Chronicle 3 of the General Team’s visit to the Province of India

General Team | Province of India | Vedruna

Between October 2024 and January 2025, Sisters Maria Irizar and Maggie D’Costa will travel on behalf of the General Team to the Province of India.

Below we share the third account of his visit, between November 25 and December 9, 2024.

In the days since the last chronicle, we have visited the Vedruna communities in Uplat (Maharashtra), Bardipada, Ahwa, Subir, Pimpri and Unai (South Gujarat). We also celebrated the Third Regional Assembly in Unai, with the participation of 52 sisters.

Our main objective during this trip is to visit the Vedruna communities, but we have also tried to get to know as much as possible of the places and mission fields where the sisters are involved: schools, dispensaries, a hospital, boarding schools, social projects. However, due to the large number of communities and the distance between them, the time spent in each place is limited and the time we have is mainly dedicated to meet the sisters and get to know in situ the environment in which the mission takes place, although we have not been able to visit, for example, some villages where the sisters go weekly for their pastoral or social work.

In many of the places where we are present, the mission is developed in multiple fields in order to respond to the reality of each place and seeking to serve the person in all its dimensions (educational, social and integral health). Generally we do this in collaboration with other congregations, as is the case, in this area, with the Jesuits.

Uplat and Bardipada

In Uplat, the sisters run the dispensary, the boarding school for girls, take care of the direction of the Jesuit schools, and carry out a wide range of social and pastoral work in the surrounding villages.

During our visit we also went to Talasari, where the headquarters of the Jesuits of the Uplat area is located, with whom we collaborate in the common mission.

There we enjoyed a pleasant conversation about the current situation of education and the reality of that environment. We were very pleased with the high appreciation of our presence and mission.

In Bardipada, we attended the school assembly, where there was a nice moment of prayer. We also went to the Adivasi ethnographic museum, and we were very impressed by the church located in the cave, where we participated in the Eucharist with the inmates.

Ahwa

In Ahwa, both the school (two branches, Gujarati and English) and the two boarding schools, for girls and boys, are Vedruna. There we met the community of sisters and some lay representatives of the Vedruna family.

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In Subir we have a small hospital of our own management, which is a reference for the region: during some seasons it attends about eighty patients a day.

There we have a sister doctor, a sister pharmacist and several nurses, as well as other staff.

Pimpri

In Pimpri, we take care of the boarding school for the girls, the dispensary and a sister works at the Jesuit school. The social dimension is developed in the surrounding villages, which in many cases are quite far away.

There we were fortunate to meet with the leaders of several villages in the parish of Pimpri, who met that day to formalize the creation of a women’s cooperative from eight villages. The objective of the cooperative is primarily savings and low-interest loans among the cooperative members, although the formation of women’s communities is also essential.

In southern Gujarat there is a harsh reality of migration. After the harvesting and gathering season following the monsoons, many families leave to work in the sugar cane or tea plantations. They are victims of loan sharks from whom they ask for money in advance at high interest rates which, because they cannot pay back, condemns them to a life of slavery, chaining one migration to another. With the cooperatives, which already operate in other places, such as Bardipada, it is possible to fight against this mafia scourge and, above all, it is a magnificent platform for the empowerment of women and, therefore, of all the Adivasi people. We were impressed by the energy, strength, enthusiasm and determination of the women who attended the meeting and their shared leadership; the dialogue with them was precious.

Unai

In Unai we went to visit Manjulabai, mother of one of our sisters, Manisha Gamit, who is ill. She lives close to our house and it was a very nice meeting.

In Unai, besides the Vedruna School, also with a double branch (Gujarati and English), the boarding school and the socio-pastoral work in the villages, it is worth mentioning the Holistic Health Center, where they research, develop and apply traditional medicine, from the study of plants and the elaboration of their own preparations, very appreciated by all. In addition, in recent years they have been cultivating medicinal plants organically, including Aloe vera and Hibiscus, in a plot of land a short distance from home, a special place because it is so well cared for and the tranquility you can breathe in it.

Third Regional Assembly

The Regional Assembly was held in Unai on December 8, with the participation of 52 sisters. The motto that unites all the Assemblies held during this trip is “Synodality through shared leadership“.

These are important aspects that run through our Chapter Document and that we tried to deepen together with a dynamic of listening, participation, dialogue and involvement of all those present. We shared our reflection on them from a charismatic perspective and with biblical references.

The meeting was full of details from the beginning and was animated by the younger sisters. We had a good number of senior sisters who participated with great enthusiasm, encouraging the younger sisters, of which there are many, to lead this path towards “Being Born Again”.

Special thanks are due to the community of Unai, which, as hostess of the Assembly, made every effort to welcome and provide accommodation, meals and attention to detail for all the participants. The family atmosphere and the joy of meeting each other was the general tone of the meeting.

Some of the things that have caught our attention during all these days have been:

What we value most is to receive, everywhere, the testimony of the people and of the sisters themselves, about the positive impact of our presence in all these places and the development and empowerment of the Adivasi people in these years. Our sisters are very hard working and committed to the mission.
The vibrant looks of the girls and boys, their charming smiles, their joy and simplicity that always cheer us up.
Maria really enjoys the chapati and the variety of cuisine in each place, while Maggie takes the opportunity to enjoy the spicy flavors that are not so easy to find in Rome.
Nature is very rich and the people live to the rhythm of its seasons, which shape their culture and traditions and of which they are a part with great respect for it.
In these presences, we have clearly perceived the development of the towns and their people, especially noticeable in the children, in their liveliness, joy and progress.