Diocese: Shimoga
Pioneers: Sisters Lilly Pushpa and Sunitha Monis
Molakalmuru is one of the six talukas of Chitradurga District. It covers an area of 732.49 square kilometres. It is 100 kilometres to the south of the Chitradurga District head quarters – Bellary. Molakalmur is within the jurisdiction of Shimoga Diocese. Bishop Isaac Lobo of the Diocese, having known the work of the Ursuline Franciscan Sisters in rural areas, invited them to reach out to people in Molakalmur especially by way of evangelization.
Sr Doreen D’Souza, Superior General, sent Sisters Lilly Pushpa and Sunitha Monis as pioneers to the place. Accompanied by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo and Fr Clarence D’Souza of Shimoga Diocese they arrived at Molakalmuru on June 4, 2005. They were welcomed by Fr Alphonse Lobo, the parish priest of Blessed Joseph Vaz church, Molakalmuru.
The Sisters were put up in a rented house provided by the parish. They began their mission right in the scorching heat. Extreme heat proved to be part of their mission as this was to be accomplished in the interior villages of Molakalmuru. The expertise of Sr Lilly Pushpa, a Master in Social Work came as a blessing at this juncture. She began coaching school children of primary, high school and PUC level. She also organized weekly meetings of the groups of children and women whom she had formed to deal with financial and social matters in their respective villages. In addition, she conducted awareness programmes on issues such as health and hygiene. Alongside, she organized the local non-governmental groups too.
Fortunately for the Sisters the Bishop of the Diocese, Isaac Lobo, shared the concern of the Sisters to reach out to the marginalized. He was insistent that the children of the economically poor parents ought to receive best education. In order to concretize the vision, a school was started at Molakalmuru in 2006. Sr Anthoniammma C rendered her service in the school as headmistress and Sr Sophia Bellary as a supporting staff. The village heads, namely, Mr Nagaraj and Shushilendra and the people alike have been expressing delight at the service of the Sisters in the field of education.
Fr Alphonse Lobo, the parish priest, was supportive of the Sisters ever since their arrival at Molakalmuru. With his assistance, the Sisters have purchased an eight acre land at Sommanahalli village of Molakalmuru Taluk. On May 18, 2007, Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo laid the foundation stone for Divya Kripa Convent as well as Divya Kripa Social Service Centre. Sr Lilly Pushpa toiled hard to get the construction ready in ten months. The Generalate team assisted the venture greatly. The assistance of Sr Jeraldine D’Souza, Councillor General for construction, the support of Fr Alphonse Lobo, the help of Mr Thipperudra Gowda of Molakalmuru in processing the documents of the land, and the labour of Mr G Nagaraj of Bommalinganahalli in compounding the property were noted and are remembered with gratitude by the Sisters. Bishop Isaac was supportive in all the endeavours of the Sisters; he remunerated them with Rs 2000 a month.
On March 31, 2008 Divya Kripa was inaugurated by Sr Doreen D’Souza, the Superior General, and it was blessed by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo. From then onwards, the administration of the house has been entrusted to the Mysore Province. Sr Petronilla D’Silva, as the animator and Sr Felcy D’Cunha as the social worker, Sr Reena D’Souza the headmistress of the School and Sr Precilla Dollin as teaching staff were members of the canonically erected community. Sr Petronilla focused her immediate attention on cultivating fruit and coconut trees all over the land. She also managed to obtain a transformer with a capacity of 100 kilowatts; the financial burden was shouldered by the Generalate.
The gradual transition towards working in an institutionalized set-up did not deter the Sisters from reaching out to people in villages near and far of Molakalmuru. They visit villages regularly including the Ashoka Siddapura village which is 24 kilometres away from Molakalmuru; they stay overnight in villages, conduct prayers in Catholic families and visit other families. The Sisters also assist children and women in their socio-economic development. Currently, Sr Milagrin D’Souza, a trained social worker, organizes various programmes in villages such as saving schemes, awareness programmes on gender issues and equal rights, and leadership training. The Sisters commute distant villages by means of bicycle. Through their unassuming service the Sisters would surely sow the values of the Kingdom in the hearts of the people and enable them to experience ‘Divya Kripa’ - God’s grace - his favour in their life.
