House Reconsturction and Poor Children's Education

by Fr. Jose Guilherme Gouveia, SCJ
India District Treasurer


It’s a fact that we, SCJs in India, are very limited in terms of social ministry, mainly due to the foreign origin of most of us. Notwithstanding, we have been able to give a considerable contribution to social activities in this country, which presents great discrepancies in the wealth distribution and many needs in the social development. Our presence right now is one of being intermediaries in financial help to institutions and individuals. Everyday we receive requests for contribution in medical expenses, education fees, food, and for the running of charity institutions.

Besides the everyday small donations for food and medical expenses, we have created two funds with the money that comes from benefactors, mainly from the diocese of Rotterdam in Holland and from the USA: The Fund for House Reconstruction and the Fund for Education of Poor Children. In addition to these two funds, there is the fund for the different charity and social projects of Fr. Adrian van der Wilk, SCJ. Our purpose is to direct the benefactors’ money to projects that will improve the life standard of at least our most poor neighbors, independently of their caste or religion.

From the many requests, we are able to select the people we consider more in need. Right now, we have helped to reconstruct the houses of half dozen neighboring families, and we made possible the attendance of school and university to several children and youth. We are careful not to give the full amount needed by the people. If this would happen, we would contribute only to a mentality of dependence and begging. We want the interested people to contribute also with something from their own. However, to each we give at least more than 50% of the amount estimated. We have been giving also considerable contributions to institutions, namely related with orphaned, physically or mentally handicapped children.

Our hope is that gradually, as we have our own Indian SCJ priests and brothers, we can start projects of our own. With this in mind, we invite our students to participate in the decisions related to charity donations and to the help given through the funds.