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"The Messiah of the downtrodden"

The life of Very Rev. K.I.Philip Ramban is a saga of bringing hope and relief to
the downtrodden and the distressed.

66 years old Ramban (A title given to selected senior members of the priestly
order of the Orthodox Church of India- the oldest Christian Church based in
Kerala) belongs to St.Paul's BrotherHood which is active in humanitarian work
under the guidance of H.G.Geevargheses Mar Osthathios Metropolitan.
Born in a middle class agricultural family in a small village in Kerala,
Rambachen, as he is affectionately called, was from childhood attracted to
helping the lowly and the downtrodden. After completing his schooling he joined
the Mission Training Centre of the Orthodox Church and later on moved to
Puthuppady in Kerala to assist in establishing the St.Paul's Ashram and
balabhavan there. In 1958 he joined the Orthodox Seminary in Kottayam. After
completing his training there and after being ordained as a priest he worked for
several years in several parts of the country.

The major turning point in his life was his being assigned as the project
officer for the relief work in Andhra Pradesh in the aftermath of the killer
cyclone in 1977. He was instrumental in rebuilding 2 villages with the funds
provided by the Orthodox Church. The irony of this assignment was that by
accepting this assignment he spurned a scholarship for higher studies in Egypt
which would have helped him in going up in the church hierarchy. But then church
got a torchbearer for its work among the distressed and the downtrodden outside
Kerala.

With the money left over from the cyclone relief work the church allowed him to
start his pet project for children of the lower strata of the society. Thus came
the now famous Balagram at Yacharam near Hyderabad for healthy children of
leprosy patients. Started off in 1985 with 5 children Balagram is now a home for
over 100 children in the age group 3 to 15 years. Most of the children who left
Balagram are gainfully employed or are pursuing college education funded by
Balagram. The children are admitted irrespective of caste, creed or religion and
are provided food, shelter and education free of cost. Other institutions
followed, with the opening of Balikagram in Pune in 1993 (for daughters of
leprosy patients), Balagram in Itarsi in 1995 (for Sons of leprosy patients) and
Kalahandi Development Project in 1995 (for the development of Kalahandi District
of Orissa). The unique aspect of all these projects is that they are all funded
mainly by donations from individuals.

Balagram is now in the process of establishing a modern eye hospital at Yacharam
in partnership with L.V.Prasad Eye Institute to provide modern eye care at
affordable cost to the villagers around.

For his work among the downtrodden, he was awarded the Catholicate Award by the
Orthodox Church.

The super cyclone of 1999 brought Rambachen to Bhubaneswar. With no knowledge of
the local language but with his characteristic way of motivating people he
accomplished the task of building over 200 concrete houses for the cyclone
affected within a short span of around 13 months. In appreciation of the work
done under his leadership, the Orthodox Church was awarded a memento on the last
Republic Day by the Orissa State Government, one of the three institutions thus
rewarded by the Government.

Rambachen is now in Gujarat to see what could be done for quake affected there.
His plans for the future include a shelter for AIDS affected and a home for the
aged.

A great motivator and a believer in the good nature of the humans and who sets
an example by his punishing speed of work, you will find him bringing peace and
solace where there is misery and sorrow.

Balagram is celebrating its sixteenth anniversary on 4th march 2001.

-Reachout's News Bureau
March' 2001