Narigutte Project

June 29, 2020

The Narigutte “Fox Hill” project is on the go! The Sisters of Notre Dame of the Visitation Province, Bangalore, India, have adopted the village of Narigutte (literal translation is Fox Hill) as a special project to bring the JPIC alive in the lives of local people. The decision was taken at the province assembly of December 2017. It took several meetings, interviews; surveys, and on-the-spot visits by the sisters, teachers, and students to identify the most pressing needs of the village of fifty Catholic families who are all day laborers and migrant workers. The most pressing needs identified are sanitation, electrification, and education. As a part of the sanitation project it was decided to build several toilet facilities for the needy families and to build a house for a widow with two children, one of whom is a special child.

On June 7, 2020, the place was blessed by the parish priest, Fr. A. Thomas of Mariyapura in the presence of Sisters Mary Chetana, our provincial, Mary Divya, the province treasurer, Mary Alpana, our JPIC co-ordinator, and other sisters from the neighboring communities: Mary Naina from Koramangala, Mary Jaisheela from Somanahalli, the village leaders, and the villagers themselves. This village is part of Mariyapura Parish, which is under the jurisdiction of Somanahalli Village Block. Each unit of the province will contribute the “widow’s mite” to turn this province goal into a reality. Work is in progress now in spite of the uncertainties of COVID-19 pandemic and the havoc and misery caused by it to the poor and marginalized people. The villagers themselves are the labor force.

The children will be enrolled in the nearby schools to get a better education that will help them to transform their lives and the society around them.

The process of electrification will take place only after some more meetings and negotiations with the Karnataka Electricity Power Supply Company. In the meantime, we solicit the help of all our friends and benefactors to help in bringing about Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation into the lives of our marginalized and less privileged brothers and sisters.