Catholic nun among 42 awarded by Indian president

By Matters India Reporter

New Delhi, Sept 24, 2020: A Catholic nun, who has promoted “Clean India Campaign” in Manipur, was among 42 people who on September 24 were awarded by President Ram Nath Kovind.

The president conferred the National Services Scheme Awards for the year 2018-2019 on Sister William Parmar and others through virtual mode from the Rashtrapati Bhawan,

Federal Minister for Youth Affairs Kiren Reiju attended the ceremony from New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan.

The awards were given in three different categories like University and Plus Two, NSS units and their program officers and NSS volunteers.

Sister Parmar, a member of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity, or Vedruna Sisters, was given the prestigious awards in recognition of her exemplary and commendable social service, says a youth ministry press release.

The Department of Youth Affairs under the federal Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports confers the annual awards to recognize outstanding contributions to voluntary community service made by universities, colleges and secondary schools.

The National Service Scheme was inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and was launched in 1969, the centenary year of the Father of Nation’s birthday. The scheme aims to develop personality and character of young students through voluntary community service. It currently has 4 million volunteers spread throughout India.

President Kovind congratulated the winners and expressed his happiness to honor service-minded people. “Sevice is very much part of our value system,” he asserted.

Sister Parmar is the program officer of the NSS unit 1 of Don Bosco College Maram in the Senapati district of Manipur, a northeastern Indian state. She was selected for the award under Program Officer/NSS Unit Category.

The 39-year-old nun currently serves as assistant professor at the Salesian college with additional responsibility as NSS program officer.

She says she has tried to practice the NSS motto of “Not me but you” and help the downtrodden and needy in Ramlung, a village adopted by the college’s NSS unit. Supported by college principal Father K O Sebastian, the nun volunteered in building and repairing public toilets and water tanks as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign).

Sister Parmar has conducted literacy programs and planted 19,900 tree saplings in the village, some 85 km north of the Manipur state capital of Imphal.

She is also a registered organ donor and has donated blood eight times. She also strives to transform nearby villages through cleanliness drives, health-immunization programs, HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, social awareness rallies, adult literacy programs and malaria eradication programs among others.

The nun has helped local people to build public toilets, urinals, waiting sheds, drainages, compost pits and water ponds.

Her volunteers have made around 300 dustbins from tins and bamboos and part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

The nun has propagated the usage of biodegradable dustbins made of bamboo. She also undertook a massive fund-raising campaign in the aftermath of the Kerala floods.

In 2015, her NSS unit was awarded he best unit of Manipur. Sister Parmar was awarded the best NSS Programme Officer.

She had also participated in several national, regional and state level programs organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs.