Navajeevan Trust Kottayam

Searching for an innovative way of spiritual orientation, St.Mary's MSO Youth Vienna visited Navajeevan Trust at Kottayam, Kerala on............................... and made an interview with P.U.Thomas, the founder, and many of his collegues and volanteers. It provided us a golden chance to part take in their miracullous ministry of the social service following the words of Jesus Christ and helped us to broaden our vision of spirituality itself.

Navajeevan, word means „New Life“, is a place for the destitute and mentally challenged, and provides food, clothing and accomodation for the same and also supports the patients who are too poor to affort their hospital expenses. The Navajeevan Trust has been founded in 1990 and P.U. Thomas, a Class IV attendant of the Kottayam Medical College, is the founder and the main trustee of the trust.

PU Thomas

Thomas is the eldest son of Oani and Annamma and has been working as an attender in the Kottayam Medical College . He understood the pathetic condition of the poor and the helpless in the Medical College when he was admitted there with a severe abdominal pain when he was 18 years old. Later he became an attender in the Medical college and it paved the way for him to serve the poor, needy and sick people. P.U. Thomas himself narrates the origin and development of his ministry as follows: "If I get a job in a medical college, I can do a lot of good things to the poor. This was my prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. From 1970 January onwards I have been going to the hospital to visit and nurse the sick. I experienced the encouragements and help from the medical students as a God-send right to me even from the beginning. Till 1980 my service was only a one-man effort. I got a great inspiration from Dr Kalyani, Pharmacology Professor, and from her prayer-filled life and zeal to help the poor. After confirming my job there in 1980, I began to nurse the sick in Ward II where the biggest number of accident-cases were registered . I did this service not only during my duty time but when I was on off-duty also. When this became a part of my routine, some began to criticise me on the one hand, others started to support my work. And several people came forward offering meals for distributing among the helpless".

Food Ministry Then P.U.Thomas decided to distribute free food-packets in the evening at the Medical college Campus and many were attracted by this great humanitarian act of feeding the helpless and poor patients. Generous helpers came forward offering their service and encouraging his work. A good number of ready youngsters like Anup Panjikaran, Regimon, Saji etc., soon became available and it helped a lot to grow the free feeding project. Instead of collecting food from different quarters, they introduced a cash-pooling-system and began to prepare food for distributing among the patients and their relatives. Today they cooks all the food in the Navajeevan Kichen and feeds about 1600 patients and their relatives at the three major hospitals of Kottayam (the medical college hospital, the TB centre at the Kottayam District Hospital, and the Children's Hospital) at free of cost.

Navajeevan Bhavan Navajeevan Bhavan at Panambalam, (Villunni PO, Kottayam - 686 008) near to Kottayam Town is both the head Office of the Navajeevan Trust and a destitute home for about 500 mantally challenged patients of both genders. They provide food, shelter, clothing, care and medication to these patients. Some of them have to be locked behind bars during most of the day. The transformation of them after becoming the inmates of the Navajeevan is really amazing. Since 1982 more than 500 people have passed through its portals and re-entered the mundane life and world of daily routine after having recovered here. Volenteers It will be a great surprise to all of us to hear that the staff of Navajeen is only five or six and the rest are volunteers coming from different institutions for a week or ten days. This institution needs about 40 volunteers per day to run its daily functions. We can experience there the selfless service of the nurses, doctors, dentists, priests, deacons, and the normal men and women. Navajeevan Culture

The service style of the Navajeevan has inspired many of the people in South India and not fewer than 27 institutions following this „Navajeevan Culture“ were started in Kerala itself. The life and service of the Navajeevan is the way of communicating its mesage to others and the trust do not favour any other methods of publicity. "My desire is that Navjivan should wade through debts, difficulties and the providence of God," says Thomas. That is why, he politely declined to accept the offer of 75 lakhs of a Canadian Professor and proclaimes his firm belief that the Holy Spirit of God and not a bank balance is the greatest treasure in the world.

Cost Structure

This trust is running neither on donation from Govt, nor religious bodies, nor with foreign aid, but on the contribution of the general public. Navajeevan needs about 63000 Rs per day to meet its expenses

In Navjeevan office , the donors for a month are mentioned on a simple blackboard in separate columns for breakfast ( Rs 1500), lunch (Rs 1500), for dinner at Medical college hospital (Rs 2000), dinner at children hospital ( Rs 1000), dinner at district hospital (Rs 1000) dinner at Navjeevan Bhavan (Rs 1000) . Expenses on food is Rs 8000/- per day, the rest are expenses on medicines etc.

Prayer is power

In Navjivan Bhavan, we will experience no anxiety about the morrow. Today's prayer for tomorrow's needs is its accepted life-style. The throbbing nerve-centre of Navjivan is nothing but the spacious prayer hall and the regular prayer service and in which people ranging from three-year-olds to the aged support the house and its services through their intercessory prayers.

Thomas firmly believes that it is the Spiritual Renewal sweeping the state that has been instrumental for the change in society and for infusing the spirit of service in the people. Navjivan gives more importance to service than to organisation of committees. The workers of Navjivan consider works of mercy as a prayer service not as social service. Conclusion As our society comprises of the poor and the needy people, who deserve our help in every walks of life, the mission perspectives of the Navajeevan trust is greatly valid and a need of the time. To know their great service, to encourage such activities and to follow their examples in our life is nothing but obeying the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ „ to love your neighbour as yourself“.(St.Mark 12:31)