Thiruvananthapuram: As many as eleven youngsters from the US and Canada who are set to conclude their two-week-long visit to parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu on Sunday termed their trip to the country as “an eye-opening and humbling” experience.
All 11 students, with Indian roots but having grown up in North America, were travelling as part of the Mar Thoma Church – Diocese of North America and Europe’s annual India Mission trip which this year made it to the two south Indian states. “I have been to India before, but my lifestyle during those family trips were the same as it was back home. But, during the last few days, we visited people who did not have as much as us who shared their concerns with us,” said Sarah Mathew, one of the students, on Saturday.
During their journey, the group led by George Mathai and Mariamma Abraham visited various churches, charities, old age homes, orphanages and de-addiction centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pollachi and Madathukulam among others. “Every year,the church selects a group of college and university students for the trip. Meeting the less fortunate, we expect them to understand how fortunate they are to have the comforts they experience on a daily basis,” said Mariamma, a nurse based in Philadelphia.
“Back home in Canada, I had a lot of material possessions and I was detracting from my faith. But what I saw during this visit was people who have no money and no home but had plenty of faith which in a way makes them richer than any of us,” said Shawn Kurian, a medical student from Hamilton, reported The New Indian Express.
Along with Sarah and Shawn, Naveen John, Shilpa Abraham, Ashwin Cherian, Abhijith Cherian, Michael Sam, Renuka Abraham, Sneha George, Shawn Varghese and Nithin Jacob, who are pursuing their studies in topics ranging from biology, chemical engineering, business and sports medicine, are in the touring group this year.
Apart from the India mission — the final leg of which stopped at the Juhanon Mar Thoma Study Centre at Mannanthala on Saturday, the diocese also runs the Mexico mission, Native American mission, and the neighbourhood mission.