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Babelfish Translation
India South
India North East
India is our country. It is the birthpace of many religions and is the largest democracy in the world. It has the 2nd largest population in the world, first being China. It is a living example of Unity in diversity. It has 26 states and three or four union territories with its own governments and yet connected centrally to the central government. All these states have their own customs, languages and culture. The very rich and the very poor live side by side. The country is rich in natural resources. It is called the Sahara of Africa; the snow capped mountains of Switzerland, etc. It enjoys the heaviest rainfall in the world and yet has the hottest summers and is blessed with rivers.
RNDM's In India
The Central Vice Province is situated in the two states of Bihar and West Bengal. Bihar is the place where Lord Buddha got his enlightenment and is a very sacred place for the Buddhists. It is a land blessed with lots of natural and mineral resources. While West Bengal is a land which has given birth to great poets and writers like: Rabindra Nath Tagore, Satya chitra Ray and the place where Mother Teresa began her work of charity and founded her congregation as well as her mortal remains rests. It is also called the City of Joy.
We have 33 sisters (4 sisters are living and working outside the province) living in six communities in the Central Vice Province. Two houses are in Bihar and four houses in West Bengal.
Significant RNDM Dates And Events
The Sisters arrived in the Central Vice Province in 1949 and Our Lady Queen of the Missions Convent and school started.
In 1969 Holy Angel's Convent was established. Two year later the orphanage, maternity home and dispensary began.
In 1985 Shanti Sadan Community began in Bihar as a response to the Congregation Chapter thrust.
In 1994 Jyott bhawan Bommunity began as a neighbourly community.
In 1996 a centre for caring for the lepeor's children and the women of the stone breakers began at Mattigara. The house is called Pr abhat Tara Centre.
In 1998 a house to accomodate the candidates began in Barasat and it is called Nava Jeebon Convent.
APOSTOLATES(WORKS) INVOLVED IN CENTRAL VICE PROVINCE
Education - formal and non-formal
Social Work
Women's Empowerment
Literacy Programmes
Health Care & Mother and Child Programmes
Pastoral Ministry
 Photo:
The various cultures of the students are encouraged at our new Salt Lake High School, Kolkata. Here a Hindi dancer welcomes visitors to the High School. |
At Chatterhat, where the Sisters work in the Bishop's school and
maintain a hostel, the young women are encouraged to develop their
skills in tribal dancing. |
The sisters in Central India operate "afternoon
school", which takes admissions like that of any other school, the only difference is
that the children have to be poor economically and are not able to get into any other
school. This school is of Hindi Medium and we have only Muslims and Hindus children
in this school and if a catholic or christian child seeks admission into this school we
take them into the morning school without any payment. They fall into the group of
free students. These children are taken at the age of 4+ and stay on till they
complete class VII. They are given uniforms, medical aid, help with the school
requirements and a meal at the end of the school time. The rest of the schooling is
the same as that of any other schools.
Photo Below: Sr. Helen Shah helps the youngest
boarders at bath time at our hostel at Kalyanpur, where many of the children are
orphans. They are able to attend the Sisters' school.
In our dispensary we distribute free medicines and the
poor are treated free in all cases. Only the poor come to us as they know they are
welcomed and treated well. In our orphanage we look after the orphans as if it is
their own homes and then we take the small children of 4+ into the boarding and care for
them. They come to us because there is primary school in the parish which we
administer and they get primary education while the villages they live in have no primary
schools.
The children are all very poor and they are mainly Catholics. The
orphans are educated as far as they can go and then they are settled in life. The
others go back to their own homes after the primary education and go into other schools.
While they are with us we care for them just like we care for the orphans who are
with us. We do get some money for their care.
Photo Right: The
RNDM's in India, aged more
than 55 years, were invited to gather in
Kalyanpur in January 2004 for a
session - 'Growing Old Gracefully",. It was a
very happy occasion to rest,
relax and enjoy a retreat.
Photo: Uniform day at the RNDM free school for the children of the poor in Kokata. Sr. Parbila is taking care with the fitting.
A NEW INITIATIVE IN INDIA CENTRAL
Barasat – established 1997
Nara Jeevan Convent; Centre for Rural Women’s Training, Fee-paying Kindergarten.
Photo:
Sister Deepthi (Provincial Leader – standing at the right) is happy with the new
kitchen facilities for the Rural Training Centre for girls at Barasat.
About an hour into the country from Calcutta, off the main
and secondary roads, is the newest property of the Sisters. Here they have just finished
building a house to accommodate a group of about 20 young Catholic women, with Year 10
certificates, for further training in English, leadership, and agriculture and trade
skills, to help enhance their chances of employment. These are girls whom the Sisters in
the rural districts where we work, or the parish priests, know well as having potential. A
few of these girls may later ask to become religious. [Normally a girl would need a Year
12 certificate to be accepted for religious life.] In the house that they bought with the
property, and lived in for several years, the Sisters have now started a pre-school class,
as an income earner. They already have their first pupils. Here they have also some space
for gardens to grow their own vegetables, and for a few animals; they hope to become fully
self-sufficient. This opportunity for rural girls for further education is an important
development for our Sisters in India.
The Sisters are hoping that the fee-paying kindergarten will help with the
self-sufficiency of this house.
CLT members Maureen and Liz, and
Deepthi (former Provincial) visit the Matigara Sisters
who work in a small school which serves a very poor people, including
stonebreakers.
For further Apostolic Involvement see the following Solidarity Newsletters: Literacy in Bihar 00/3, Orphanage and dispensary, Kalyanpur 00/3, Training rural women, Barasat 01/4, New high school in Salt Lake, Calcutta 01/4, The plight of women in Bihar 03/2, Books for the new school at Salt Lake, near Kolkata 04/4
ASSOCIATES & VOLUNTEERS
At present there are no Associates.
VOCATIONS
For more info contact: 
Vocation
Promoter
c/o Queen of the Mission's Convent
Calcutta 700 017
West Bengal