By Matters India Reporter
Kansabel, May 3, 2020: A middle-aged woman wanted to hug Sister Annie Jesus Mary who was distributing relief packets in scorching heat in a remote hilly region of the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
“Madam, thank you. Your compassion has satisfied our hunger. Indeed God has heard our cry,” Sunmati Bai of Sajapani panchayat in Jashpur district told the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary nun in a feeble voice, holding a face mask that was distributed.
Sister Annie, as the nun is popularly called, wearing mask and gloves acknowledged the woman’s compliments with folded hands. But she maintained the mandatory distance from the woman.
Similar greetings came from women in other distributing locations as the nun went about visiting various tribal villages in forests where backward Pahadi-Korwa tribes live.
Sister Annie is the project coordinator of the Jeevan Jharna Vikas Sanstha (foundation for the advancement of lifestream), an NGO managed by the women congregation at Kansabel town in Jashpur district.
“We knew the people, especially the Pahadi-Korwa community, hardly had any essential commodities in their homes,” Sister Annie told Matters India.
The community depended on forest produce or threads made out from plastic cement bags. The daily wage earners could not go to markets to buy provisions as they had little cash. “Having large families it was very tough for them to survive,” the nun explained.
She said her conscience was disturbed when she sat for meals in her convent. “I started thinking how I can help those who do not have a proper meal a day during this lockdown. I knew deep within that God would show me a way.”
When she shared the idea of relief works with other nuns in Vijaya Jyoti Convent in Kansabel, they agreed to explore ways to help the poor.
“That was the starting point,” says Sister Annie, who drew up a workable strategy to address the hunger needs of the tribal community.
When the federal government extended the lockdown to May 3, Sister Annie made some phone calls with the staff at the grassroots. The nuns also sought needed permissions from the district administration. The staff visited nearby villages to undertake a survey to assess poverty among the Pahadi-Korwa families.
They finally identified a total of 600 families in five blocks of Jashpur district to reach help.
Further filtration helped shortlist 480 families for immediate help.
Apart from conducting the survey, the staff educated the tribal community about the new Covid-19 pandemic and alerted them to keep outsiders from entering their villages.
An NGO from Spain offered to sponsor to feed the hungry.
The nuns and their staff made arrangements to procure needed provisions from wholesale shops. Sister Annie said the shop keepers hiked the prices of food grain during the lockdown.
Sister Annie said her companions came forward to repack food items such as rice, edible oil, spices, and pulses.
Apart from food items, they also included hygiene products such as soap, sanitizer, and face-mask in relief packets. Each bag cost them 910 rupees.
Sister Annie thanked her companion’s generosity and sensitivity in meticulously packing the relief items and then “braving all odds to reach out to the Pahadi-Korwa tribal people with sympathetic understanding.”
She says they work with a lurking fear of contracting the coronavirus or becoming a carrier to infect her community and children residing with them.
“The risk of closing our eyes to the virus of hunger impelled me to overcome the fear of contracting the disease. We may face this emergency only once in our lifetime,” Sister Annie explained.
She says the challenge for them is to observe all precautions and obey the rules and regulations. “Collaboration with authorities is of utmost necessity in reaching provisions to the poor safely and securely,” the nun explained.
Besides seeking permission from the authorities, the nuns and their staff have to travel safely to the villages. They also have to overcome people’s fear of strangers.
Sister Annie recalled the initial hesitation of the authorities to grant permission.
“God’s ways are revealing: our prayers in the convent, my persistent networking with many government officers including our supportive organizations, consultation with friends and the courage shown by our animators bore the fruit finally,” she said.
Finally, the district collected gave her permission over phone. They began the relief work from April 20. They were delighted when Lakshman Ratiya, local Tehsildar, volunteered in the distribution works.
The local police escorted Sr. Annie and her team to various tribal villages.
The nun and her team braved hail storms, and uncomfortable travels in in small pickups for four hours to reach the tribal villages.
All this helped them reach all 480 families in 12 days, braving hot weather and irregular meals.
“The cooperation of the field staff and village elders was commendable,” Sister Annie said. “Challenges are what make life interesting,” she added.
The nun said she is glad that God used them to bring solace to the tribal people
“Looking back my heart rejoices. The smiling wrinkled face of the elderly widow was the face of God. Standing amid the green hills I sang ‘The Lord is my shepherd,’” Sr Annie added.