By Thomas Scaria
Bengaluru, October 4, 2026: Nearly 500 citizens under the leadership of a catholic priest celebrated the Gandhi Jayanthi – birth anniversary – October 2 in Bengaluru by pledging to build 50 homes for the homeless within an year.
“It was a dream of Mahatma Gandhi that everyone in India should have a home of their own as a basic right”, said Claretian Father George Kannanthanam, founders of Project Shelter, who organized the event.
The people’s movement started three years ago on a Gandhi Jayanthi day could complete 50 houses so far with the participation and contributions of the citizens.
The 50th house was handed over to a handicapped person and his family from Kannur at Kings Meadows in a function organized to also celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Project Shelter.
“Owning a house is everyone’s right, and those already owning a house has a social responsibility to ensure helping others achieve their dreams”, said Father Kannanthanam who was recently elected as the provincial of the Bangalore province of the Claretian congregation.
The program was started with a novel concept of sharing social responsibility with as less contribution as 1000 rupees ($10.38) per month which are pooled together to build houses at the total cost of 1 million rupees.
Several people pledged contributions for building the entire house, and some corporate sectors like Nayara petroleum offered to share their Corporate Social Responsibility funds to assist the program.
Alphons Kannanthanam, former federal minister and the elder brother of the Claretian priest handed over the key of the 50th house to a handicapped person in wheelchair, Toby and his family.
He said the project does not belonged to his brother but to the people who contribute to the project and the families who receive houses.
“In the present contexts of wars and violence, hatred and killings, these small little acts of helping each other give us hopes again and make us human”, said the former minister.
The participants of the gathering pledged resources to build more houses in the future.