Austrian Malayali donates family land in Kerala to help rebuild lives

Edathua: In a touching tribute to her late mother, Eliyamma Thomas, Vice President of the Austrian World Malayali Council and a native of Kelamangalam Green Villa, Thakazhi, has donated 22 cents of land at Chengaroor Chira in Kunnanthanam to help build homes for four deserving families.

The land, gifted to her by her mother Thresyamma two decades ago, had remained close to Eliyamma’s heart. Though she has lived in Austria for the past 40 years and rarely visited Kunnanthanam after her mother’s passing, the plot continued to hold deep sentimental value.

Over the years, many people had offered several lakhs to buy the land, but Eliyamma refused to sell it. Instead, she decided to turn her mother’s gift into a gesture of compassion. The plot was divided into four portions with a pathway through it, and she requested that it be allotted to four families in need of land to build their homes.

Responding to her wish, the Kunnanthanam panchayat identified four beneficiaries who had already received funds under the Rebuild Kerala Project but were unable to construct houses due to lack of land. The donated land has now been registered in their names.

The title deeds were formally handed over during a development meet organised by the Kunnanthanam panchayat. Eliyamma’s husband, K. A. Thomas, and their children, Pinky Tinoy and Dr Chinju Robin, were present at the function, witnessing what Eliyamma described as the “most meaningful way” to remember her mother.