We had lost hope: Angelo’s mother overjoyed as 4-year-old hears through Mammootty’s 'Kaathodu Kathoram’

Kochi: Four-year-old Angelo looked quite confused when he heard an unfamiliar voice speaking to him. The voice announced itself, ‘Mone Angelo. This is Mammootty, who acts in films, and you see on screen. Study well, grow up to be smart, young boy,” said Mammootty. At first, Angelo didn’t understand, but soon he pointed excitedly at the screen where he saw Mammootty’s face. It was a moment of pure joy.

“We were overjoyed. And it felt even more special because Angelo got to hear Mammootty’s voice first,” Angelo’s mother, Ansha, told Onmanorama. Jaison and Ansha, who are farmers from Chemmannar in Idukki, had lost all hope before the project ‘Kathodu Kathoram’ opened ways for them a few months ago.

“Angelo was a very active kid and he would even speak a few words, so we never noticed anything wrong, till a year and a half when we started seeing some differences. We approached a few doctors and hospitals, but they were of the opinion that he was past three years old, and it was quite impossible to take the corrective measures. We were really devastated and even lost all hope till we saw an advertisement regarding the project Kaathodu Kathoram. We reached out to the project coordinator and the team soon started following up with us,” said Ansha, sharing that she met Dr Rajesh Raju George of Rajagiri Hospital, who sat down with them and spoke about the possibilities of Angelo's hearing.

“We are still not sure if he was born without hearing ability or if it was a disability that happened after a few years. But this cochlear implant has renewed our hope,” she said.

Ansha says Angelo’s elder sister was in tears when she saw Angelo’s reaction on hearing Mammootty’s voice. “She was crying the entire time. After that, she started saying she wanted to see Mammookka in real life,” Ansha told Onmanorama.

Angelo’s journey, along with the hospital's efforts, is only halfway complete. “The implant surgery was conducted a month ago. The doctors were waiting for his wounds to heal before switching on the cochlear implant today. Now, the next step is bringing him in for regular therapy sessions so he can begin recognising and identifying the words we say to him," Ansha said.

Angelo is the first beneficiary of Mammootty’s Kaathodu Kathoram scheme, which is aimed at helping children from financially backward families get a chance at hearing.

While each cochlear implant surgery costs ₹12 crore, a project like ‘Kaathodu Kathoram’ will definitely help young children find their way back to life. According to Rajagiri Hospital officials, there are three children who are currently in the pre-test stage for the surgery.