Community Hall Restoration and Reopening Funded by Cuomo Foundation

The renovated St Thomas Community Hall was officially reopened on 13th February, 2021. Located in Little Mount, in the district of Chennai, State of Tamil Nadu, the multi-purpose community centre is administered by the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore. The original had fallen into severe disrepair and was lacking in basic facilities and amenities. The remodelling and restoration of the hall was made entirely possible by Cuomo Foundation funding and, in recognition of this action, the dining hall has been renamed Maria Elena Cuomo Hall. 

Rev.Father Lawrence Raj, Rector and Parish Priest of Our Lady of Health in Little Mount administers the centre and invited the Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore the Most Rev Dr. George Antonysamy to inaugurate a blessing ceremony for the halls’ reopening.

The multi-purpose hall will host various civil events and community gatherings and generates an important source of income for the Archdiocese. An agreement of the restoration funding by the Cuomo Foundation was that a percentage of the halls future income would be allocated to a scholarship that funds research projects ‘orientated towards sustainable development’.

The Archdiocese of Madras -Mylapore has been a long-term partner of the Cuomo Foundation’s actions in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu. Since 2001, the Foundation has provided annual funding to support educational projects that the diocese administers in rural regions of Tamil Nadu and that directly benefit thousands of school age children.

The welcome speech by the Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore the Most Rev Dr. George Antonysamy