Media Release

Kasargod, Sep 28: For the past 15 years, the Snehalaya Charitable Trust has been dedicated to establishing an Ashram for individuals with mental illnesses near Pavoor in Manjeshwar. The organization has provided them with shelter, medical care, and rehabilitation, successfully assisting more than 1,300 residents. With government recognition and public praise, the services rendered by the organization have become well-known.

Now, Snehalaya is addressing a new social challenge: addiction. The organization is taking a significant step to combat this issue by creating an ‘Addiction-Free Society’. This initiative will focus on providing care, treatment, and rehabilitation for all types of addiction, which is increasingly affecting youth, adolescents, and women, and causing societal harm.

The new Snehalaya De-addiction Center will be inaugurated on October 2 at 9:30 am at the Snehalaya Institute, Bachalike. Michael D Souza, Indian non-resident entrepreneur from Dubai, will officially open the center, Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, bishop of Mangalore diocese, will bless the center. Deepak Valerian Tauro, assistant dean of Delhi diocese will be present as the chief guest.

The keynote addresses will be delivered by Vijayalakshmi Shibaruru, renowned journalist and Atmadas Yami, multi-religious sage.

Additional speakers include U T Khader, Speaker, government of Karnataka, A K M Ashrafah, MLA, Manjeshwar, Kunhambhu, MLA, Uduma and Walter Nandalike, founder of Daijiworld media.

More than 50 distinguished guests, over 100 donors, and thousands of spectators, fans, and well-wishers are expected to be present at the significant event.

Snehalaya’s Journey

August 26, 2009, is St Mother Teresa's 99th birthday. Had she lived then, she would have entered the century of life. Although Mother Teresa, who left this world with a remarkable service to humanity that has been shining for centuries, passed away, the Snehalaya organization was started in Mangaluru on her 99th birthday. The Snehalaya organization has completed 15 successful years following the ideals and inspiration of Mother Teresa.

On that day, Joseph Crasta, an ordinary auto driver in Mangaluru, saw two homeless people lying like orphans by the side of the city’s main road. His heart raced. He placed both brothers in his auto and brought them to his house. He fed them, shaved them, and gave them a good bath. He administered first aid to their injuries. These brothers did not belong to his religion or town. The smile on their faces and the way they reacted made him feel fulfilled inside. Coincidentally, knowing that it was Mother Teresa's birthday, he felt that this act of kindness was divinely inspired. He was convinced that God had provided him with this motivation and opportunity.

The initiative ‘Rome was not built in a day’ began in 2006 after Joseph’s acts of service. While Joseph was standing in a queue near the fish market in his auto, a truck loaded with fish caused ice to melt and flow into a nearby canal. He saw a mentally ill woman starving and drinking the dirty, unclean water. When he saw her pitiful condition, the words from the Holy Bible echoed in his mind: "I am hungry, have you given me anything to eat?"

Joseph immediately rushed to a nearby hotel, bought food for her, and gave her a bottle of clean water to drink. The sparkle in her eyes, the smile on her face, and the satisfaction she felt were like experiencing God himself.

Since then, Joseph began providing mid-day meals to people who collected food from garbage and dustbins. He started by sacrificing his lunch of Rs 100. This small effort resulted in providing meals to around 40 people every day, continuing until 2009.

Meanwhile, he noticed that many patients he saw on the streets were without proper care, and many wounded individuals needed special attention. These individuals were taken from the streets of Mangaluru and admitted to various social institutions. When these institutions became overcrowded, it became necessary to find an alternative system for rehabilitating the destitute, the helpless, the mentally ill, and the lost vagrants. Refugee children and many runaway children were presented to the then competent ‘D K District Child Welfare Committee’ and were easily rehabilitated. However, when there was no accommodation for men and women, Joseph decided to develop the house where he had initially cared for the two brothers. This house was named ‘Snehalaya’.

Just five days before he was to bring the two brothers home, Joseph received his share of his father's property. With this, he bought 21 cents of land with an already built house.

Snehalaya is a shelter of hope for the mentally ill, neglected, destitute, and elderly. ‘Snehalaya’ is a loving home where individuals are united by emotional bonds irrespective of caste, creed, and religion. It has enough facilities for 300 residents in a three-bedroom independent house, with more than 800 of whom have been reunited with their families by 2023 for a happy life across India.

From a common man rescuing two mentally challenged individuals, the journey started from a three-room rented house, saving 1,600 homeless people from the streets, and sending more than 1,300 residents back to their homes. Today, it is a haven for 300 residents. The separate systems for men and women, and the rehabilitation of more than 1,300 residents who have been cared for here, along with the challenging task of locating their original homes and reuniting them with their families, have been made possible through the blessings of God, the cooperation of donors, and the dedicated efforts of the staff.

Today, Snehalaya Charitable Trust is at the forefront of the service sector through various programs. The projects undertaken in the last 15 years include: 

1. Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Center for Men (2009): The Snehalaya Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Center is a model facility in Kasargod district. Hundreds of awards have been given for the service provided by this center. Currently, 300 mentally ill refugees are being provided with healthy food, medical assistance, and treatment activities.
2. Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Home for Women (2019): A facility with special amenities for women was inaugurated on January 26, 2019. It currently serves as a treatment center for 90 homeless women with mental and social issues.
3. Free Mid-Day Meal for Patient Attendants – ‘MANNA’: Since 2015, a free mid-day meal has been provided to 700 people every day at Wenlock District Government Hospital, Mangaluru, under the name ‘Snehalaya Manna’, for patient attendants and hungry people, without fail, under any circumstances.
   
   

   4. Other Social Programmes/Services:

   • Free ambulance service for socio-economically backward families, for hospitalizing patients and transporting deceased bodies for cremation.
   • More than 3,000 food kits were distributed to poor families, transgender individuals, HIV-affected people, and sex workers in remote areas during COVID-19. Arrangements for health and necessary transportation were also provided.
   • Relief camps were organized during the Kerala floods, Coorg landslides, and lockdown periods, among other emergencies.
   • Workers from North Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and other parts of North India, who were stranded at state borders due to lockdowns, were provided with free, healthy food prepared in Snehalaya’s kitchen at the Talapady border (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for 15 days.
   • During the COVID-19 pandemic, houses were built for 16 families in dire need in Dakshina Kannada and Kasargod districts with the support of donors and local contributions.
   • Subsidies were provided for over 100 poor students for higher education. Additionally, various programs of social concern have been conducted, including World AIDS Day, World Mental Health Day, World Harmony Day, and national festivals.
   • The number of visits to the institute has exceeded 15,000, and 8-10 students do their internships every year.
   • The book ‘A Man with a Mission’, published about the organization and its founders, has been selected for the graduation course of BCA students at Mangalore University. This English-language publication is a notable initiative of the publishing house.