Sathya Ammayar Memorial Government Orphanage here will receive a ‘big’ gift this Deepavali from the Indian Overseas Bank Officers’ Association .
The association, with 260 members, has undertaken the task of renovating toilets and bathrooms in the orphanage for girls on an outlay of Rs.6 lakh. The renovated toilets and bathrooms will be handed over to the inmates as Deepavali gift at a function scheduled for October 19.
The home has 155 girls, aged between 6 and 17 years, studying in government schools in the city. “The toilets were in a bad shape. We wanted to provide a permanent facility that will be beneficial for the children in the long run,” says S. Veeraraghavan, joint general secretary of the association. The orphanage has two complexes of lavatories and bathrooms, comprising 10 units each, of which one is unusable.
“There is no water supply to the individual units. There is a tank inside the complex from which the girls fetch water in buckets,” says K. Anushya, Superintendent of the home. According to her, the bank association’s gesture will be very helpful for the inmates. Water pipelines, overhead tank and new sewage line will be provided during the restoration, say members of the association.
P. Dhamayanthi, warden, says donors have so far presented dresses and sweets for Deepavali. “This is a totally an unexpected gift, but something much needed,” she adds.
Women members from the association will visit the orphanage once a week to sensitise the students to personal hygiene, says Mr. Veeraraghavan. “We will monitor and ensure that the new toilets are well maintained,” he says.
Not the first timeS. Sridhar, another member, says the association provided storage facilities for the inmates last year. “For the past eight years, we have been taking part in Deepavali celebrations with underprivileged people with our families,” he says.
The members feel that by providing cleaner toilets, they will be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Clean India’ programme.
