Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Coimbatore
Living Teaching of the Great Law of Charity

Our Missions

Social Work


INTRODUCTION

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Lk 6:20).

The Second Vatican Council has highlighted a new vision of the world, Church, God, and the human person. Through the incarnation of Christ, God has come to live among human beings recreating the world anew. The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ (GS 1).


Goal

The goal of all ministries for social development and/or social change is to aid the development and the growth of the individual and the society. Religious sisters should try their best to make sure that the discriminated people gain their basic rights for food, clothing, housing, and life with self-respect. Our social service should help human persons to achieve their destiny according to the will of God (GS 14). The goal of our social ministry is to unify the divided humanity by eliciting its desire for freedom, to help it acknowledge its real situation, to grow in its fullness of personhood, and to help others live their lives.


Objectives

To examine the living conditions and the livelihood of people who live below the poverty line without discriminating them based on caste, religious and ethnic considerations and initiate welfare programs.

  1. . To recognize unequal social structure in which people live they are given social education.
  2. . To enhance people’s participation in social development, create small people’s organizations.
  3. . To help the targeted people grow in holistic personality, introducing education of developmental thoughts and concepts.
  4. . To create unified human potential in order to impose people’s movements in and through which elicit leadership that responds to social, economic, and cultural demands.

MOTTO

Empowering the marginalized people through the Gospel way of life and the promotion of just society


Target People

  1. . Women (economically impoverished, uneducated, homeless, single mothers, Dalit women…).
  2. . Children (child laborers, street children, physically & mentally challenged)
  3. . Refugees
  4. . Alcoholics
  5. . Elderly
  6. . Bonded laborers
  7. . Tribal people

Women and children are the target people who benefit directly from the ministry of the sisters of our congregation. We are called to live and work for the liberation of women and children to realize which, we adopt different strategies.


Nature of our ministry

Social action ministry opposes head-on social injustice. It is prophetic in the sense that it serves those who are rejected by the mainstream and left on the social periphery. It defends the basic rights of every human person, enhances human life, and supports human dignity. It backs political efforts that help establish social, religious, and class unity, cooperation, and justice (All India Religious Conference, Kochi, 1988, no 3.4).


  1. . Although Jesus came to offer salvation to all, he gave priority, in his life and ministry, to the poor and the exploited. Therefore, we follow in our ministry the option that Jesus had taken.
  2. . Living with the poor and the exploited, bringing them to the awareness of their inhuman situation and making them realize that they are the architects of their own future, are imperatives of the day. We support whatever strategies people take in order to liberate themselves. If needed, we might take part in their struggle along with them.
  3. . Social change is political. It is imperative to politicize social problems and discrepancies. We may have to mobilize ordinary people to bring about people oriented political change.
  4. . Our social action ministry should establish a new culture based on the Gospel ideals.
  5. When we choose social action centers we give priority to villages, ghettos where the poor live, and places where there have been no developmental and liberating activities.
  6. . Our methodology should highlight education for liberation rather than education for a degree, emphasize rights rather than privileges, accentuate people’s movements rather than institutions, and ensure people’s liberation rather than individual’s progress.

Working places

  1. . Pakkiripalayam - Thiruvannamalai
  2. . Kolapakkam – Chennai
  3. . Thirukazhukundram
  4. . Rhythem-sss-coimbatore
  5. . Karumathampatti - coimbatore
  6. . Mettupalayam -coimbatore
  7. . Nallur - Tirupur
  8. . Sidcocoimbatore
  9. . Sholayar -valparai
  10. . Palladam - tirupur
  11. . Kangeyam - tirpur
  12. . Kinathukkadvu - pollachi
  13. . Valagiri - kodikkanal

Performing tasks


1. Child Development Programme
  • ✔ Home for children
  • ✔ SSA Residential School
  • ✔ Day Care Center
  • ✔ School Students parliament
  • ✔ Evening Tuition Centre
  • ✔ Counseling
  • ✔ Banking Education
  • ✔ Scholarship to Tribal children
  • ✔ Job Placement

2. Women & Widows Welfare Development Programme
  • ✔ Self Help Groups & Credit Linkages
  • ✔ Self-Employment Training
  • ✔ Panchayat Raj Act – Rights and Duties of Panchayat Election.
  • ✔ Gender-based violence & Women Rights
  • ✔ HIV/AIDS Programme
  • ✔ Short Stay Home for Women Victims Self Help Group –Economic Empowerment
  • ✔ Legal Education Forest Group Formation
  • ✔ Tribal Women group
  • ✔ Artificial Jewel Making
  • ✔ Counseling and Legal Guidance

3. Farmer Development Programme
  • ✔ Awareness on Drug Addiction
  • ✔ Marketing of Forest products

4. Vocational Training
  • ✔ Indian Constitution & Fundamental Rights
  • ✔ Right to Information Act
  • ✔ Global warming & Dimming
  • ✔ Tree Plantation
  • ✔ Eco-friendly (Avoiding Plastics)
  • ✔ Tailoring
  • ✔ Computer
  • ✔ Beautician
  • ✔ Summer course - Spoken English, Computer
  • ✔ Jewell Making

5. Prison ministry


conclusion

Jesus took a stand in favour of the poor. Washing the feet of the disciples (Jn 13:15-17), giving his life for his stand in favour of the poor (Jn 15:13) were expressions of his spirituality. Jesus’ spirituality was born of his social, economic, political, and cultural stance. In his human and social involvement, he discovered the ultimate depth of the human being, that is, God. He sharpened, deepened, and guided this discovery in prayer. Prayer supported his deep commitment to the human person. Prayer laid the basis for a liberative protest and radical depth to his human social involvement. This anthropological, social and spiritual Passover helped Jesus to live his depth in a meaningful way and achieve his destiny through his sacrifice on the cross. Let us follow the integral social spirituality of Jesus to help us put forth actions for a new society.


 

Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Franciscan Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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