By Fr Adolf Washington

Bengaluru, Mar 23: A new commission of the archdiocese of the city has given migrant workers a sense of belonging.

“I had felt like a stranger when I began working in this city, but now I have brothers and sisters here,” said a participant of an animation programme for migrant workers the commission organized on March 20.

More than 120 workers from Orissa, Assam, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Arunachal, Manipur, West Bengal and other states attended the first programme of the commission which was formed in August 2015.

Commission secretary Fr Shaju Kalapurakkal of the Sacred Heart Fathers of Betharram said they took months to reach out to migrant workers and students in the six districts that the archdiocese covers. “Our intention is to reach out to many more migrants and make them feel at home during their stay here.”
The commission plans to focus on working women in various units of garment factories and conduct awareness programs. It will work with the archdiocesan labor commission to ensure better accommodation facilities and service conditions for the women.

It will regularly monitor the living conditions of the women so that they can live without fear and enjoy a sense of identity. The church wants the women to have a feeling of being wanted and cared for, the secretary said.

Resourse person Bro Xavier and team from Spiritual Revival Ministry lead the participants in praise and worship and an inner healing service with the help of Bengaluru Christian community of Meghalaya (Khasi group). It was followed by an input session and interaction from the participants.

Salesian Father Ramesh from the DB Tech guided the participants with techniques to cope with the challenges of city life and shared with them the available resources for career growth, counseling, skill-based jobs and resource to labor laws. The programme concluded with mass presided by Redemptorist Father Iganance Dundung.