The incidence of a case of HIV/AIDS in a parish was a wake up call to the Church. Accordingly, as envisioned by Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius Episcopa, (the Bishop then in charge of Trivandrum Diocese of the Mar Thoma Church) Snehatheeram, (meaning Coast of Compassion) was formed to address this issue in 2000. The organisation operates from Manjalumoodu and it serves the target group without discrimination of caste or religion.

Any social welfare programme in its infancy necessarily needs extra care and support for survival: Snehatheeram is no exception.

The increasing demand on its services make the infrastructure available at present inadequate . More space for accommodating the services, staff, medicines etc. as well as a vehicle cum ambulance for serving the clients are the needs of the hour.

Setting up the Children's Village at Mezhacodu is a more uphill challenge to Snehatheeram as it needs more money and other resources.

We are sure we will be able to overcome these challenges with the help of like minded people.