Carmelite Sisters of Charity , Bardipada, Gujarat

Vedruna Carmelite Sisters of Charity , Bardipada, Gujarat

Deep in the tribal belt at the Gujarat- Maharashtra border is the hamlet of Bardipada. After a road journey of about 110 kms from my previous stop at Zankhvav, I reached Bardipada to be greeted by an amazing sight of community work. There is a combined venture of the Jesuit priests doing developmental work and the Vedruna Carmelite Missionary Sisters doing healthcare and educational work.

 

 Dr Sr Joemol Peter( Batch 0f ’97) is doing her second stint here, back after her OB& GYN postgraduation. She is in the process of revamping the system to further help the community. In addition to her specialty, she sees a variety of medical and surgical cases, with an interesting case of leopard bite (more like mangling) being the most recent.She has been requested by governmental agencies to help out with maternal and child services in few adjacent health centres.

Herbal medicines

Having worked out of thatched huts with minimal to no electricity and pumped water, the group is a hardy and versatile lot. Over long years of interaction with tribals, there are many herbal medications the nurses have discovered which work well in a variety of conditions. 

Mahouda fruit

Use of aloe vera and the fruit of the mahuda/mahua tree(the brew of which is also used in these parts of prohibition Gujarat for other interesting purposes) is common in some of these preparations.

As a major bonus, I got to meet Fr Ignacio Galdos, a legendary Spanish Jesuit missionary. Having established the Zankhvav and Unai missions, he now lives at the Bardipada mission.  Here in addition to all the development work, he has established a wonderful museum highlighting all facets of the tribes of the region from prehistoric times. Respecting the elements of nature and the tribal way of life is the practise of this religious community.

Fr Galdos at the Museum

The Altar at the Hospital Chapel

  

The Jesuit order which established this missionary outpost is appreciative of the Sisters, especially a specialist like Sr Joma, who now faces the onerous task of scaling up the health services.

The Medical Team