Thrissur: Teacher couple, Santi David and Liji Santi, has been on a mission to serve the poor.
Treading on a slightly different path of philanthropy, they have religiously followed a routine for the last 21 years. They keep apart a month's salary every year to take destitute children and elders on tours.
In a single trip, they take along 100 students and elders. While on the trip, they're loaded with sumptuous food and gifts. Cultural programmes are also arranged.
Students lay out the entire itinerary of the tour. The duo comes to the doorstep of the orphanage with a tourist bus and the rest is left to the wishes of the inhabitants.
Santi David, hailing from Chittilappilly, joined Edakkazhiyur Seethi Sahib School in 1997. From the year 2000, when he got his first salary, he started arranging this trip. It was in the same year that Liji, a teacher of the Choondal LIG High School became the life partner of Santi.
`It all happened when I went to Savio Home for Children, Manakodi to share my joy when I got a salary for the first time. Sister Linett, my aunt, said she didn't want any contribution. She asked me to just take the residents to Thrissur for a trip. I took them to the exhibition ground of the Thrissur Pooram. The then Thiruvambady Devaswom office-bearer Prof.Madhavan Kutty gave us all the help. From there, we began a long journey along with residents of various orphanages. Places of visit changed from VeegaLand to Dream World, from Silver Storm to Fantasy Park, and from Flora Fantasia to Raja Resort. The residents of Pullazhi Chiristina Home, Thrissur St. Annes and Kozhinjampara Rehabilitation Centre attended such trips,'' says Santi.
A team of volunteers led by C.F.John, Sreenath, Dalvin, Joshy, Reji Killimangalam, Santhosh Chacko and Neena Francis forms part of the trip. In addition, the teacher couple gets the support of their three children, Sharon, an MBBS student, Sandra Clair, a Plus-2 student, and Siyon Santi, a Class 5 student. They also have the full backing of their colleagues, the management and alumni members of the Seethi Sahib High School.
FAVOURITE TEACHER TAKEN FOR FOREIGN TRIPS
Santi David, who takes scores of children for trips inside Kerala, had been taken for foreign trips many times by the alumni of members of Edakkazhiyur School. His disciples, many of whom he had helped during school days, would arrange everything for him, from tickets to stay. He had already gone to places like Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Doha. He was about to leave for Bahrain when the coronavirus struck worldwide. Interesting enough, some of his students, who work in the fishing sector, took him on a deep sea voyage.
THE HOME THAT SERVES RICE FOR POOR
At the time of shifting their life to a new house in 2005, the couple made a new resolution that they would distribute rice to the poor and the needy every month. With the help of the then Tholur gram panchayat member Thomas, they identified 40 beneficiaries. Even now, they give a total of two quintals of rice every month to the very needy people. On the first day of every month, the rice distribution takes place from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
IN SEARCH OF NEEDY IN COVID TIMES
Now, Santi and his wife focussed on those who had lost their livelihood due to the COVID-19 catastrophe. The two teachers are at the forefront of helping many school children hit by the pandemic crisis. As per the request of the alumni, they distributed rice and vegetable kits to needy people at Tamil Nadu's Gudalur, a town bordering Kerala. Now, their aim is to distribute study tools for the needy children at Gudalur. Even if they spend it from their pockets for such initiatives, they would give the credit to the sponsors. Otherwise those who sought help would not receive it, thinking that it would be a money loss for them.
EXPERIENCES THAT LIVE FOREVER
The couple cherishes many wonderful moments about how people from other walks of life support their initiatives. Once, they took more than 100 students to Jayasree theatre in Guruvayur. When they entered the theatre after taking the ticket, a stranger called him outside the theatre lobby and forcefully gave him the full ticket charges. During the interval, all students were given ice creams and other snacks.
"On another occasion, while coming back from a long trip, one of my colleagues requested us to get down at her house at Changaramkulam. When we reached her home, an entire village was awaiting us. From panchayat members to important personalities and from neighbours to relatives, all were awaiting our arrival. A big `pandal' was erected at the entrance of the house and there was a festival atmosphere. We were given a sumptuous meal. It showed the kind of care that society gave to orphans,'' says Santi .
In the same way, he remembers the hospitality showered on his tour team when they visited Raja Resorts, Chettuva. "We just asked for permission to visit the place. But the resort MD and wife came and received us. We were taken for a wonderful ride in a houseboat. Such memories never fade away," Santi adds.
FAMILY OF TEACHERS
Santi David and Liji Santi hail from teachers' families. The 49-year-old Santi was the elder son of C.V.Devassy, retired principal of Parappur ITC, and Muttikkal Clara of Edakalathur. Liji's father George was a teacher at Anjangadi School while her mother Lilly was headmistress at Guruvayur AUP School. His ancestral `Tharuthu' family at Chittilappilly has contributed almost 43 teachers, belonging to two different generations.
