Kochi: A 55-year-old grandmother, Alice, at Kumarakom in Kottayam has been saviour of her three grandchildren, abandoned by their parents.

Keeping aside all her illness and poverty, Alice has been looking after the children for the last five years.

She does not have an own cover from rain and sunlight and lives in a small hut on a two cents of land owned by a religious organisation. Life becomes miserable during monsoon when the hut would leak heavily from all as sides.

The plight of Alice came to the notice of Binu heading a women’s self-help group in Kumarakom.

She used the social media to highlight the plight of Alice. Responding to the post, a good Samaritan from Changanassery provided a waterproof sheet to cover the rooftop of her house.

People soon came forward to help her and got a Christian institution in Mavelikkara to take care of the education of the two girls of the three grandchildren Sujitha, 13, and Sruthy, 12,. The youngest Surya, 7, is being looked after by Alice as she does not want to leave her grandmother.

Surya goes to St Peters LP School in Kumarakam while Alice does small works in the school to support her grandchildren.

It was five years ago that her son-in-law Suresh left her daughter Sini, Binu told The Covai Post. He is said to have left unable to bear the tantrums of Sini over Suresh’s attachment to his first wife and children.

It was without knowing that Suresh was already married that Sini tied the knot with him over 14 years ago. On coming to know about Suresh’s past, Sini used to constantly fight with him, finally making him walk out of the house.

Sini, in between,came into acquaintance with a small trader who she finally married and stays with him and their child. Binu says she accidentally come to know about Alice and her efforts to save the grandmother and children has started tasting success.

Alice has enrolled herself in a shelter project under Life Mission of Kumarakom panchayat and is eagerly looking forward to getting a safe house to live in.