Orissa: Christians, Hindus and lay people working together for 35 years in the slums of Rourkela
Rourkela (AsiaNews) - A priest of the Congregation of the Divine Word has worked for 35 years among the people of the slums, and says it is part of his mission to work with people of good will, of every caste, creed and language to create grounds for human development filled with peace, harmony and mutual respect. This is the story of Father John Alapatt, director of the “Community Welfare Society "(CWS), Orissa. The CWS was founded in 1975, with the firm conviction that there are many good-hearted people, and if you can make them work together, it is a service of great value to humanity.
At Rourkela, the federal government has created a long-standing system for processing steel, the Rourkela steel plant. Around the factory, which produces 1.9 million tonnes per year slums soon mushroomed, inhabited by poor people. And thus CWS was born, which with the help of many people tries to transform the lives of the inhabitants of slums. CWS has among its staff engineers, doctors, educators, administrators, lawyers, social workers, priests and nuns. It works on programs to dig wells, build roads and sewers, housing for the working poor, schools for children, clinics and professional formation centres. Since 2002, CWS has decided to focus on human development: it has trained hundreds of groups of in a Self Help Group, (SHG) and 54 women's organizations. "Today, 60 slums, populated by over 80 thousand people, are benefiting from CWS programs," says father Alapatt.
Women have become the leaders of change. With the help of CWS they have addressed the economic and social problems of the people and worked to improve standards of living: hygiene, health, education for children and environmental problems in general. They have gained great confidence in themselves, to defend their cause within the neighbourhood, and with government officials. They act as arbitrators and regulate the problems of domestic violence, disputes and other matters without seeking police help. Their struggle against alcoholism has led many people to change their lifestyle. More than a thousand women, individually or in groups have created a self-funding projects that help support the family economically.
"This kind of collaboration demonstrates that the development and transformation of the world can be a joint effort that calls on religious and non-religious groups to participate in the transformation. So the people of God who unite their efforts may serve as a catalyst in the transformation of humanity, " Fr. Alapatt told AsiaNews. Father Konrad Keller, deputy general of the Society of Divine Word, said that CWS is an example of inter-religious dialogue among the poor of Orissa. "The people from CWS are proof of the ability to overcome prejudices and to reach a mutual understanding."
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