A culture of creativity and courage

June 18, 2008 at 7:44 am kristinl Leave a comment

Watch a video highlighting CFCA’s work in India and the beauty of the mothers groups.

Ilene Adams, CFCA International programs – Asia project director, reflects on the award given to Father Francis Thumma and the Hyderabad team, and the mothers group program established there.

The culture of creativity and courage which was established by Fr. Francis is alive in Hyderabad today. The culture can be witnessed in many different ways. It is witnessed through the proud faces of the mothers as they display the products they have produced and will sell at a profit, through the bounce in their step as they walk among 5,000 other sponsored mothers at the annual mothers conference, through the confidence in their faces as they explain that the blue vest they are wearing denotes them as a mothers group leader, and through the excitement in their voices as they introduce their child and explain that she will be graduating this year with a masters degree.

In a society where women are oppressed, these opportunities are made available only by a culture of great creativity and great courage. A culture established by Fr. Francis and embraced by Suresh, Prakash, Rosy and by each and every member of the CFCA Hyderabad team. And, while it’s this culture which allows for such opportunities, Fr. Francis and the staff in Hyderabad would be quick to point out that it is the endless work of the mothers themselves which turns these opportunities into the glorious realities that we celebrate.