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Journalism of Courage
Owning a house is often an elusive dream for many in a country like India. The same was true for P Raju and Sasikala, a middle-class couple and parents of a 20-year-old boy affected by cerebral palsy and who had lost another son previously, who owned a small 1,200 sq feet plot of land in north Bengaluru but did not have the money to construct their own house.
In 2023, the couple were introduced to Project Shelter, a new initiative started by Fr George Kannanthanam, a Catholic priest and social worker in Bengaluru, with the support of a group of businessmen and social activist friends.
“…we had a small piece of land but no money to construct a house for ourselves. We got introduced to Fr George Kannanthanam and the founders of Project Shelter. They said they will construct a house if we permit the building of four more houses for others from families having persons with disabilities. We agreed,” Sasikala recalled.
The foundation stone for the house named after the couple’s surviving son, Vishal, was laid in December 2023, and a fully constructed two-storey house to accommodate five families of persons with disabilities was completed and handed over to the families on August 15, 2024.
Among the other residents of the house that Raju and Sasikala facilitated through Project Shelter is the family of Ramesh and Shoba – with Ramesh, a painter, bedridden due to a damaged spinal cord after a fall; an elderly Kamalamma and her two adult children who were born with disabilities; Shreeniwas, an auto driver and widower, who has two children with mental illness; and Sheela, a single mother with a cerebral palsy-affected child.
The efforts for the construction of a home for Raju, Sasikala and Vishal in 2023 by Fr Kannanthanam, with the help of 1,000 donors donating Rs 1,000 each, laid the foundation and inspired the creation of Project Shelter, which turned two years old on October 2, 2025.
The Vishal home, built for five families of the disabled in Bengaluru in 2023 by Project Shelter, is modern and has good amenities.
“This is beyond our expectations. I hope Project Shelter will continue to support the families of persons with disabilities in having their own homes,” said Sasikala.
Over the last two years, Project Shelter has built 30 homes for the poor – Karnataka (6), Kerala (21), Assam (1), Tamil Nadu (1), and Andhra Pradesh (1) using a public contribution and donation model of Rs 1,000 each from 1,000 individuals.
The beneficiaries are 12 families with persons having disabilities, five with terminal illness cases, 10 families of widows, and three families who were victims of natural disasters.
In its first year, Project Shelter targeted the building of one house per month and built 10 houses – including the Vishal home in Bengaluru. While in its second year, the project aimed at constructing two houses per month and built 20 houses, said Fr Kannanthanam. “The aim is to build a house every day across India,” he added.
The homes being constructed by Project Shelter are built on land donated by people or owned by people who are unable to construct homes.
“For me, a house is an identity and not just a place to live in. A place to call your own helps people live in dignity.
“Homelessness is a significant challenge facing humanity. Currently, one billion people around the world lack access to safe housing. In fact, one in six persons in urban areas live in slums, which affects their health, safety and dignity,” said Fr Kannanthanam.
“We have proved again that with public partnership, anything is possible. When creative minds bring together compassionate hearts, great social changes are made possible,” Fr Kannanthanam said in a message on the second anniversary of Project Shelter on October 2.
As of September 25, Project Shelter had generated an income of Rs 3.5 crore from donations and incurred a total expenditure of Rs 3.2 crore in constructing the 30 houses for 100 persons.
According to Fr Kannanthanam – who is credited with transforming the Sumanahalli Society in Bengaluru over the last 30 years from a home for leprosy patients to a centre for rehabilitating alcoholics, drug addicts, destitutes and homeless, to providing vocational training for locals in the textile industry – Project Shelter is a result of his experiences.
A Master’s degree holder in social work and a Doctorate in sociology, Fr Kannanthanam is the author of a book, The Empty Nest, on the rehabilitation model for leprosy patients.
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