Introduction

Every program has a beginning.

For some, it starts with data. For others, with a grant.

But for us, ROOF began with a wedding — and a cry from a bedridden father.

It wasn’t a cry of joy. It was the sound of helplessness — of a man who had lived too long without the dignity of a toilet.

This is the story of that day — and how it laid the first brick for ROOF, our sanitation and shelter initiative.

💊 The Family We Knew Through Shamanam

Under our Shamanam Free Medicine Support Program, we regularly supported a family on the Kerala coast.

The father was bedridden — too weak to stand, yet mentally strong and deeply bonded to his daughter, who was his full-time caregiver.

She managed everything — medicine, meals, bathing — quietly and with love.

One day, we received an invitation from him for her wedding.

We were touched. We had only been their medicine providers, yet they welcomed us like family.

So we went — with joy in our hearts, thinking we were about to witness a happy milestone.

💔 A Cry That Changed Everything

When we reached their modest home, something felt off.

The father, instead of smiling, was crying.

We gently asked him why — wasn’t this supposed to be a proud, happy day?

He hesitated, then spoke.

Not of the cost, not of fear — but of shame.

“We don’t have a toilet. I am bedridden. We… we use plastic bags. And my daughter… she takes them out every day and disposes of them quietly.”

His voice broke.

“After her marriage… what will I do?”

That one question changed us forever.

🧱 The Birth of ROOF

That night, we sat together — disturbed, humbled, and determined.

We realized something brutal and simple:

• If a man can’t access a toilet, his entire dignity collapses.

• If a daughter has to carry plastic bags of waste for her father, then our medicine alone isn’t healing anything.

We had to go beyond bandages.

We had to build walls, roofs, and doors.

And that’s how ROOF was born — not as a plan, but as a response to a cry no one else heard.

🛠 What ROOF Builds

• 🧱 Toilets for families without access to sanitation

• 🏠 Shelter homes (650–700 sq. ft.) for the homeless and marginalised

• 💧 Dignity in daily life — one unit at a time

Today, over 440 toilets and 15 homes later, we still carry that father’s story with us.

Every structure we build is a response to that moment.

📸 Image Placeholder: Portrait or illustration of the story (symbolic)

🙌 You Can Help Carry the Brick Forward

🧱 Sponsor a Toilet – ₹45,000

🏠 Support a Shelter Home – ₹4,00,000

🔨 Donate Materials or Labor

🤝 Engage your CSR wing in community sanitation

🔗 Contribute to ROOF →

Closing Note

This isn’t just about toilets.

It’s about the right to dignity, even in silence, even in sickness.

ROOF stands because one man cried — and we listened.

Let’s keep building for those who still suffer in silence.