By Felix Anthony
Kharsang, May 12, 2020: Bishop George Palliparambil of Miao on May 12 hailed nurses as ‘real heroes’ in the global war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Salesian prelate was addressing the International Nurse’s Day celebrations held at Krick and Bourry Memorial Hospital, Injan in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang District.
“I really want to thank and congratulate all the nurses for the great sacrifice they make for humanity. I want to assure you and all the nurses across the world that you are always remembered in our prayers,” he told the nurses of the hospital that he founded in honor of two missionaries who were martyred in the northeastern Indian state.
The World Health Organization declared the year 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwifery in recognition of the contribution they make and the risk associated with nursing, in the context of Covid-19.
Highlighting the risk the nurses are subjected to and the mistreatment meted out to them in some part of the country because of ignorance, Bishop Palliparambil said, “As you battle Covid-19, the great sacrifice you make to be at the side of the people suffering is greatly appreciated by the whole of humanity and you are no less than a super hero.”
Speaking on the occasion, Doctor Rose Tom, the director of KBM Hospital, said the celebration of the nurse’s day is relevant today more than ever. “It is the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale at whose memory the Nurse’s Day is dedicated. It is also a year that has tested the metals of every nurse in the worldm” she said.
Highlighting the theme of this year’s celebration – “Nursing the World to Health,” Doctor Tom said it is an invitation and expression of the important role that nurses play in the world, especially in the context the pandemic Covid-19.
Appreciating their selfless service, the hospital management presented a small token gift to all the nurses.
The KBM Hospital is the only Church-run healthcare institution in the northeastern most state of India, bordering China and Myanmar. It is dedicated to the memory of French Missionaries Nicolas Krick and Augustine Bourry, who were martyred in 1854 in the border of Tibet. They were on their way to Tibet through the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh.