History of Australia
JMJs in Other Continent:

Indian Missionaries to Austrilia 1973 - 1980

JMJ Society has taken another bold step to reach out to more countries. In 1958 steps were taken to move to a new continent Australia. On 19th March 1960, the first three sisters arrived in Canberra and on 13th September the same year seven other followed. In February 1961, the JMJ Sisters were to take up teaching in the existing St. Benedict's School, Narrabundah, when the Good Samaritan Sisters who were teaching there were entrusted with another School in the suburbs of Canberra. They extended their mission to the suburb of Blackburn South, then Mary's Hill in Mooralbark


A Challenge to the Indians:

In the beginning of 1973 sisters Rani Pudota and Theresa Koreth worked for four years and later Srs. Josephine Gopu and Gertrude Bandanadham replaced them for the next four years. It was a beautiful experience that the Dutch Sisters live together with the Indian sisters and get enriched from each other's culture.

Sr. Theresa Koreth
Sr. Rani Pudota
Sr. Gertrude Bandanadham
Sr. Josephine Gopu

During the ensuing years, a rapid change occurred in the Catholic education system in Australia. More and more Catholic lay people became equipped and fully qualified for teaching and for other works. In the course of the years, many Dutch sisters who were in Australia went back to Holland and they had to close down their convents, due to sudden drop in Vocations to the Society and increase in aging sisters. Accordingly, the JMJ sisters gradually phased out from Australia and returned to their mother land to continue the Lord's work there. Thus the history of JMJ in Australia was closed by the end of 1982.

History of Tanzania - Africa
Sr. Lucy Chiramel
Sr. Lawrence Guvvala

In the year 1959 at the request of Mgr. Blomijous the bishop of S'Hertogenbosch and influenced by the Dutch white Fathers, another mission station was to see the light of the day as the plan of God. The JMJs ventured to enter the Dark Continent – Africa. The country chosen was Tanzania, East Africa. Seeing the mixed population of the country especially of the great many Indians, the Bishop made a special request to our Society to send at least two Indian Sisters to Tanzania. Sisters Lawrence Guvvala and Lucy Chiramel were selected and sent with other seven Dutch sisters to Tanzania in 1960 as pioneers for educational and medical services.


The west response to the call of the east mission

JMJ's began working with Dutch, African and other nationalities in multinational school in Tanzania, the first of its kind in the country as their first mission, which later proved to me a great success soon the mission started to spread out seeking the signs of the time to different countries like Mujanza, Kibara and Geita and took up various aspostolates education, health care, social service etc.

Due to lack of personnel, the missions were handed over to the native congregations in 1973, leaving them all assets, so that the good work began by us could be continued for the benefit of the people.

History Of Ghana - Africa

Formation of Ghana – West Africa as a Region - 08.09.2009

Our mission in Ghana started in the year July 1990 with five Sisters from India and Indonesia, our first mission station was in Yeji and now on 8th September 2009 it is formed as a Region. Sr. Regina Guvvala was appointed as the Regional Superior of Ghana, West Africa. There are four Communities under this region with a number of 20 Sisters from Indonesia and Indian Provinces.

JMJ Enters the African Continent once again

We were invited by Sunyani Bishop Rev. James Owusu in 1990 to extend the services in the land of Gold to work among the people of Yeji, a remote and backward area namely in Yeji, Atebubu and Kwasibuokram (KBK) through apostolates of education, healthcare and social. A group of five JMJ Sisters were selected for this mission Dr. Sr. RosilyKannampuzha, Sr. Jovita Plakkal and Sr. Luciana Kalapura all three from India and Srs. Johanna Roring and Sr. Angelinio Poluan from Indonesia. They left for Yeji-Ghana on 25th July 1990.

The growth and development:

They started a small clinic in Yeji with six sisters and a few local staff for serving the local community with proper healthcare, and then started JSS School at Atebubu in 1997 to help the backward community with better education facilities. On 12th November 2000 Sisters took over senior secondary school at KBK from Divine Providence sisters and developed for better results.

The Future thrust:

At present three Indonesians and thirteen Indian sisters are working in three communities and the new batch of sisters for various missions will be launching out to Ghana in the year 2007. The General Council is preparing to make Ghana an independent region in 2008. To continue the JMJ presence in Ghana local vocations are admitted to JMJ Society from 2007 onwards. Later a few more communities will be opened in Ghana and beyond.

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