincomalee marked the passage of four years since being established by VeAhavta. The children’s home welcomed the first of its resident girls to the promise of hope in a country with precious little after two decades of civil war.

The prospects for Sri Lanka’s future, four years later, offered little room for optimism. An estimated 200,000 people were displaced from their homes in the country’s north and east in the wake of August battles between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. International relief agencies called the environment a humanitarian crisis on par with that created by the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami.

At Grace Care Center, while the nation’s opposing combatants again made statements claiming to support a return to peace negotiations, the concerns were of a more personal, individual nature. Hiram Labrooy, director of the elder residence Mercy Home, reported the Sept. 1 passing of 67-year-old Anton Pushparajah, “A very nice elder … loved by all the staff and residents of Mercy Home,” Labrooy said. Anton had formed strong relationships with the residents and VeAhavta visitors, including California physical therapist Tom McLaughlin and Michigan Dr. Cheryl Huckins.

“I do not understand why God separates faithful relationships so soon,” Labrooy said, “and ignores the unfaithful relationships in this world.”

The memory of a departed friend lives in the heart of Mercy Home, as did two new residents who came to the compound soon after. Mercy Home opened in May 2005 and welcomed its first dozen residents, a community that now includes more than three dozen senior Sri Lankans able to live out their remaining days in peace.

The community of Grace Care Center was concerned last month when 11-year-old Darshala Mahendran, a friendly girl with an engaging smile and beautiful soul, was discovered to have a heart murmur. During a routine physical examination at Methodist Girls School (at which Tharshala said she would like to one day be a teacher of children), the problem was suspected but unable to be properly investigated given the limited resources there, or at Trincomalee General Hospital. Tharshala was transported to Colombo, in the company of Mercy Home staff member Vijay Shanthy as her guardian.

The little girl was found to have two holes in her loving heart. The operation cost approximately $3,000 (American), which was authorized by VeAhavta’s overseas agent, Rev. Dr. S. Jeyanesan.

Labrooy spoke with Tharshala on Sept. 16, who put a brave face on a frightening situation.

“She said to me, with a big smile, that she would like to become a teacher at the same school she studies,” Labrooy said. “Imagine if Tharshala was not at Grace Care Center. Will Tharshala get the opportunity to become what she wants in life? That will be the question.”

Labrooy thanked the efforts of Rev. S. Jeyanesan, VeAhavta President Eric Parkinson and the many volunteers who have given so generously of their time and efforts to Grace Care Center.

“If not for you,” Labrooy said, “We would have lost many wonderful children and elders who needed love and care.”

Grace Review | Meet Tharshala | Returning to Grace | Volunteer Profile