Happy Family Mission is a noble scheme implemented with the vision of supporting a poor family by a happy family and making that family also a happy one. In this programme, adequate amount of grocery items will be provided to those families who cannot eke out their living for some genuine reasons; that is to say, the bread – winner of the family is either dead or becomes invalid. In other words, it is a scheme of helping starving families by providing the latter with necessary food materials at their houses at regular intervals. According to this programme, grocery for food will be supplied to such of the poor families which are not able to earn their daily food for want of any source of income. A happy family takes up the responsibility of providing the required food materials right at the doorstep of a poor family regularly every month. Only such families in which the head of the family is either dead or suffering from diseases will be selected. The supporting families themselves will see that these food materials reach the poor families regularly and systematically.

The mode of operation

The Social Worker after conducting a survey will identify the eligible poor families, who are finding it difficult to sustain their lives for want of food or any means of living. Simultaneously a happy family that is willing to support this poor family will also be located and identified. Thereafter the poor family will be introduced to the supporting family. The helping family will visit the poor family once in a month and make available to them the required food materials for a period of one month. If, for some reason, the food materials cannot be made available for a particular month, the liaison agency who is taking responsibility to do this will be kept informed, and they will arrange to continue the supply to that family by some other voluntary families. A monitoring committee under the leadership of a co-ordinator will be working on voluntary basis to oversee the smooth working of this mission. The selection of the poor family will be made regardless of any caste, creed or religion.

Visit – The Greatest help

Visiting a poor family is a greater help than providing food or food materials. For a poor family living in  utter distress with a feeling that there is no one to look after them or take any interest in their wellbeing, if visited by some other family, that itself will give them much relief, confidence and consolation. It will therefore be important, if a helping family visits the poor family accompanied, if possible, with their children. This will in turn open up avenues for the younger generation of the helping families to understand the sufferings, poverty etc., of the poor people and encourage them to lend a helping hand. This is also what our Lord had taught us. “I was sick and you visited me, I was hungry and you gave me food.” Visiting the orphans and widows in their trouble, according to the message in the Bible is the pure and undefiled religion before God. This mission is being chalked out in all seriousness by accepting the theory of our Guru, “whatever that has been done for these poor and needy are those done for me.”

Additional Support

Those who propose to provide help to the poor families in addition to the food materials can very well do so. Items like clothes, learning materials for the education of the children, containers for storing food materials, medicines (for those people who have to use it regularly), small items of furniture, etc can also be supplied. This is not compulsory at all.

Monitoring committee

A monitoring committee will function under the co-ordinator for the smooth and efficient functioning of the HAFAM. The benefactors as well as the beneficiaries of the mission can contact the members of the committee as well as the co-ordinator whenever necessary.

Vision of HAFAM

The vision of the GMI is to implement this programme in all the States in India through Christian churches, missionary organizations and other secular agencies and N.G.Os irrespective of any caste, creed or religion.

GUIDELINES FOR THE FAMILIES SUPPORTING THE POOR FAMILIES UNDER THE HAPPY FAMILY MISSION                             

1. The family benefitted (beneficiaries) shall be supplied with the required food materials not later than the fifth of the subsequent month.
2. It will be nice if the benefactors, along with their family members visit the families of the beneficiaries.
3. Likewise it will be better if the benefactors with their families spend some time with the families of the beneficiaries for prayers as well as conversation.
4. The support will presently be confined to a period of one year and this may be continued thereafter if considered necessary.
5. No other financial support need be given.
6. While visiting the families of the beneficiaries, besides food materials eatables like fruits or vegetables can also be taken, together with a packet of one morsel of meal to be eaten in their company.
7. A small prayer group can also be organized if the families visited are interested.
8. The beneficiary families need not be provided with the phone numbers, the address, and such other information about the families supporting them.
9. A monitoring committee under a co-ordinator will be set up for the smooth functioning of the mission and the committee will render all the assistance required for the benefactors.
10. The monitoring committee or the co-ordinator shall be duly kept informed in case the support for a particular month by the benefactor cannot be made for one reason or the other.
11. If it is found that the information furnished by any of the family of the beneficiaries is not true or if any family is found to be ineligible for the support the fact may be reported to the co-ordinator and another family will thereafter be selected for the support if necessary.
12. Frequent visits are to be avoided (other than once a month).
13. The family members belonging to the beneficiaries should not be subjected to any kind of exploitation.
14. The services of the family members benefited should not be sought or utilized either for household work or for any other service.
15. Except the specific consideration of supporting a poor family, there should not exist any sort of exploitation between both the parties.
16. The beneficiary family should be duly kept informed of the date of providing the support at their houses sufficiently in advance.
17. Medicines (for those who use it regularly), clothes, learning materials for the education of the children, etc., can also be supplied if the benefactors are so interested.
18. It will also be worthwhile to supply containers for storing the food materials like rice, condiments etc.
19. With a view to ensuring the help/support rendered to the poor families is not being misused by any agency, the benefactors will be provided with the help and assistance (only if required) of the monitoring committee consisting of local people and well-wishers of the Ashram Ministry.

MONITORING COMMITTEE OF HAFAM

Objectives

1. i) To monitor the working of the Happy Family Mission.
2. ii) To evaluate its working and take up necessary measures for the successful working of the programme.

 iii)   To undertake the required responsibilities.

Working and responsibilities

1. Find out eligible families for HAFAM.
2. Identify families capable of providing help to the poor.
3. Introduce the benefactor and beneficiary families to acquaint themselves each other.
4. Keep the required records for the HAFAM.
5. Keep others informed of the details of HAFAM and encourage them to become partners of the scheme.
6. Observe whether the support is being provided fully and regularly every month.
7. Find out volunteers for entrusting the responsibility of taking the support to the poor families, if any benefactor family is not able to provide support directly to the families of the beneficiaries at their houses.
8. Make arrangements for the meeting of families benefitted, once in six months.
9. Examine whether any of the poor families is subjected to exploitation and if so take up remedial measures.
10. Arrange seminars, workshops, meetings etc at different localities to make the people aware of the programme.
11. Find out individuals mainly local people and natives who are well wishers of this scheme.
12. Constitute area committees or groups (having well-wishers of the Ashram Ministry with similar view point). This arrangement is to ensure that the family which is being supported is not subjected to exploitation.
13. To evaluate, at regular intervals, the eligibility of the family being supported and to take suitable steps then and there.
14. By any reason, in case a benefactor family could not continue the support, a new family has to be located so that the poor family should not suffer even for a day in a month for want of food.
15. In case a family which is being supported is found to be ineligible for support, the help should be stopped forthwith and another poor family has to nominate for support.
16. This committee should hold its meetings at least once in three months and record the decisions taken thereon.
17. To take all the required arrangements for the smooth functioning of the HAFAM.