EDUCATION
For the Brothers, the ministry of education is an extension of the Gospel. At the time of our founder, education in India was a privilege of the elite upper classes. Women were not at all provided opportunity to learn. Common people were aliens to this elite education system. Our Founder, Bro. Paulus Moritz realized that education should be made available to all sections of the society, especially to the poor.
He was convinced that education is the best means to empower the poor and marginalized and therefore established rural schools that not only transformed the lives of the poor but also helped people live their Christian faith. His aim was to build up a generation capable of living the Catholic Faith and hence used education ministry extensively as a tool to realise the primary aim of the Congregation. The first school was established in 1908 at Mt. Poinsur, Mumbai with a handful of children (orphans).
Today the Brothers continue to carry on the dream of their founder and run over 55 schools educating more than 1,00,000 children; colleges including professional ones, and 10 technical training institutes. The Brothers strive to serve the marginalized communities working with love, compassion and respect. It’s their aim to address the issue of education inequity while demonstrating how schools can act as inspiration hubs of community-related development. Education is window to the world, key to knowledge and wheels for progress and it’s our mission to transform the life of every child.
CHILD – DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
Many children in India and other poor countries suffer from deprivation, disease, hunger, illiteracy and poverty and consequently live without chances, choices and opportunities. Poverty does not only threaten children by depriving them of the capabilities needed to survive, develop and thrive. It also widens social, economic and gender disparities that prevent children from enjoying their childhood and undermine protective family and community environments, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, violence and discrimination. Franciscan Missionary Brothers, responding to the call of Jesus, “let the little children come to me,” (Mt. 19:14), work with children in difficulties through programs such as orphanages, children’s homes, rehabilitation of disabled children, save- a child program, supplementary education and children’s parliaments in order to snap the self-reinforcing cycle of hunger, poverty and disease – one life, one child, and one family at a time.
In the heart of every child there is a hunger for home. Not just for food and a place to sleep, but for safety and community. Most importantly for love. Our childrens’ homes are much more than this: a home for the orphans, neglected and poor children. The Brothers first started their orphanage in Mumbai in 1906 and it’s a long way we have come. Hence over the years we have started many more; today we have 50 orphanages/children’s homes in India and Sri Lanka educating over 2,000 poor children.
