Santosh Digal

The religious of the Salesian missionaries of Mary Immaculate is the director of Raipur's Christ Sahaya Kendra Hospital. "We provide health care to the poor and the needy at affordable costs." "What we do is show Jesus' service of healing within us and through us."

Inspired by the Gospel of Luke, Fr George Kollashany has been working with street kids since 1975. Children have changed educators’ approaches and policies. The way they face the challenges "is an inspiration". Kids are the "pulse of society".

Since 1980, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Ann have cared for orphans in Nadiad. Sr Sheetal I. Parmar has been doing this since 2011. She works with four other sisters and a lay staff of 30. For them, this is not only a labour of love, but also a way to "build a life".

Sister Jyothsna is a pediatrician and works at the Nirmala Hospital in the village of Balukdubi. The Ursulines have been in the Indian state since 2006. About 90 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, facing difficult diseases like malaria, typhoid fever, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and intestinal worms. Bad health practices and superstition thrive.

The Sisters of Mother Teresa arrived in the capital of Port Blair in 1994. Four of them currently work on the archipelago, helping the sick and dying at their time of need as well as supporting the poor by funding their children’s education.

Sister Poonam belongs to the Congregation of Jesus, which was established by Mary Ward. She is part of a movement of consecrated people who are also social activists. In India 70 per cent of Catholics are Dalits. Nuns and priests "must be prophetic voices in the Church and society,” and raise awareness about the marginalised, identify leaders and educate them.

The event was held in the Church of Our Lady of Charity in Raikia. In 2008 the district was the scene of the worst anti-Christian persecution in Indian history. Youth enacted passages from the Bible and Easter themes. "I have absorbed the message of love and peace,” a Hindu said.

Chandrika Digal and her two sons, Prabin and Rohim, were baptised today. The youngest also received the sacraments of confession and first communion. He wants to become a missionary. The three began reaching out to the Church six years ago and followed a training course with the help of local catechists.

Johnson Digal, 29, comes from a village of 20 families, mostly Hindus. During the 2008 pogroms, his home was burnt down, forcing him to live in a refugee camp. Since he started to visit his neighbours, they began “changing their negative attitudes towards the Catholic Church”.

Sister Mary Mukta Kindo has worked at the Mother Veronica Social Centre for Women of Barrackpure since 2001. The centre makes garments like uniforms and tunics as well as church linen. Some 200 women have been trained allowing them to be independent and help their families.

In 1986 the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary created groups for Interreligious Dialogue. Their work is developed in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and other parts of India. They created a network of collaboration with other organizations that support friendly relations between religious communities. Thanks to mutual understanding, conflicts between Christians and Muslims defused.

Eight hockey coaches give lessons to 540 children and young people, most of which have dropped out of school or are unemployed. The state has the highest rate of crimes linked to drug use. The program was conceived by the Social Service of the Diocese of Jalandhar, in collaboration with Caritas India.