By Lissy Maruthanakuzhy
Panaji, Oct 8, 2020: Some Catholic nurses in Goa take time off from their busy schedule to reach out to orphanages, homes for the aged, and the poor and needy villagers in the western Indian state
“Nursing is a vocation to take care of patients in their pain, grief and anxiety. Our mission is to assist patients in their pain and console their relatives,” says Selma Gomindes, president of Goa Catholic Nurses’ Guild.
She said the guild members read the Bible to give patients and their relative in give them hope and courage in moments of despair. “It is our way of reaching out to others with the message of Jesus,” Gomindes told Matters India.
The nurses pray with the patients and their relatives usually at night. They make copies of the Bible available in Hindi, Marathi and Konkani languages. They also buy and distribute the Bible to the patients’ relatives.
Most nurses work in Goa Medical College where the availability of specialized doctors attracts patients from even neighboring states.
The nurses also organize medical camps in boarding houses and villages, besides visiting homes for the aged where they supply meals and clothes.
During the Covid-19 lockdown the nurses reached out to Vanamare tribe in Nirancal, a village near Goa’ Ponda town.
They also organize medical camps to find and treat malnourished children. “We provided them with rice and wheat flour,” Gomindes said.
The guild also organizes dental camps for mothers and children and gives them educational and health talks along with provisions. In a camp organized in Don Bosco School at Tuvem village, they checked the boys’ ear, nose, throat, and skin. They also provided toothpastes, soaps and toothbrush to all in the boarding.
“This is only possible because of the love of Christ that reign in our hearts. We experience a different kind of happiness when we are at His service for the poor, a joy that the world cannot offer,” explained the soft-spoken Gomindes, who has completed a year of course on the New Testament and currently studying Parables of Jesus
What prompts them to go out of their way to help others?
“We see so much suffering in the hospital. We want to help them,” says the guild president. She said they share with the poor and needy a part of their earning.
“My nurses love to volunteer for visiting places. We want to use our gifts and talents for the upliftment of God’s people,” said Gomindes while on her night duty. “Since I joined the Nurses’ Guild we have visited many villages. Only two of us are visiting now because of the pandemic. My nurses are happy to do this.”
Every month, the nurses provide, rice, pulses, oil, wheat flour and biscuits to 25 families in a village in Siolim. “If any one is in need of medicines, we do the needful,” added Gomindes.
Gomindes has a novel way of attracting collaborators. “I share the pictures of our mission in the villages in my WhatsApp group. They respond. If no one offers required items, I request my family. There are times I also approach shopkeepers who are willing oblige. Somehow God helps us to collect sufficient items for our monthly visits to the village,” Gomindes said with a smile.