|
The Pamella Martinez Pathway Agrofarm for Children was auspiciously inaugurated, on January 2nd, 2001, praise the Lord, give him thanks and glory for all that he has been doing from the very beginning for our children. The location is a very picturesque one, and the name of the village is Agili, in Maduranthakam Taluk of Kancheepuram District. English language cannot spell the sweet name properly, and named after a Goddess as per local story Our site is off the road to Vandavasi, a name the English people of those days were hard put to pronounce, and they called it Wandiwash, which was quite ridiculous, and it was here that they decisively defeated the French. Our guide spoke of Robert Clive, the English problem boy who was brought to Madras and turned into a genius of irregular warfare, how he ruined Dupleix, etc. War raged for seven years till de Bussy was pummelled at the very spot of our Pamella Martinez Agro-Farm where we were standing and conversing. Chetan Prasad confirmed from his thorough knowledge of Indian History whatever the guide was reporting. He even quoted from his school history text by historian Percival: "The English had more competent subordinates and were better at working together; though less attractive to the Indians than the French they in fact handled them better…" It was somewhat puzzling. From there we made a leap in our minds down to the next historic moment, namely the present. The Inauguration of the Pamella Martinez Agro Farm for Children was indeed a very memorable event. The entire farm appeared to have spruced up for the occasion, there was a great hustle and bustle in the air as tens of volunteers and workers were running in great speed and expectation led by Shanth Jain and his entire family who had specially travelled all the way from Bangalore to assist and give a helping hand in the entire organisation of this highly momentous event. There were hundreds of things which needed attention, there were small and big details to be looked at. Shanth with his customary dedication to small details was choreographing a large group of workers who were busy fitting the large stage or a dais which would ultimately hold the VIPs.All requirements, such as back drop of the stage, floral decorations every where with beautifully sculptured letters were all finding their place on the back drop, all the letters were glittering. The floor of the stage was being covered with matching carpet and chairs with an appropriate centre table was placed and to top it, a very attractive flower vase was placed. Shanth was now busy advising the electrical men in placing the microphones, the speakers, fixing of focus lights and many other things.All this efforts summed up to a great finish, as the lights were on the entire place resembled a fairy land with glittering lights all over the large and small trees, twinkling like thousands of stars in the sky. The welcome cascade with flowing water with jingling musical tones made a very special presence in the very beginning. The rockery and plants selected and lights to focus the entire thing gave a great feeling to an onlooker. The water fountain added colour and freshness to the entire farm. Lots of efforts and plenty of work was at hand for the entire night, there was no eyes which closed and there were nobody who slept. Each of the staff quarters needed attention, each inch of these areas needed perfect cleaning for there were many insects and bugs who were creating a great anxiety for they wanted to occupy every available inch. Chetan joined Shanth and his family in arranging all the furniture in the various quarters which would be the resting place of all the VIPs. The New Year day had a special significance, it heralded a great beginning in the annals of Pathway as well as in the service of the needy. Pathway in Chennai was already bustling with great amount of excitement and activity, with all the children and staff getting ready to join the Christmas programme which was specially organised to fit this time.There were angles who had already arrived at the portals of Pathway. Our great supporter and advocate Judge William Sheffield had arrived along with his beautiful daughter Jessie who was a great blessing with bustling energy. There arrived Mr Jean Luc and his wonderful wife Mrs Carole Butel,they were accompanied with their great children BJ and Talei. Jean-Lucs and Sheffield's joined in the various activities of the day, they wanted to assist in every thing, such as, arranging hundreds of gifts to be given to children, to the staff and to various other people who were listed out. All the gifts were packed in colourful gift wrappers with great love and care.Hours of hard work which was laced with lots of fun helped complete many tasks, all the children who were getting ready for the Christmas pageant were busy in their make-up. Jessie, BJ and Katie were assisting in this great work and they also gave a helping hand in the decoration of the stage. Babu brought the public address system along with colourful serial lights which decorated the entire building and also colourful focus lights which would give special impact to all that which was slated to be conducted on the stage. The Christmas pageant was a great success as always
