By John Singarayar
Tala, June 20, 2025: More than 200 people have attended the opening of the Community and Human Resources Development Center at Tala in Maharashtra’s Raigad district to mark the Divine Word Society’s 150 years of service.
Archbishop John Rodrigues of Bombay led the thanksgiving Mass on June 18 at the Janseva Society Campus in Tala, some 115 km south of Mumbai, the capital of the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The archbishop encouraged all present to remain steadfast in uplifting the marginalized with dignity and love. He described the new center as a “sanctuary of transformation,” a space born from faith in action.
The occasion also marked the Janseva Society’s 13 years of serviced to Katkari tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group in Maharashtra.
The Archdiocese of Bombay in collaboration with the Indian Mumbai province of the Society of the Divine word made an agreement on June 1, 2012, to begin a mission station at Tala. It aimed to spread Christ’s mission in Tala Taluka.
The society works among 22 Kathkari tribe hamlets and three shepherd group villages. It deals with illiteracy, alcoholism, child labor, bonded labor, issues of health and hygiene, lack of road and water facilities.
Following the Eucharist, the center was blessed by the archbishop. Divine Word Society’s Mumbai provincial Father Tomy Thomas cut the ribbon.
The provincial acknowledged the society’s tireless work across regions and among the excluded. He said the new center represented Janseva’s enduring relationship with the Katkari people. “For thirteen years,” he said, “we have listened, learned, and labored beside the Katkari community. Today, we give shape to a vision where development means dignity, and inclusion is no longer a promise but a practice.”
Father Nickson Gabru, Janseva Society director, said the Katkari people have taught them resilience and faith. “This center is more than a resource hub—it is a place of learning, healing, and transformation. It is their space, their future, and their voice that will flourish here,” he added.
The program also honored those who have been part of the society.
Good work to be appreciated