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Grace Review – Recent News from the Grace Care Center

By James Mitchell

It's been three years since the devastating Asian tsunami crashed ashore in northeast Sri Lanka, further challenging a struggling, war-torn, impoverished region. In early 2008, the children of Grace Care Center honored the anniversary of the disaster while a nation returned to all-out civil war.

In January, a month that included the formal dissolution of the all-but-forgotten cease fire agreement of 2002, the Government of Sri Lanka stood firm in contention that the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam would be dissolved by year's end. Military tensions continued to blanket the small nation, growing from the July 2007 declaration that the government had again taken control of the Eastern Province, areas surrounding Grace Care Center's Trincomalee home.

The month also saw a group of Grace Home girls demonstrate their theatrical talents to more than just the usual audience of Mercy Home elders, staff and VeAhavta visitors: On elders and children's day, a Mrs. Muralidaran, Director of Social Service, visited Grace Care Center at the invitation of Rev. Gnanapragasam, Manager of Grace Care Center. Mrs. Muralidaran was quite taken by the dancing and acting talent she saw, and arranged for a trip to Colombo where the children performed on Shakthi TV, a program commemorating the Tsunami and recovery. Gnanapragasam said the children performed three dance recitals and a drama.

Off stage, Grace Care Center continued maintaining against an increasingly uncertain future. Currently, Grace Home includes 94 children, 43 elders at Mercy Home, 14 boarders included in the Vocational Training Center’s 85-students, and the day care program welcomes 49 little visitors daily to the seven-acre complex.
Staff and volunteers continue to explore educational and other partnerships with the Jesuit Academy managed by Father L. A. Lorio. Several of the older girls are enrolled in English lessons through the academy; a program for taking younger students (6-8 years old) for daily English tutorials is being discussed by Lorio, Gnanapragasam and Mercy Home Director Hiram Labrooy. Other considerations are being investigated with the recent establishment of Peace Home on Father Lorio’s property, an orphanage now housing more than a dozen boys recently displaced due to the conflict.

Gnanapragasam said that Grace Care Center's reputation continues to grow in the community, and that the facility – as with the other six orphanages in the immediate Trincomalee area – cannot meet the ongoing needs for more local services. The government, the people and local officials are aware of Grace and its mission, Gnanapragasam said, and they have great respect for its mission. (Respect that includes admiration for the girls’ theatrical skills.) The center's standing in the community is part of what helps the children through a difficult period.

"The country situation is very bad," Gnanapragasam said. "Problems exist outside of here, but it doesn't come in here directly. When people see the place, they thank us for operating it so nicely. The children have a future, and the elders have a place where they are protected and cared for. They just want a future life for the children."

Whenever possible, the orphan children of Grace Home help others in need. The Grace Church Youth Club a dozen girls 18 years old who engage in religious studies, visit struggling families in small villages away from Trincomalee proper. Last month, the young ladies spent Poya (full moon) day helping a widowed mother clear her property for planting a small garden.

Make sure to review "Images of Grace: A Photo-Journal of the Grace Care Center" to see photos of some of the events described above.

Grace Review | Profile in Grace | Images of Grace | Quoteworthy