Maher is the name of a project that Indian Sister Lucy Kurien of the Order of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod (SCC) began in 1997 to shelter exploited and destitute women and children, in Pune, in western India’s Maharashtra state.
Nearly 20 years after Maher was started, today the project has 28 children’s homes, 5 women’s home and a men’s home, mostly in Maharashtra, but has also gone beyond. The beneficiaries of Maher are many more than those served in the centres, as it reaches out to others beyond its walls.
Sr. Lucy has received several honours and recognition for her works or mercy. Recently, on the occasion of this year’s International Women's Day, March 8, she was conferred the Nari Shakti Award for 2015 by none other than Indian president Pranab Mukherjee. Sr. Lucy was recognized for her outstanding contribution to women’s empowerment, during a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, or the presidential palace in New Delhi.
We called Sr. Lucy Kurien on the phone at her Maher centre in Pune to know about her work. Today, in the first of a 2-part telephone interview, we hear Sr. Lucy herself speak about her recent honour – the Nari Shakti Puruskar - from the Indian president.
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