Women’s Day Celebration at St. Mary’s Mahila Shikshan Kendra

14th March 2024 was a remarkable day in the History of St. Mary’s Mahila Shikshan Kendra because the Celebration of Women’s Day was unlike the other years. It was a day with different experiences of listening to a shocking reality of our society and the country at large.

There was great joy and eagerness in the members of St. Mary’s to participate in the program. The theme for the day was “AWARENESS ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING”. The area leaders welcomed the guests with a traditional Gujarati song, showering flower petals on them. Around 200 persons participated in the program including the Staff members, students and artisan women of St. Mary’s. Sr. Shirley Joseph FMM was the Chief Guest accompanied by Mr. Rohit who is a co-worker in FMM Social Service Centre at Kamatipura Area in Mumbai Central. Sr. Shirley who holds a master’s degree in social work accompanied by a vast experience of working as a social worker in different counties like Libya, Nigeria, Egypt, France and India. She is a Member of the National Core committee of AMRAT – Talita Kum, India.

The participants were explained about what HUMAN TRAFFICKING is and how it happens. To make it more visible and clear they were shown a video clip which explained all the steps from how a child is being picked from a school until she is rescued. It brought a shocking awareness in the women. All were so silent and focused to watch how things are being meticulously planned and carried out. Many were emotional and felt disturbed to know the reality.

Mr. Rohit addressed the women posing some questions for interaction and feedback from the participants. Sr. Silvia summarized the information and the reality that is happening around the areas, by concretizing the problems like Drug Peddling, sale of liquor and Child Labor. She gave some examples of how to prevent the evil that is happening. She encouraged the women to be bold and speak out against wrong deeds and invited them to stand united to fight against the evil deeds.

Then, there was the presentation of the annual report, awarding the students of different sectors of Skill Training like Tailoring, Nursing Assistant, Hair Style and Beauty culture etc. with certificates were part of the program. To add color to the celebration, the students performed a beautiful “Garba”- typical cultural dance of Gujarat.

The program was concluded with a Thanksgiving to God and all those who worked hard to make the day a meaningful and memorable one. All the participants went home happily enjoying the snacks distributed.

Sister Usha  Macwan

India