Pastor Reji creates smiles.

Pr Reji runs an NGO at New Panvel for HIV and AIDS affected children


Panvel resident Pastor Reji Thomas is a Christian priest, social worker, visionary and the founder of Bless Foundation, which is a special home for HIV and AIDS affected slum children.  At the age of 37 he has achieved what many only think about. Cityplus traces his journey through which he touched the lives of many.

My history
I was born in small village in Kerala called Vettiyar, My family belonged to a community, which strictly follows Christian principles. This background laid a strong foundation in my life and I am what I am because of this. At the age of 16, after I passed the 10th class, I decided to go to Mumbai. I was ambitious and was sure that this is the place for me.

Out of the ordinary
Mumbai was a welcoming city. With some difficulty I adjusted to the urban life. I found a job with a private company in Kurla and earned a living. After that from 1994 to 1998 I was an employee of Indian Railways. In the 10 years that I lived here, I was pretty much adjusted. I was doing well for my self. But something kept nagging me. I realised that this city had the worst social conditions. I found that the multi-cultured city is extremely divided in terms of economical, political and social status. Seeing the pathetic conditions of the poor and backward class touched my heart and changed my life. I changed. This experience paved the way for a new mission.
I decided to dedicate myself to serve these people. I thought the best way to do this is if I’m in touch of my spiritual self. So, I went back to Kerala to pursue theological studies. After three years, I came back to Mumbai as a Christian priest.
In 2001, I joined a rehabilitation centre called Seal Ashram, in Nere, which is a small village in Panvel. It is an organisation that helps socially backward individuals and attempts to bring them on par with other members of society. It was a great experience working at Seal Ashram. I learnt how to deal with some challenging cases. It was sad to see that even two and three-year-olds have so much sorrow in their hearts. I found happiness in nursing their inner wounds. I have learnt that I have so much to be thankful for.

The revelation
Living around Navi Mumbai I realised that there are very few organisations working for HIV or AIDS affected people. In fact, there was no organisation that helped children affect by this illness. That’s when I realised that I should take an initiative in this regard. And that’s how; along with a few other social activists I started Bless Foundation at New Panvel.
Bless Foundation is a rehabilitation centre, especially for slum children affected by HIV or AIDS. The home offers nutritional, medicinal, educational and spiritual support to these children. My wife, Mini Reji is also very helpful. She takes care of the medicinal and nutritional assistance given to the children.
We can’t change society overnight, but we can take small steps to make a better tomorrow. Children are the future and need guidance to lead them to a better path. This is what we aim to do at our NGO. Currently, there are about 17 children in our centre but want to accommodate more children and create many more smiles.

An appeal
I would like to tell everyone, if you share some time with people that are less fortunate, the satisfaction you get is greater than winning a lottery. Help them; they desperately need your fellowship.

--libin chacko