A Visit to Grace Home – Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu
Welcome to Grace Home for Girls in the city of Nagercoil in the state of Tamil Nadu, at the very southern tip of India. It is situated on the grounds of Concordia Lutheran Seminary, and all the school-aged girls attend the Concordia Lutheran High School on the Seminary grounds.
Grace Home draws poor girls, orphans, semi-orphaned and destitute or abandoned children from villages surrounding Nagercoil. Some have experienced the death of one or both parents, some experienced desertion and rejection and some have families who are so poverty-stricken that they are unable to care for their children. Without The Bethania Foundation India TM’ intervention, possible outcomes may include prostitution, forced begging and labor and various other forms of abusive exploitation. The transition to the disciplined, structured life at Grace Home is sometimes difficult but made easier by the support and encouragement from the other girls who have had similar experiences. With the loving care of the staff and the daily provision of nutritious meals, health care and hygienic living, these girls soon flourish. They are full of energy and fun and also show great respect to the staff and to one another.
As you drive through the gates of the compound, you see it initially as a place of tranquility. The many mature trees, flowering bushes and vegetation are a refreshing reprieve from the heat and noise of the city. You will also notice the playground equipment, laundry hanging out to dry and the girls playing, picking fruit or watering the plants. Visitors are welcomed with an Indian Emblem, which is like a welcome mat. The home is a two-story U-shaped building with a small courtyard in the middle and open porches facing the courtyard on both levels. The girls’ bedrooms and an office run along the sides with the dining room at the base. The kitchen is located in a separate building in the back, where food is most often cooked on open fire pits. Upstairs are additional bedrooms, as well as the Otten Memorial chapel, a large classroom and the library. Were you to visit, the girls would be very excited to show you around. Their bedrooms, equipped with bunk beds and cubbies, are kept tidy and have a separate single bed for one of the women staff members who sleeps with them. Although there are sheepish smiles on the faces of those 11-12 year-old girls when you ask how they sleep on their beds that are piled with books and clothes, they admit they prefer keeping their things on the bed and sleeping on the floor mats in the usual Indian tradition. Gardens include tapioca trees, banana trees, mango trees, and jackfruit trees.
