About MBKG Pannai

Mudhiyor Balar Kudumba Grama Pannai, known in English as the Family Village Farm, was founded to provide a home for the homeless. It was started in 1969 by Dr. Pauline E. King,
who was working with the nursing staff of the Community Health Department of the Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore. 

By 1973, the number of needy became too great for her to accommodate them in her home. By God's grace, 7.5 acre of land was leased from the Church of South India approximately eleven kilometres from Vellore (150 km west of Chennai) in the village of Kasam, its current location.

Kasam means "spring" and thus is a fitting location for those seeking a new life. Since then, Pannai has opened its doors to orphans, single-parent children, destitute women and the elderly. Dr. King's dream was to bring together these three generations under one roof and fashion a proper Indian family with the love of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Sadly, Dr. King, who we call "Mummy," passed away on January 20, 2000. We celebrate her life every January and remember the light her work has brought to so many lives in the Pannai family. We pray that she has found eternal peace with our Lord.

Pannai currently has eight cottages, each housing 8-10 children, a mother who is a young widow, divorcee or desertee, and two grandparents. Children under the age of five reside in the nursery along with several mothers. Boys over the age of ten are transferred to the Boys' hostel located half a kilometre from the main campus. We currently accommodate approximately 45 children in the nursery, 98 in the cottages, 38 in Boys' Hostel, 10 mothers and 6 grandparents.

We also have two units to raise funds to support our ministry here at Pannai, and to give some of our children vocational training. They are: the Garment-Making Unit and the Bakery. Kindergarten to 10th Standard education is also provided at our own King's Matriculation School. Funds for capital projects, and child-sponsorship come through Global Ministries USA, Comenoi Italy, and Caruna Bal Vikas (Child Development Ministry), along with the kind blessings of private donors large and small.