INDIA In Tamil Nadu there is a church dedicated to disabled women and children

It is the parish of Konan Kuppam Periyanayagi Maatha, which has a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin, the work of an Italian missionary. Widows and marginalized mothers are offered jobs and nuns care for children with hearing and speech impairments.

Chennai () – The empowerment of women and the care of disabled children is the most important pastoral commitment of the Konan Kuppam Periyanayagi Maatha church, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin who built the Italian missionary Constantino Beschi.

“We hire a group of widows and marginalized mothers. Now they sell religious articles, work in the soup kitchen for the poor, do cleaning and are also employed as health personnel,” Father Devasagayaraj, who runs this Dalit Catholic parish, told .

Dignity and economic self-sufficiency come first, the priest explains: “The women hired at the sanctuary support their families with the small salary they receive. People of goodwill who visit our sanctuary also help from time to time. Two of them have children of school age and another is being helped by the Chennai Province Jesuits to continue his university studies.” A disabled man was also hired as a day caretaker for the shrine.

In the parish of Konan Kuppam Periyanayagi Maatha there is also the Morning Star Periyanayagi School, a school for children with hearing and speech disabilities between the ages of 7-17. There are currently 98 students at the institute, run by three nuns of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Jesus from Pondicherry, who are often called the Pondi Blue Sisters: “These nuns perform a heroic service to the disabled community and their families”, comments the p. Devasagayaraj.

The school is totally free. Through music, dance, and other activities, the sisters create a sense of inclusion and help children develop strong self-esteem. In fact, children affected by these types of problems often not only have to face the many difficulties of daily life, but also suffer from isolation and lack of opportunities.

“It is challenging to educate children and run a boarding school when not all the sisters know how to use sign language,” continues Fr. Devasagayaraj. “It is even more difficult to teach the classes of the older children. Here all children and adolescents are treated equally and that is possible thanks to people’s donations”.

The school staff is almost all female, and yesterday, on Women’s Day, the parish priest recalled the great service of the nuns.