KUZHIVILAI: OUR MISSION AND OUR SERVICE

Trusting in God’s providence, we move ahead to fulfil our mission and serve our people... 

Living in the community of Servants of Mary at Kuzhivilai, I would like to share some things about our community and its surroundings. 

Kuzhivilai is a village situated in the district of Kanyakumari, in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. Geographically, it is near to the southernmost point of Indian peninsula where the waters of the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea meet. The southernmost town called Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) is sometimes referred to as lands-end. It is famous for its beach and people from all over go there to enjoy the beauty of sunrise and sunset. One finds on the beaches of Kanyakumari tourists of different nationalities.

Kanyakumari has a famous Hindu temple which makes it also a pilgrim destination. Today the district of Kanyakumari has a population of 21 lakhs. Hindus and Christians are the main religious communities. One finds together with temples, churches everywhere.

Many people in this area are fishermen, masons and palm tree tappers. Some people who were palm tree growers shifted to rubber plantation for better income. The masons sought and found job opportunities in neighboring states, and many went also abroad for construction work. Fishermen   improved their skill for their work with modern motorized boats which gave also more security in the sea. All these helped the financial improvement of the people and raised their standard of living.

In most of the families, men are the bread winners. Their absence brings many problems, especially increased burden on women for looking after children and doing household management. Many women undergo emotional strains without finding a way to contain them. The Sisters consider it a duty to accompany them in their ups and downs. For this we make family visit and give counselling which are important for our service and mission to the villagers. Our support to parish life and Christian community in the locality also includes education of children through teaching, about which we add some more description towards the end of this write-up.

Our small community lives and works in solidarity with all around us. We are one with the local church, our parish community which has 325 Christian families. Fr Thomas Kurisapan is our parish priest. He is very much involved in the life of people. His simple and friendly contacts with everybody make him a good builder of community. The parish is divided into 9 units. Every Sunday afternoon, each unit will gather in their locality sharing the Word of God and reflection. The parish has organized catechism classes and youth programs. Society of Vincent de Paul and Legion of Mary do active work among parishioners. We Sisters join and support all parish programs. The relationship with people during this time of Covid pandemic is kept up by means of internet media and on-line contacts.

One of our major service projects, as already hinted above, lies in the field of education. Two of our Sisters are in full time work at the Schools which are established by the church. Fr Dominic is the manager of the schools. Sr Mercy is the principal of St Joseph’s Matriculation School and Sr. Gracy is the principal of St Mary’s International School. The total strength of our schools is 1800 students.

This region of southernmost tip of India is exposed to many challenges. In 2004, we faced Tsunami which killed hundreds of people and many were made homeless. The mass grave of people who died is not far from our village. Today together with the rest of the world when we face dreadful spread of Covid-19, we are further shaken by natural disasters like Oki storm and cyclones named as Tauktae and Yaas. Devastations and destructions are frequent phenomena in the Eastern coastal region of India, which is on the Bay of Bengal, a sea known for its turmoil. Though we are exposed to many challenges, trusting in God’s providence, we move ahead to fulfil our mission and serve our people...