When 12-year-old Kevin Renjith walked up to Kunchacko Boban during an Operation Toofan event in Alappuzha, he simply did what came naturally to him. He smiled, reached out and showered the actor with kisses.

Kunchacko, visibly moved, struggled to hold back his tears. The video soon spread across social media, with many touched by the boy’s uninhibited affection. But there was another person in the frame who caught people’s attention.

Standing close to Kevin, in the blue robes of a nun beneath an Operation Toofan T-shirt, was Sister Mary Linda. She watched with a smile as Kevin expressed the affection he is known for.

“Kevin is a precious child. Years ago, I used to carry a child named Snehamol on my hip. When I lost her, I was shattered. I feel this boy is a child given to me by God to heal me, like my own child. His love and affection have no limits,” Sister Linda, who has cared for Kevin since 2021, told Onmanorama.

Kevin, who has a learning disability, is the eldest of three children. He returns home about once a month but spends most of his time at Santhwan Special School in Alappuzha's Vellakkinar, where Sister Linda cares for him. And just as he did with Kunchacko, Kevin is generous with his kisses when it comes to her.

“I joined the Church at the age of 15 in the late 1980s. Over the years, I worked as a teacher and principal in schools in North India, including Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana, before coming back to Kerala. The church began this institution in 2007 with me in mind. I have not looked back since, despite several other ventures opening up. I love being with my children,” she said.

Run by the Diocese of Alappuzha for children with special needs, the institution opened with 24 students. Today, 112 children study there.

A calling that began with a kiss
Sister Linda’s decision to devote her life to children, however, dates back much further. It began with a kiss from Mother Teresa.

“I was the eldest of three children in my family. My father was a newspaper agent in Manakkodam. He did not buy us the popular magazines of the time. He would bring home books and publications he thought were worth reading. But one day he brought me a book on Mother Teresa’s life,” she said.

A seventh-grader then, little Linda never imagined that she would one day meet Mother Teresa herself. When Mother Teresa visited Kerala, she got a chance to meet her through Bishop Peter Michael Chenaparampil, her neighbour at the time.

“My mother told the Bishop that I had read books about her, and he conveyed the message to Mother. She held my face close and gave me a kiss. Even now, it feels surreal. That’s when I decided that this was the path for me,” Sister Linda recalls.

A school built around its children
Santhwan has grown from 24 children in 2007 to 112 today, almost half of them residential students. Nine trained teachers work full-time at the school. A physiotherapist, speech therapist, yoga teacher and physical training instructor also provide part-time services.

The school groups children according to their developmental levels, including Care Group, Pre-Primary, Primary, Secondary, Pre-Vocational and Vocational groups.

“A 20-year-old may have the developmental age of a much younger child. So the teachers assess each child and place them accordingly. Mainstreaming is what we aim for,” said Sister Linda.

“Some of the former students have gone on to work outside the institution. While one former student who had no family to support him now works at a hospital, others have taken up different jobs,” she says proudly.

Kevin joined Santhwan in 2021. After watching his films and attending programmes featuring the actor, the child soon developed a particular fondness for Kunchacko. Whenever Santhwan screened films for the children on its projector, Kevin would light up at the sight of the actor on screen.

So when Sister Linda heard about the Operation Toofan event, she had one small wish: she wanted Kevin to present a flower to his favourite actor. And eventually, she managed to get Kevin there.

“Kevin rushed to Kunchacko Boban when he sat in the audience and showered the actor with his affection. The felicitation came afterwards. We were worried if the boy could give the actor the flower in the manner the Student Police Cadets were trained. With both hands, without touching anyone on stage, and with a salute- the instructions went. But my boy executed it beautifully. Kunchacko saluted him back. It was priceless,” said an ecstatic Sister Linda.

“We later visited the actor’s house at his request. It was a dream come true for my child,” she added.

According to Sister Linda, people are often willing to donate food for the children, but there is less support for the other expenses involved in running and developing the institution.

“But after all these years, I am happy that people are finally getting to know about the school through the children themselves. Mothers always wish for good things to come through their children,” she added.