A Day In the Life - The Rose Sisters Activities
The Rose Sisters run various programmes in their schools and the surrounding villages, and as a result have a very busy daily routine. We asked the Sisters if they could tell us about their daily activities, and this is the report they returned.
The Routine of daily life in the Convent for the sisters:
As a religious and consecrated person first we give priority for prayer, mediation, Holy Mass and Community living and community activities.
5.30am – 7.30am we have morning prayer, meditation followed by Holy Mass.
7.30 – 8.00am we have breakfast.
From 9am the sisters go to start their ministry, the sisters who are given education ministry will go to the college, the sister who is in charge of social work starts doing her work, and the hostel warden will be involved in the hostel work.
After 1pm we have lunch; the sisters who are working in the college will be able to come for lunch only after 2 pm due to their work.
Again after lunch each one will go back to their allotted ministry.
6.30pm to 8pm. we have evening prayer.
At 8 pm we have our supper together and we share our experience of that day as well we watch the news on the television. Then we move to the chapel for our personal prayer each one will take their own time as they need then we go to rest.
The Kanji Project supports the Sisters work at the Sunshine School and in the villages, but they have many other programmes that they also run, including Idhaya College, and much wider social and parish work. Some of that work is detailed below.
Idhaya College
The college was started in year 2004, the congregation received invitation from the then Bishop the Most Rev. Dr. Chinnappa. And our congregation has accepted, since our congregation charism is to educate the poor and the downtrodden since the people are very poor, and in this area usually the people do not permit the girls for higher studies hence we have started this college here to empower the girls through higher education. The Congregation has met the expenses of cleaning this forest area and to build the buildings. Till today the congregations meet lot of expenses to run this college. There are 39 villages around the college after we have started this college many girls have been educated and they go out to work and they earn to fulfil their needs. Surely the girls educated in our college will educate their children and will bring out the values learned from this college in their family life and in their working place. Our students are appreciated in their working place and the institution where they go for higher studies for their good mannerism and other activities comparing with the other students. Our Congregation is satisfied for working in such place and giving education to these poor girls.
Soap Making
Since it was affordable and useful in day to day human life we have decided to promote soap making to the village people considering the years of coronavirus. We went into the village Unnamalaipalyam which is 200m away from our college where we found many children, women, dropouts and young boys and girls can profit. We have invited the people [to take the classes], a good number of people responded to it and gathered in the bus stop and the procedure was taught to the people.
House Visits
We do house visit and listen to them and pray for them. We help the uneducated and ill, as well as the people who do not know how to do the procedures in getting death certificate and birth certificates. We have also helped five families who lost members affected by COVID. The Government gives financial help at the time of the marriage for the female; we help them in getting the certificates hey need and guiding them by telling the procedures to follow and to meet the government officials who work for this purpose. We also helped the people to get dress and food material from the government and from the diocese.
Self-Help Groups
We have 45 self help groups for women and for the disabled people to help with saving money. Through this group they can get loans from the government and share resources like an insurance policy. We are planning to form these self help groups like our children's parliament through which they can claim their fundamental rights and to show ways and means to improve economically.
Finance Groups
The self help group have formed two finance groups, 1) women finance group 2) disabled finance group. This finance group is for the purpose of investing a fixed amount group wise, this amount will be used for any emergency and other needs. They take loan from this total amount with a less interest. Also the people who invested will receive their interest every year for the amount each one invested. If anyone donates amount that would be added with this amount to help the disable. At present the disabled invested Rs.102500 and the women finance group has Rs. 82500. These groups are functioning since one year.
Poor Students' Education
From the time the convent started, we have helped financially the poor girl children every year. Now this scheme has been given to other places too and the number has been reduced, present year 8 students are helped: one is studying in the college, another one studying in the nursing school others are doing their school studies. In the college, we have many poor children, for some students we give concession in the college fees and very poor students are given free education. In a year we spend 4 - 5 lakhs for the poor students’ education. We arranged to get the scholarship from the government to the SC, ST, students, and the farmers daughters and minority students.
Parish Work
We also go the Parish on every Sunday, feast time and the any special occasion prepare for holy Mass, Parish choir teach catechism to the students and conduct pious associations we prepare students for Holy Communion.