by Maria Gomes

At the Jesus Worker Centre the Missionaries of the Immaculate (linked to the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, PIME) help young people to enter the world of work. Key intervention in difficult cases. Recently, they prevented a woman from abandoning her son. Her partner did not accept that the boy was born from a previous relationship. Today, they are a happy family.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - "I love you, I want to marry you, but you have to get rid of that little boy" was the condition that a man put to Teresa (not her real name for security reasons), his partner, to legalize their union. The woman, a Bangladeshi Catholic, never revealed the name of the natural father of her son. The partner, however, a Brahmin Hindu converted to Christianity, could not accept this secret: "I do not know where he comes from, and this bothers me." Teresa is a strong woman, she resisted her companion's demands, but it was hard. Her father and some Missionaries of the Immaculate (female congregation linked to the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions PIME), operating at the Jesus Worker Centre come to her aid: together, they talk to the man, trying to convince him that the boy is not a bundle to be discarded. Gradually, the man realizes the pain he has caused to Teresa, but especially the child. Today, the two are married, the boy is 12 years old and has two little brothers to play with.

"It was a very difficult path" - Sister Mariangela Colombo, Missionary of the Immaculate who followed the case closely tells AsiaNews. "We took Theresa and her son, step by step: the refusal to compromise, to full acceptance. The worst thing was seeing this boy at the mercy of forces that he could not handle. He did not know his father and the mother's partner did not want him, and she was torn. In the end, meeting frequently with the grandfather the man understood, and formed a beautiful family. "

The story of Teresa and her son is only one of many that revolve around the Jesus Worker Centre, founded in 1995 in Maripur, an area on the northern outskirts of Dhaka, on the initiative of Fr. Gianpaolo Gualzetti and Brother Massimo Cattaneo (both PIME missionaries). The basic idea is to help the many boys and girls from tribal villages come to the capital to find work.

Sister Mariangela has been in Bangladesh for 27 years, and 3 in the Centre. "This - she explains - is a place of passage. Migrants from every corner of Bangladesh come here, each with different languages, customs, traditions and different ways of eating. Upon their arrival in the city they are completely lost, but here, even if for a short period, they find a point of reference". The main effort involves the field of education: "Often, we go to the homes or slums, and try to take the kids to school, so they may receive at least basic education." For young workers instead, each month the centre organizes seminars, inviting experts to discuss different issues: "We have had talks about the law, worker's rights, drugs, relationships, the Bible and even the Koran."

Another "service" offered is that the savings account: a kind of bank deposit without interest, that young people can use to set aside money from their salary. "This - highlights the religious - is a way to keep them 'bound' to us, and teach them the value of money. They learn to put money aside to send to their mother left the village, their little brothers and sisters so they can study, or to buy land".

"I know that may seem like small things, but here there is so much need this kind of work. And the youth are the first to appreciate it." Usually, in fact, even after their period at the hostel is finished, they remain in contact with the nuns. "They come to visit us, to present us their wife or husband, they bring us their children. We create bonds of trust and affection."

 

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