All of the children, staff, many parents and invitees reached the venue with great expectation. As hundreds of people were gathering at the venue like the sands of the sea, there descended angles in full glory, Mr Alex Martinez and Mrs Pamela Martinez the key donors of the farm, Mr William Benac Jr, son of Mr William Benac.Sr arrived to join the festivities. Mr. Brian, handsome son-in-law of our good Judge and a budding lawyer, and Mr. And Mrs. Daltons too joined the celebrations. There were over 3000 people who had gathered to witness the inauguration of the Agro Farm ,all the invitees were seated in the specially erected "Shamiana" facing the stage.There were a large turn out of press, the TV and the All India Radio who had travelled miles to be present for this occasion. Hon'ble Shri R Venkataraman, former President of India who was invited to deliver the key note address was received with great warmth, affection and honour, by Prasad Chandra and Ruby. Judge William Sheffield received the former President with great love and he was introduced to all the dignitaries, such as Mr Alex Martinez, Mrs Pamella Martinez, Mr Jean -Luc and Mrs Carole Butel, Mr Willaim Benac,Jr, Mr Vikas Shirodkar, Vice-President Johnson and Johnson Ltd and others. The glittering and colourful inaugural ceremony was initiated with an opening prayer to the Lord thanking Him for his generous and bountiful blessings. Hon'ble Shri. R. Venkataraman, former President of India, in his inaugural address, reminded all of us about our mission: TO OFFER COMPREHENSIVE CARE TO AS MANY CHILDREN AS OUR FACILITY CAN ACCOMMODATE, REGARDLESS OF RACE OR RELIGION. We will help them to develop their skills and self-esteem to become productive and efficient individuals at the service of their fellowmen. The mission will be surely accomplished, thanks to the dedication of everyone working in Pathway. The former President complimented Pathway for its success in opening yet another centre of excellence to serve the needy children of India. He said service to the disabled and to the destitutes was a real service to God and he thanked all the donors for their munificence and generosity. He described his previous visits to Pathway and mentioned about the organisation's services to children. The former President of India lit the traditional lamp to mark the inauguration of the new facility, he was joined by the other dignitaries in this act of delivering 'light from darkness'. President Shri R Venkataraman later walked down the blessed streets of the farm and cut the ribbon to mark the inauguration of the facility.
their untring work and also conveyed his grateful thanks to Mr and Mrs Martinez for their generous help. He also thanked Jean-Lucs, Benacs and many others who had come forward to contribute to this great work. The meeting was addressed by Mr Alex Martinez and Mrs Pamella Martinez, in their speech , they underlined the role played by Judge Sheffield in making all this possible and said that they were glad to be a part of this and grateful to the Lord for the opportunity granted to them to serve the children in this part of the world. They hoped that the Agro-Farm would grow as a high class model institution serving children in all ways. Gratitude and joy was expressed by Mr Jean-Luc and Mrs Carole Butel who have been steady supporters of Pathway for many years. They expressed their satisfaction and happiness with the achievements they have witnessed and promised their further support in this righteous work. Mr Vikas Shirdokar, Vice-President (HR) Johnson & Johnson Ltd, who came all the way from Mumbai expressed his happiness to be a part of the whole thing and said that he would do his best in getting some assistance from his company to extend the work of the farm. Earlier Prasad
welcomed the gathering and conveyed gratitude on behalf of himself
and Pathway to each and every donor by name, and supporters for
their kindness and munificence. He described the mission statement
and also spoke on the present work of Pathway. He gave a brief
outline regarding the work which would be done at the Agro-Farm
Prasad thanked the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and its Foundation and The Latter-day Saint's Charities
for their generous assistance, he also conveyed his grateful thanks
to President Gordon B.Hinckley for his great help, message
of best wishes and blessings on this occasion. Mrs Ruby Ponniah
proposed a vote of thanks. The event came to an end with the singing
of National Anthem. |
|
Article1
|
| For More Issues Click Here |