Catherine Hope Center – Catherinehopefoundation

Catherine Hope Center for Community Welfare – Ennore, Chennai

Ennore is a neighbourhood in Chennai located in Tiruvallur, home to a strategic port named Kamarajar Port. It has a population of around 25,000 people with a majority of them belonging to the fishing community. This area is bereft of basic infrastructure, water supply, sanitation, public services and access to health care. Falling literacy levels, the prevalence of early marriages, declining income from fishing activity, seeking non-fishing jobs, increasing level of alcoholism, and high tobacco use has been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, these communities are socially, economically and educationally disadvantaged. This calls for specific interventions aimed at the development of the fishing communities. Read More

Catherine Hope Foundation (CHF) opened the Catherine Hope Center on August 1st, 2021 to empower the differently-abled, poor children, widows and vulnerable women from Ennore and Ernavur.

The Center at present holds tuition for children who have had a long gap in education due to various reasons such as the lack of smartphones/ gadgets to attend online classes, books, and money to pay the fees. Most of them have forgotten how to read, write, and have also picked up certain bad habits from the streets as they were idle through the day. Being moved by their condition and concerned for the children, we started taking tuition for all subjects for them. We have volunteers and three full-time staff to take care of the children at the Center.

We aim to aid in the holistic development of children. Hence, apart from handling tuition for mainstream subjects; we have compulsory reading time, spoken English lessons, interactive educational games, counselling, music classes, and other interesting tasks such as the Change Ambassadors Program (click here to know more) that instil a sense of responsibility to help their community.

The Center also aims to help the differently-abled community in the area. We have and will continue to identify the specific needs of the individuals and provide the required help to uplift their living conditions. Our priority is to first help them receive the disability certificate from the Government to avail themselves of the benefits.

What we inferred from our data by speaking to them is that they require a stable source of income to be financially independent. Some of them have requested help for opening small shops, and mobility services to aid their transportation needs. Some of them struggle with doing the basic tasks in their day-to-day routines, due to the challenges they face with their disability. So, we identify their need and provide them with crutches, and prosthetic aids to better their living standards. We also want to conduct systematic occupational therapy and physiotherapy through trained staff and medical staff for the differently-abled. The Center will also look to develop the necessary skills to empower and support their lives. The Center will further widen its scope to help widows, vulnerable women and young women from the area, by opening a daycare and providing vocational training in various skills for them to be able to contribute to their family income. Continue to support our mission, ‘Build multifaceted platforms enabling people from all walks of life to live life to its fullest.’

Music Class

Children at Catherine Hope Center are now being introduced to the World of Music Read More

Computer Training

We are now introducing our children and staff to the ever-evolving world of technology. Read More

Parent Teacher Meeting

Our very first Parent-Teacher Meeting! Heartwarming and interactive parents expressed their gratitude for providing their children with such an incredible opportunity. They celebrated the improved lives of their kids with joyous testimonials. Scroll ahead to know more! Read More

First Anniversary Celebration of CHC

The first anniversary of Catherine Hope Center was celebrated with great enthusiasm as our team took our children on an adventurous excursion on 13th August, 2022. They were all very excited during the entire journey as they were singing songs, performing fun activities, learning, expanding their knowledge, and so much more. Read More

Computer Classes at CHC

We successfully completed the very first 3-month certificate course of computer training organised by CHF for the senior kids at our Center in Ennore. The computer course began on 1st May, 2022 in partnership with Ryde Foundation, who provided us with the best mentors to teach the children. Read More

Celshiya’s Story

Eunice Celshiya, a final year M.Com student was born and brought up in a lower-middle-class family in Ernavur, Chennai. Her father is a security guard in an organization, her mother is a homemaker, and she has one younger brother. In spite of her parents’ financial difficulties, they gave a good education to both of their children. She was a bright student and top-rank holder since childhood and studied with scholarship until her Masters.Read More

Infosys Team Visit to CHC

On September 24th, 2022 a team from Infosys comprising of senior staff visited our children as part of their CSR at our Community Welfare Center in Ennore. Our staff and children were extremely thrilled and happy to have them come all the way from South Chennai to spend quality time with them. Read More

Teachers Day Celebration at CHC

September 5th, 2022 was an exciting day at our Community Welfare Center, Ennore. For a whole year, the teachers have taught them meticulously with so much love and care. They have invested in them and have inspired them to dream big. It was now the children’s turn to show love and gratitude towards their teachers for all that they have received from them. Read More