| Molly, St. Antony's School, Asmol, Sambal District, Uttar Pradesh |
Not many Malayalees may know her. But to many in Uttar Pradesh, Pune and Mumbai, she is someone who has touched their existence and aspirations. Molly, and her husband Mark ,have brought about a social change in the Asmol village in Sambal District of Uttar Pradesh.
Helping a fellow being must have been in her blood for by the age of eight she was the savior of drowning persons on two occasions. As the death of her uncle made her question the meaning of life, she chose to become a nun.
Her first area of activity was at Thane. The young nun had an inner call to serve human being as part of loving God. So she went to Bhopal and worked with Father Borgia, who had declared a war on leprosy.
Later she went on to serve in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. It was while serving with Father Borgia that a Belgian social worker Mark came to her life. He had come to India with the intention to do humanitarian work. Seeing the dedication of Molly, it wasn’t long before Mark proposed to her and they became man and wife.
Seeing the wasted lives of Adivasi children in Thalasseri near Thane, she thought of the need to bring the light of education to the lives of children. It was this that resulted in Molly and Mark establishing a school at Asmol in UP.
Today, the St.Antony’s school is a beacon of hope for the 2000 students studying there. In addition to the school, the other facilities include mobile clinics, leprosy hospitals, literacy for women, self-help groups and microfinance etc.
Life with Molly has completely changed Mark, who now works in the extreme heat of Asmol. And Molly credits her achievements to the freedom assured by her husband.
Except for the two survivors of drowning incidents in Kerala, not many may know her. But her effort has been synonymous with the change in the life of an entire village in remote Uttar Pradesh.
Courtesy: V.R.Jyothish (text), Tibin Augustine (photo), Vanitha, December 15-31, 2015
