Three children have been recently admitted to the House of Norma. Savio is a 15 year old boy suffering from HIV and is undergoing Anti-Retroviral Treatment. We have enrolled him into Shanti Niketan School and he will appear for this year’s 10th grade examinations. He is quite healthy and really active.
Shilpa, aged 8years, is suffering from severe Microcephaly. There is no specific treatment for this congenital defect and so Shilpa is totally dependent on the caretakers. Continous interaction with her has however improved her response to her caretakers.
3 years old Mohammad, suffering from Cerebral Palsy and mental disability, has recently picked up a throat infection. He was also suffering from convulsions and so we have admitted him to the Goa Medical College. After his condition stabilizes he will be brought back to us.
We are happy that in our short tenure since launch we have made a difference to the lives of these children. This has been possible due to the unstinted support and generous donations of our well wishers and friends.
We are especially grateful to M/s Thomas Cook for giving us a hearty donation of £4502 for purchasing the equipment at the Hospice, which make life easier for our dear patients.
It was a sweet moment of joy when our 12 bedded Hospice, “House of Norma”, was inaugurated at the hands of our Chief Guest Shri. Viswajit Rane, Health Minister of Goa on World Health Day, 7th April 2010, in the presence of Shri. Francis D’Souza, MLA Mapusa Constituency & Shri Pradeep Naik, Sarpanch of Assagao. Mel Huxtable, Chairman of El Shaddai UK Board of Trustees along with a few of our local & international supporters also graced the occasion with his presence. Shri. Viswajit Rane pledged his support to El Shaddai in all our future initiatives.
“House of Norma” will provide the much needed love, care, protection and dignity to children suffering from terminal and life threatening diseases. The hospice is well equipped and will be staffed by trained nurses round the clock. Using the support systems we already have in place, we will encourage the children to pursue education and bring a semblance of normalcy into their lives.
This ambitious project would not have been possible without the donations of our generous supporters and we, at El Shaddai, stand indebted to them. We are specially grateful to Mr. Christopher Hartnett, who sponsored the construction cost of the building. We look forward to the continued generosity of our supporters, as well as to the generosity of many more people, to sustain the running of the Children’s Hospice in the future.
The number of children contracting terminal diseases and illnesses is on the rise. If a family has a terminally ill child and does not have money for food, they are unable to see a doctor or buy the medicines…they just wait for the child to die as it is such a burden in an already desperate situation.
The cost to care for these unfortunate ones is high and compassionate people are difficult to find. The services for such children are scarce and inadequate in Goa.
El Shaddai Charitable Trust has a dream to make the lives of these children the finest possible. We have built The House of Norma for the terminally ill children in Goa where they will get the best care possible. Mr. Christopher Hartnet, who has a big heart for children, when he came to know of this noble project, immediately agreed to help pay for the construction of the building and so we have named it after his mother, Norma.
The hospice is nearly finished and will soon be running.
We intend to make it beautiful because we believe every child is entitled to a beautiful childhood no matter what the circumstances. The costs are great but the need is greater.
We need your help to stock and maintain this Hospice with the necessary equipment and medical supplies. We need to hire trained and skilled personnel in the medical field.
