I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Image by billy cedeno from Pixabay 

“My dear students…any time you see a woman or a child begging on the street…the aged men left on the street, can you stop…and ask, ‘Do you need some help?’ And please call me up.” -Sister Lucy Kurien, Maher.

This quote is from an acceptance speech at  Surydatta Awards in 2014. Sister Lucy began her speech by giving the award back to the staff, women, and children of Maher.

“There are almost 3000 women who have been through the experience of Maher,” Sister Lucy said, “and also 2,800 children…so I give this award to them.”

“And please call me up.”
A lot of people called her.  In the six years since her speech, 3000 more women have been through Maher — as many as all 17 years before that combined.   The number of children rose from 2800 to 4000 in 2020.  And the numbers are growing. Maher houses and feeds destitute aged and infirm men.  In the 23 years since Maher began, it has provided care, shelter, and support to close to 6000 children and over 4500 women.

Maher grew from one woman with a dream in 1990. It took seven years, but the house was finally built in 1997.  Today, there are 49 Maher homes and 250 outreach programs all over India.

When Sister’s Lucy was a young nun, and she witnessed a horrific event one night that led to her passion to start Maher.   She tells the story in her own words here:

Sister Heart Documentary
https://youtu.be/PDXss6nNnUM