By Prema Chowallur
Guwahati, April 18, 2020: A large number religious women is in the forefront of the Catholic Church’s humanitarian works among those affected by the nationwide lockdown.
Amrat Talitha Kum India, or just Amrat, is one of the largest networks of women religious engaged in anti-human trafficking activities. It has members from 76 women religious congregations working in various parts of India.
Its members have left no stone unturned to reach out to the people at this time of unexpected and ill-equipped lockdown.
They went to serve the poor and the needy without any hesitation.
They told the local administration that they are part of the Church, which is in forefront of relief works among people caught in the lockdown.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown from that midnight. When the time was over, he extended it further until May 3.
The lockdown caught hundreds of thousands of poor, especially migrant daily wagers, off guard, driving many to near starvation.
The Amrat members, who work in 23 Indian states, risked their lives to rush out to help the needy. “What will happen to our people, if we do not launch out to help them at this precarious juncture,” was the uppermost thought in all of them.
Many began to stitch thousands of masks to protect people from the coronavirus pandemic, others made hospital gowns and some prepared food items to feed those cared by none.
The Amrat members have helped 27,000 families with food kits and health safety kits, and made more than 15,000 masks and 200 hospital gowns until April 17. They have also mobilized funds from their congregations and other sources for their humanitarian mission.
Some served migrants, rag pickers, rickshaw pullers, domestic workers and differently abled children. Others fed daily wage earners, widows, senior citizens, transgender community, women and children in shelter homes and the poor in far flung villages.
Some sisters gave cooked food and others food kits containing rice, lentils salt, oil, potato and onion. Some Amrat people distributed health safety kits that contained, mask, hand sanitizer, phenol, dettol, surf and soap.
Bethany Sister Jyothi, founder director of the ten-year-old Amrat, says what its members are doing is “the need of the hour.” She also expressed happiness that the sisters responded to the crisis on time without any fear. “The sisters have gained tremendous strength and courage from this network platform.”
The Indian nuns’ efforts have been commended by Sister Gabriella Bottani, coordinator of the Rome-based International Network Talitha Kum.
“I am exceedingly happy to note that the sisters in India are responding to the call of the Church and need of the nation,” she wrote.
The presence and service of the Catholic Church to people affected by the lockdown was obvious to the leaders of our nation.
The Amrat members are courageous and willing to take risks with profound faith. They move along with Jesus to live like their Master. They will continue to challenge human trafficking – an organized crime — shelter, reinstate and repatriate the victims drawing support and strength from each other.
(Prema Chowallur is a member of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod congregation and vice president of Amrat Talitha Kum in India.)