The Valedictory Ceremony of CHAI’s 3-month-long “Community Health Enablers’ Course” was organized on 28th August 2017 at CHAI Training Centre. The ceremony was presided over by Rev. Dr. Fr. Mathew Abraham, Director-General, CHAI. Most Rev. Theodore Mascarenhas SFX, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), New Delhi, was the Chief Guest.
During the three-month long training since the month of June, 45 sister-nurses/social workers were energized, equipped and empowered as “Community Health Enablers”. They are given opportunities to acquire information and skills in various alternative modes of healing/drugless therapies (such as, Herbal Remedies, Naturopathy, Yoga, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Sujok, Reflexology, Massage and Cupping, basics in physiotherapy, etc.,), family and de-addiction counseling, holistic geriatric and palliate care, current maternal and child health issues, various Govt. schemes, basics in art-based life skill tools and computer applications. The valedictory was woven together with the review of the three-month training the sister-trainees underwent. All the trainees, most of them working health centres in interior areas, unanimously expressed the advantages of the skills they acquired during the training, and all the more, the confidence they gained to go back to their target communities.
Commenting on the review session, Bishop Theodore noted, “The review was quite different from some of the reviews he attended in the past, where the focus was mostly on logistics rather than the content of the training. In this review, what I found beautiful was that people only spoke of what they learned, how their lives were changed. The credit of the training programme was that it was so engrossed in what was important, what was intensive that other things became minimal. In fact, the course has become so intensive, so deep, so valuable because, first and foremost, thanks to the generosity of the people who conduct it. The basic principle a sister has to start with is that God has made you with certain dignity, values and purpose. That purpose can be fulfilled only by empowering yourselves with more add-ons. As you expressed, this training programme helped you to make add-ons to your capacities”.
At the valedictory, the trainees were presented with medical kits, consist of low cost point-of-care diagnostic devices, as part of health promotion, improving the quality of their community outreach services, reaching to people’s doorsteps.
In his concluding address, Bishop Theodore appreciated the sister-trainees for their intention to go to the community to serve the needy. Acknowledging the service rendered by CHAI to the Church in India, he stated, “CHAI is the Church’s most active health care organization.” Bishop Theodore reiterated, “As CBCI’s Secretary General, I want work closely with CHAI. I want CBCI and CHAI together take up health activities in the country. We need to recognize, capacitate and strengthen our fathers and sisters, our foot-soldiers, working in the remotest areas. Their work needs to be highlighted, to start with, in reports to CBCI by various Commissions. I assure you sisters of CBCI’s support when you faced with any challenge.
The Valedictory Ceremony was preceded by a day of recollection by Bishop Theodore on the theme Commissioning for Mission – after 3-month Training as “Community Health Enablers.” It echoed the biblical setting of Jesus sending out the disciples to preach the Gospel (Lk. 10: 1-23). He exhorted the trainees, “We are special as we are chosen for special tasks by God. The tasks entrusted by him to us give meaning to our lives. Our best abilities will have no meaning if it is not interlinked to His mercy, compassion and to what He called us for. While we marvel at the modern medicine, we should never forget the marvel of God, of Gospel, of our task of bringing Gospel to the people. After the training, when we journey back to our people, we should always remember that the real enabler is the Gospel while we in our various capacities provide various health care services. If we want to enable others to the Gospel, we ourselves first do have the Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium). Very often, we religious are ‘Good Friday People’. We forget to be the ‘Easter People’. Joy of the Gospel shows the evangelization in a different light. We should witness and radiate the Joy of the Gospel when we go to people. The Joy of the Gospel is the heart and light that we experience when we encounter Jesus.”
The Valedictory Day was closed with multi-cuisine dinner, representing various states, prepared by the sister trainees, served during the camp fire.
At the end of the training on 30th August, all the sister-trainees individually presented their plan of action for their target villages to be implemented with a group of local volunteers they intend to capacitate, mentor and replicate. In the evening, Rev. Dr. Mathew, CHAI Director General, celebrated Holy Mass and inspired the trainees to be confident and proud of their vocations, by sharing about call narratives in the bible. The Holy Mass ended by sister-trainees taking the pledge to render compassionate health care service to all, especially the marginalized and most vulnerable