Many are called but few will answer. Problems are arising in different parts of the world where people need to step in where things are lacking. Harold and Judy Cook have stepped in and picked up the slack of helping an orphanage in India.
Judy says about her feelings toward the orphanage, “It feels satisfying to know you’re making a difference. What got me is the little kids. I can’t imagine what goes through their head living on the streets at 6 and 7 years old.”
For almost 20 years, the Cooks have been traveling to India on short-term mission trips. What amazes them when visiting is the number of people. With the population being four times more than the United States, it is common for citizens to be homeless and on the streets or in “blue tarp” encampments.
When the Cooks visit, they go to the city of Hyderabad with millions of people, which is also the place of the orphanage they assist. Judy Shelter Orphan Children Home is the result of a number of years of discussions and planning by TJR Sudhakar and the Cooks.
Sudhakar grew up in that orphanage, which was run by his father T. Charles. In 1980, the home was established and at times there would be upward of 300 children in three different places.
Sadly in 1984, the government stopped supporting the home, making T. Charles the only means of support and he turned to borrowing money and raising funds. The home went down to 43 children in 1988 while T. Charles was knee deep in dept. During that time, an American missionary agreed to support 14 children that later turned to 35 children. The spots filled up fast with children still on the list.
Sudhakar’s father passed away in 1989 from a heart attack and left his family of seven children and 43 orphans in major debt. The family had to turn over all its property except the family home to creditors.
Luckily, the American missionary supported Sudhakar and his mother, T. Annama Charles, with the rest of the family to continue the orphanage. Slowly the missionary started to cut down the amount of support each year until 2010 when all support was gone.
The Cooks visited the family many times and worked faithfully with Sudhakar in evangelism efforts. During one visit, the Cooks were shown construction of a new building which would become the home to Annama Charles and soon to be the new children’s home.
On another visit around 2011, the Cooks dedicated the building. For the next couple of years the plan was to start back up the children’s home, but financial problems stood in the way. With the help of the Cooks, the building is now debt free.
The Cooks had no idea they would name the Judy Shelter Orphan Children Home after them, which made it more special. They have limited funds which limits the number of children.
On their latest visit to India, they made the financial commitment to support 25 children. The home quickly reached that number, but there is still a long list of kids waiting to be accepted.
At 76 years old, Annama and her son Sudhakar, along with his wife, are still doing great work in organizing and running the home. Sudhakar works also as a preacher and director of the Berea School of Preaching.
Children at the home have already gone through tough times and this shelter has provided a better life. Some of the children have gone through parent’s deaths, abandonment, natural disasters and prostitution.
The members of the Church of Christ at Unity where Harold Cook preaches have been majorly supportive of this mission work. They have given money to purchase bunk beds, mattresses, pillows and sheets for the children. Before the church’s help, the children were sleeping on mats on the floor. They also donate money to purchase clothes for the children and staff so they can “dress up” on occasions such as church.
Recently, the church has provided funds for the purchase of uniforms, shoes, books, backpacks and other school supplies for the upcoming school year. Eight of the members at Unity have sponsored individual children which involves a commitment of $25 a month per child. This will also help with the costs of running the shelter.
The Cook family says it’s looking for sponsors for the remaining 17 children. “We can also use one-time contributions to help cover expenses for improvements and upgrades to the building, furnishings and play items,” said Harold.
For more information, call the Cooks at 931-635-2811 or follow the children’s home on Facebook under the name of Judy Shelter.
