Dear Friends,
Tomorrow, October 12, marks 20 years since we started this journey...
It all started with a very simple thought - could we do something together, however small, to help someone in need?
The name A Tiny Step... itself was inspired by something very simple from Mother Teresa:
“Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
I think that thought has been at the heart of this journey all these years. We never set out to do anything big. It was simply about doing whatever little we could, with whatever we had, for someone who needed help.
I still remember the role Sr. Rosemary played in giving that initial thought the encouragement and direction it needed. She was a real inspiration to us and also became our trusted source for identifying genuine cases where we could help in the early days...
What started with a small core group contributing a little every month slowly grew... more friends joined, more people started contributing, and as the requests increased, so did the willingness of people to step forward and help.
Out of curiosity, I recently took an export of the full blog content and ran a few basic analytics... just to see what the last 20 years looked like in terms of numbers, timelines and some of the key initiatives.
It was quite interesting to look back at it this way. We hardly documented anything in the first few years, so the numbers below are only high-level, approximate figures...
A few numbers from the journey
Looking back, we estimate that approximately ₹64 lakh has gone towards various forms of support over these 20 years - through one-time assistance as well as ongoing initiatives, reaching 150+ families and individuals, along with several schools and community institutions.
One-time & emergency assistance - approximately ₹43-45 lakh
- 2006-2013 - ~₹3-4 lakh: Early medical and education assistance, including significant medical fundraising and support for children's education.
- 2014-2016 - ~₹3-4 lakh: Medical, education and individual family support.
- 2017 - ~₹11-12 lakh: Several significant medical interventions, including bone-marrow transplant-related fundraising, kidney-related medical support and a one-time intervention to support a friend's daughter. This was also the beginning of a three-year initiative (2017-2019) providing books, school kits and educational support to children living with HIV through Snehadaan, Karamalaram.
- 2018 - ~₹9-10 lakh: Kerala flood relief and rehabilitation, including rebuilding homes, household essentials, school support and other community needs, along with several one-time initiatives for Akashaparavakal (Friends of Birds of the Year).
- 2019 - ~₹4-5 lakh: Continued flood rehabilitation, housing and medical assistance, the third year of the Snehadaan initiative, and other individual emergency needs.
- 2020-2021 - ~₹7-8 lakh: COVID-related assistance, including oxygen, medicines, laptops/tablets for children's education, housing and other emergency support.
- 2022-2026 - ~₹4 lakh: Education and school support, including laptops, desktops, books and school resources, along with medical, livelihood and other one-time assistance.
Recurring / ongoing initiatives - approximately ₹19 lakh so far
- 2019-ongoing - Akashaparavakal: Monthly, and at times fortnightly, lunch for around 40 people, along with monthly birthday celebrations - approximately ₹7.84 lakh so far.
- 2022-ongoing - Anugraha School Boarding, Bidar: Educational and boarding support for 20-25 children - approximately ₹6.8 lakh so far.
- Dec 2024-ongoing - Matha High School, Mannampetta, Thrissur: Monthly grocery-kit support for around 25-30 children/families - approximately ₹4.3 lakh so far.
- Oct 2026-ongoing - St. Joseph's High School, Veluppadam, Thrissur: Monthly grocery-kit support for 15 children/families.
This is definitely not about the numbers... This is simply a thank-you to everyone who has been part of this journey - whether you contributed regularly or occasionally, helped identify a genuine case, made a connection, coordinated with people on the ground, visited families and institutions, sometimes multiple times, helped with detailed background checks, had countless discussions before deciding how best to help, coordinated the actual support, kept track of the accounts, or simply encouraged the effort...!!
Here's hoping that this tiny step continues for another 20 years and beyond !!
With heartfelt gratitude,
- pulicken
“If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” - Mother Teresa
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