By Thomas Scaria
Bengaluru, March 5, 2023: Three Catholic nuns were among 33 outstanding women entrepreneurs awarded for successfully fighting Covid pandemic with business plans.
The awardees were selected from among 1,408 women supported by Functional Vocational Training and Research Society (FVTRS) through Child Fund and City Bank to rebuild people’s lives after the pandemic.
The nuns were honored for supporting in the selection, training and support of women entrepreneurs with FVTRS. The awards, which included a citation and a trophy, were distributed March 3 at a function in Bengaluru, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
FVTRS director Felix D’Souza said the one-year project covered women from Mangaluru, Mysore and Bengaluru with training, financial support and ongoing monitoring to reestablish their business plans that had suffered during the pandemic.
He said everyone covered in the program had performed well but a few were outstanding by earning more than 50,000 rupees a month. The women were part of Self Help Groups promoted by the Catholic nuns.
Bethany Sister Anna Mary, who promoted 50 women entrepreneurs in Mangaluru, said her groups got a boost with the Covid rebuilding funds to start new business or revive their existing business plans.
St. Josephs of Tarbes Sister Irudaya Mary told Matters India that all the 200 beneficiaries of her project were slum dwellers who had suffered immensely from the pandemic.
The third awardee was St Joseph’s Tarbes Sister Mariamma.
Rajeswary, a woman activist who was a guest at the awards ceremony, said that the awards came as a big recognition for women entrepreneurs as they celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8.
Catholic Agencies like Organization for Development and Peace, Mysore, St. Joseph’s of Tarbes sisters, Bangalore, Bethany sisters, Charity Sisters of Capitanio and Queen of Apostle sisters from Mangaluru collaborated with the FVTRS for implementing the post Covid rebuilding projects in Karnataka.