INDIA
The Family of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus started in 2005 at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Portland Oregon USA with a group of friends of Deacon An Vu. It was recognized as a Private Association of the Faithful on Dec 8, 2009 by Archbishop John G. Vlazly, Archbishop of Portland in Oregon.
The Establishment
Swaagatham! In India it means Welcome. It is an honor to be here to greet and
acknowledge all specially Fr. Maria Johanes Vianey, CMF Superior delegate of Indonesia-
Timor Leste; Fr. Eduardo Apungan, CMF Provincial Superior of Claretian Missionaries in
the Philippines; Bishop Antonio Tobias, DD, Bishop of Novaliches, Philippines and Bishop
Honesto Ongtioco, DD Bishop of Cubao, Philippines especially our fountainhead, Deacon An
Vu and all Teresa Priests, Deacons and members all over the world who are avid advocates
and stellars supporters of the Teresa Charities International Assembly in the Philippines. I
would like to cite the charismatic Luisa Arnaldo, who is all the overall coordinator of the
international assembly this afternoon.
Teresa Charities was born ten years ago with faith in little seeds. With our catalyst,
the beloved patron saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower,. Whose “Little Way of
Love to all mankind” have not sparked but also sown seeds of love to grow and blossoms in
our global village. I believe we have created a contagion of compassion of the world.
In the impoverished village of Devam, Andhra Pradesh, South India. I have met this
wonderful woman. Her name is Santhosha Jagam Kumari, a lawyer, an advocate and
activist for the rights of women and also a supporter and fighter of the poor and the
elderly. In addition, she is a Preacher and President at Nava Samara Nirmana Samstha a
non government organization. She was introduced in Facebook by a mutual friend of mine,
Ms. Cymbelline Refalda Villamin, former classmate at Aeneo de Manila and now a well-
known published Christian writer in Amazon, Panorama and Manila Bulletin to name a few.
Through the social media network, Facebook Facebook, St. Therese guided me to find Santhosha in
East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India.
In 2013, Deacon An Vu wanted to spread the wings of Teresa Family in India by
reaching out to the poor elderly in this part of the globe. This intrinsic trust, and must I say
intuitive faith created a perfect chemistry that clicked from the very beginning to plant its
little mustard seed in the poor village of Devam in Andhra Pradesh South India.
This part of the globe, they regard their elderly as “burden to society” especially if
they are sick or could no longer help in the family and be a contributing member of the
community. The Government withholds their pension and they could hardly make a dollar
a day, more over, make breadwinner of the family. Most have hardly finished high school
and due to lack of skills sets to get decent jobs to support their families, they are kicked out
of their homes if they have no use for their family. With hardly education training or
government support, they remain hopeless with their lives. They have no seed of money to
start a candle making, fishing, weaving or rice planting business or even put food in the
table. Mendicancy, in rampant and they need our help to step up and make a difference! So
in September 2014, we implemented to enroll 50 elderly families to receive rice once a
month. With a monthly budget of $500 a month, we are able to supplement the diet of the
elderly and encourage them to pray the creed of St. Therese and conduct their lives in love
and humility.
Due to the heartwarming outcome of our rice distribution program, we have
anointed two beautiful souls in the name of aspirants, Swaathi Maddala, a young girl of 21
and Nukaratnam Saarampati, a widow in her late 40’s. These ladies help in preaching the
Bible, cleaning clothes, feeding the poor elderly and assisting them in their day to day
activities. We send them money to help in these endeavors. They are given a stipend of
$100 a month to perform their duties to the elderly. This program started in the month of
November 2014.
Another part of this Another part of this diversification is spreading word of God. We started the prayer
group last April 2015 with resounding success. The $50 monthly activity has served over
1500 people who go to the center to pray, learn about the word of God, pray the Divine
Mercy rosary and St. Therese prayer and the center their lives in the will of St. Therese to
humble themselves and serve one another in pursuit of God’s will for all.
It is with great pleasure that Santhosha Kumari, 42, a lawyer and preacher from
India has not only advocated for the poor but also for elderly’s welfare in a very
discriminatory and caste conscious society like India. She also pushed forward the feminist
right of women to stand up a moral compass to society. She is an advocate of persecuted
Christians and also who are abused, tormenred and shortchanged by society. So we have a
Joan of Arc there is that is fighting tooth and nail and doing all she can to provide food,
shelter and love to all, both young and old.
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