The Ripple Effect – The Joy of Giving

“விதைத்தவன் உறங்கினாலும் விதைகள் உறங்குவதில்லை” –(Vidaithavan uranginaalum vidaigal uranguvathillai) – meaning “The one who sows the seed may sleep, but the seeds never do.”

In December 2024, we had a SAMVAAD session on the subject of ‘The Joy of Giving’, anchored by Mr. Bharath Natarajan, our Joint Secretary. He highlighted the ripple effect of even the smallest selfless acts and how they grow over time. The session was highly interactive, with participants encouraged to share examples of things they had witnessed growing from small beginnings into something much larger.

This sparked a stream of thoughts within me, as I tried to recall something I knew but could not fully grasp at that moment. Then, we had a special visitor, Mr. Ole Korva at Bala Mandir in January 2025, representing one of our biggest and oldest donors to date – the Braade Stiftung Trust. Yes, that was it – a perfect example of the ‘ripple effect’.

Our biggest blessings are often hidden in the tiniest things.

The story started in 1961.  Mr. V. Y. Gaitonde (Balu sir) first met Mr. Paul-Helge Mortensen (P-HM), when he came to India and took over L&T-ECC. Mr. Gaitonde had been forewarned about the new hard taskmaster at ECC. In the next few years, he discovered that P-HM was not only a straightforward, down to earth, no-nonsense person who only worked hard himself but also expected excellence from others as well.

Behind his tough exterior, P-HM had a warm and generous heart, an extremely soft side to his nature, which would melt at others’ suffering and would express itself as spontaneous, uncalculating generosity.

Mr. P-H Mortensen along with Mr. Preetham Singh, the Carpentry Foreman, personally set up the carpentry unit in Bala Mandir, with machinery, in an old shed, in 1965.  Subsequently, through his good offices, ECC got directly involved in the ‘70s with the construction of the dining hall, the first floor of the Infant and Toddler Block, and the German Hall. The first ripple had moved from P-HM to ECC. The second ripple, to his family. Initially, Gerda Mortensen spent time in the evenings with the children of BM and grew very fond of them. In 1975, P-HM had to leave India and went to Doha where he worked for almost a decade.

Later in 1985, he set up Braade-Stiftung – a Trust named after his village in Denmark and bequeathed his entire estate for the benefit of Bala Mandir children. The Members of the Trust were Ingelise Andersen, his daughter, and Jeanie Gaden Gerda Mortensen’s niece, both of whom had spent their teenage holidays with the Mortensens in Chennai and visited Bala Mandir regularly.

P-HM, as the head of ECC was keen to use his expertise and those of his colleagues in ECC to help Bala Mandir put up new buildings in place of old ones, as well as plan new projects that he supported. The first building funded by Braade Stiftung was the construction of the Boys Block, now used by BM MNC for Jivikam/AVK Academy under the name ‘Gerda Mortensen Block’. The next was Vidyalaya School and Creche, now utilised by MNC for its early intervention centre, both on Prakasam Road. He passed away however, before the inauguration of the ‘Vidyalaya’. In 1992-1993 onwards, his personal estate has supported Bala Mandir till date.

Apart from building construction – which is supported usually once in 3 to 4 years, there have been many infrastructure improvements for which the amounts were sanctioned, such as the laying of roads within the main campus, borewell installation, the mid-day meal shed for BMPS, etc. Today, most of the buildings at Bala Mandir bear the names associated with the Braade Stiftung, standing as a strong testament to the love and compassion shown by Mr. P-H Mortensen – Infant room, Store room, VTC– now Vidyalaya Building, BM Cultural Centre and presently, support for the new SMHS Building. The ripple of giving had even moved to Nagercoil where there are 2 buildings put up for the Bala Mandir Home.

The ripple moved to his extended family – daughter Ingelise Andersen and niece Jeanie Gaden, Patricia Tubog, his nurse and Michaela Hover, his god daughter and then to their husbands and children.

From 1985, the ripple of the joy of giving spread to the Management level of ECC – C. R. Ramakrishnan followed by A. Ramakrishna followed by K. V. Rangaswami till 2023 – all heads of L&T ECC played a proactive role as Trustees in the Bala Mandir Kamaraj Trust.

The involvement of his family and friends at a personal level included their yearly visits to Bala Mandir. Their extended support and involvement through friends and contacts in Denmark and Germany, continue and the ripples expanded, more recently to further contact with other philanthropists in Europe – who have and will extend help and support to Bala Mandir.

As quoted at the beginning of this blog, the seed sown by Mr. P-H. Mortensen continues to support children in difficult circumstances, even after his departure, and will do so for a lifetime. The legacy of Mr. P-H. Mortensen in the names of the buildings and the on-going work of the Braade Stiftung Trust, is a powerful reminder of how a single act of compassion can create a ripple effect, reaching countless lives and fostering positive change for generations to come. His vision continues to resonate, inspiring new waves of support and care for children in need.