Jessy Joseph is a New Delhi-based freelance journalist who earlier worked with Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN), Asia's largest Church news agency, for nearly 25 years. She is now a correspondent for Matters India, a news portal that collaborates with GSR and focuses on religious and social issues.
Led by Sisters of the Holy Cross at three branches in India, the hospice Shanti Avedna Sadan ("Home of Painless Peace") takes in terminally ill cancer patients to spend their last days in peace and love.
"Hunger is more dangerous than coronavirus," said Sr. Preetha Varghese, who has been feeding hundreds of people living in poverty in the streets of New Delhi after her arrival in the Indian capital in 2016.
At the six houses of Sanjoepuram Children's Village in Chandpur, India, 17 nuns from four congregations serve 64 girls and women with disabilities, in one of the few institutions that offer inclusive education.
Hundreds of Catholic nuns are on the front lines as the church reaches out to migrant laborers affected by India's lockdown, considered the world's largest and toughest attempt to contain the pandemic.
After a controversial citizenship law sparked rioting, Presentation Sr. Anastasia Gill was one of the first Christians to personally reach out to victims. As a member of the government's minority commission, Gill also coordinated relief and medical efforts.
