Sr Mary Theodore Health Centre
The new Health Centre will replace the original administration building now lying derelict from monsoons and floods. It will house Mithra’s allied health services – physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy, dental care, dispensary and a doctor’s surgery. This new complex will free up valuable space in the school, creating capacity for new enrolments and giving even more children from the slums of Chennai the opportunities and care they so desperately need. The fundraising goal is $350,000.
Assisted Living Centre (2020)
Once the Girls’ new Dormitories are built, the old ones need to be demolished and landfill brought in to prevent further flooding in this area. A number of the original children have grown to young adulthood, but because of the severity of their disabilities, they cannot live independently and their parents find it difficult to manage with them at home. Mithra provides them good care, but is in great need of a dedicated centre to provide long-term professional care for these young people. An Assisted Living Centre is proposed to be located on the site of the Girls’ old dormitory. It will be conveniently located near the Dining Hall and the Boys’ dormitory.
Covered Learning Area (COLA) / Remediate flood damage (2021)
COLA
The new Covered Learning Area is a multi-purpose facility. It will provide the children with a urgently needed area for a whole range of activities, not least a covered play area out of the sun and the rain. Children will no longer need to crawl on uneven and sandy surfaces which cause calluses on their hands and knees. This will give the children a level play area for wheelchairs, ball games, tricycles, skate boards and peddle cars. It will also provide a venue for concerts and dancing. It will also provide a bigger space for art projects. The old auditorium which provided so many of these activities and wonderful memories in years past, stands derelict from two major floods and is in urgent need of replacement.
Flood damage
In December 2015 Chennai was hit by the worst floods in 100 years. But because one side of Mithra’s land is very low lying, even moderately heavy monsoons inundate the property. Key buildings have been destroyed and need to be demolished. Landfill needs to be bought in and a comprehensive drainage system built with a grassy swale to provide stormwater detention during monsoons. All this is urgently required before new buildings can be safely built. Some of the old buildings for demolition have asbestos roofs which will add to the cost of demolition.
Our fundraising goal is a draft estimate only and a more accurate figure will be available when detailed design work is completed.
Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible in Australia. Friends of MITHRA Incorporated is an ATO approved Deductible Gift Recipient, and a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, authorised to raise funds in all states and territories of Australia. ABN 49 234 263 806