Our Community “JYOTI” Convent at Mundgod Taluk of North Kanara District in Karnataka was opened on 2nd October 1980, amidst the poor and the tribals, during the term of Governance of Sr. Raphael Gomes as Provincial Superior of Mangalore Province in response to the request of the Bishop of Karwar Rt. Rev. Dr. William L. D’mello with a group of 3 pioneering sisters viz. Sr. Patronilla Sequiera, Sr. Adeline D’silva and Sr. Olympia Cutinha in a small rented house with the following objectives:
- For evangelization and human promotion through socio- pastoral activities.
SOCIO-TERRITORIAL, ECCLESIAL CONTEXT
Mundgod is one of the most backward Talukas of Uttara Kannada District with 97 villages with variety of cultures and different religions. Most of the people belong to the backward tribal communities like Vaddar, Koravar, Siddi, Gowli, Gollas and Lamani. The migrated Tibetans too are rehabilitated in our neighbourhood. The others are mainly Hindus and Muslims.
The Catholic population is comparatively very small. There are about 98 families spread in the main Parish at Mundgod and in sub-stations of Ugginkere, Mainalli and Malagi. Other Christian denominations and various sects are strong in their preaching ministry and pose a threat to the Catholic faith.
Mundgod is characterized by illiteracy, unemployment and seasonal migration for livelihood, superstitious beliefs, and exploitation of poor and of women.
The activities we carry out in our centre are
- Faith formation of Catholic families
- Formal and non-formal education
- Health care facilities
- Promotion of women and children
- Children Home
- Grihini and Tailoring
- Nursery class
We carry out Social activities with the help of two social workers and five part time helpers. In the villages there are 175 Self Help Groups (SHG) sustained through micro and macro government schemes. One of our commitments is in fact empowering women to tap government resources and to claim for their rights; we encourage them to stand for elections in local government offices; to children we teach methods of saving money and developing their talents through children’s club activities. In our centre we run Nursery school for tribal, backward and neighborhood children, they are around 30-40 every year.
In our Health Centre we serve both out-patients as well as in-patients. It can accommodate about thirty patients for general medicine and Maternity cases with necessary infrastructure. The patients catered here are poor and belong to backward and tribal communities. About 40-60 patients per day visit as out-patients; to them too we render loving care, laying stress on educative and preventive aspects of illnesses.
Some of the girls who due to lack of funds discontinue their studies, after class ten or twelve, are trained as Nursing Aides in our hospital; Seven of them are taught every year to have holistic approach in caring for the patients. Every year we also offer free medical check up for the poor deserving patients; free eye test and cataract surgery to those who deserve.
In the Children’s home there reside seventy children studying in Primary school to Pre-university, hospital staff, nursing aids students and Gihinis (Tailoring cum home science). Most of them are helped through sponsorship facility; school dropouts are given non-formal education.
In Grihini and Tailoring centre, twenty to thirty girls, most of them school drop outs are given training. They are taught Knitting, home keeping, First aid and how to be a good wife and a mother.
In the sponsorship programme we reach out to the most deserving children who are residing in our neighbourhood and in the villages. They receive help for their education, health care for them and for their family. Input sessions are given regarding many other aspects of life.
Two of our sisters work in a Jesuit school, whose motto is “School with a difference”, to educate tribal and backward class children, especially Siddis, Lamanis, Gowli etc. there they teach from Primary to Diploma in Education (D. Ed). The students are given all round curricular activities, so that once they finish their studies; they can stand on their own feet and be responsible members of the society.
The Emerging problems
- Migration of labourers
- Increase in inter-caste marriages and as a result divorce and broken families.
- Drunkenness which causes poverty
- Increase in HIV/AIDS cases
- Lack of faith and values in the Catholic families due to mass media etc.
Our community was opened on the 24th of June 2004 at Havagi in Haliyal Taluk of North Kanara District. The already existing hospital was earlier run by the Diocese of Karwar. Owing to the lack of funds and qualified personnel, the Bishop Rt. Rev. William L. D’Mello invited the Sisters of Charity to take over the hospital. The then Provincial Superior Sr. Irene Fernandes sent 2 sisters with the objective of Human promotion and evangelization through medical assistance and socio pastoral activities.
Our community is situated in Haliyal taluka, one of the backward taluka of North Kanara District. The population of Haliyal is around 1, 00,000 spread mostly in villages, 70% of whom are living below poverty line. Most of the people are farmers and depend on the rains for their cultivation of paddy with just one crop a year. Most of the villagers are Hindus; we also cater to Muslims besides the many tribal communities. The catholic population makes up for only 0.5% of the population. There are about 250 families spread in the main parish of Haliyal and in the sub-stations like Kesirolli, Kerwad, Tatwangi, Kamdolli and Nagshettikoppa. The Kerwad substation is just about 1 Km from our community which comprises of 28 families. The other Christian denominations and various sects are active and strong in the preaching ministry and pose a threat to the catholic faith that tend to get pulled due to the ready available financial aid. Haliyal faces the problem of illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, superstitious believes and exploitation of the poor families and the women.
Today we are a group of 6 sisters: mostly involved in the healing ministry of the Hospital. We have a doctor, 3 nurses, and a lab technician among the sisters of the community. We also have lay-collaborators who help us in our work; in the field in the pharmacy and nursing.
We cater to all round health needs of the people of the place. The Sr. doctor with us although a gynaec, sees all other minor cases that she can handle, since the people have no other good health facilities in the place. Those that she finds difficult to handle and need greater attention, are referred to Dharwad or Belgaum where there are better centers and super specialties available. We attend to all Obstetrics and gynecology cases in our area. As the hospital is in the interior area, we have opened a day clinic in the town, at a market area, which is about 4 kilometers away. This is also in view of getting patients to our hospital. Every morning we attend to the patients there as that area is convenient to approach.
Lab facilities, X-Rays, Ultra sound facilities and pharmacy services are made available there.
We teach the young girls passed out of their basic studies and who are at home doing nothing, with skills of nursing arts through the Nursing Aides Course. These girls after their training stay with us for experience and later on find their own jobs in society. Many of these girls are from poor families- for that is the criterion for our choice. They are given free course, and they pay after their course when they stay for experience. Many such passed out students of ours are placed well in the society.
In the light of the gospel values, moral education is imparted by the Sister Warden of the hostel. Living together calls for certain rules and regulations which are also imparted to them.
This is done by squeezing time in between our busy schedule by visiting Catholic families, listening to them, encouraging them in their faith. We also make a point that one sister attends Sunday mass in one of the sub- stations.
