Thousands of people in the Indian state of Bihar who were bitten by venomous snakes were rescued by nuns at a specialized clinic.
In the novitiate of religious orders, novices usually study spirituality and religious law, as well as prayer, but in the five novitiates of the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions in India, novices also have to study an additional subject. , which is the skill to kill venomous snakes.
In the northern Indian state of Bihar, around 4,500 people die each year from venomous snake bites. When the Missionary Sisters of Notre Dame came to India in the 1990s with the aim of educating young girls, they realized that God was calling them to another mission, that of establishing a clinic to treat people bitten by venomous snakes.
Sister Crescencia Sun told the American Catholic news agency CNA: “At first we didn't think of opening a clinic to treat people bitten by snakes, but because people get bitten by snakes so much ... and many people have snakebite. risking death from this accident, so we train the nuns on how to help the victims, as they are often nurses.”
During the hot summer, the nuns' clinic treats between 40 and 50 snakebites every day, and saves thousands of lives every year.
Women's Forum in Rome
Sister Crescencia Sun was also invited to present her testimony on October 16, 2019 at the forum “Women on the Frontlines” organized by the US Embassy next to the Holy See, to present her work. nuns in some of the most dangerous places in the world. Ms. Sun said that in her area, "many people were bitten by snakes, all kinds of poisonous snakes...". At first, working at the snakebite treatment clinic required a lot of psychological effort. “The first three months I was there, I saw a lot of people dying from snakebites,” she says. I was very sad and thought to myself: maybe this job is not my mission... But then, as the people kept coming, I felt courageous and prayed to the Lord: Lord, if this is this is what you want me to do, give me courage and strength.”
Help people prevent snake bites
In addition to treating patients bitten by snakes, the nuns also help them with prevention, explaining to people in surrounding villages about the danger and how to protect themselves from snake bites. Ms. Sun explains: “Hindus worship snakes, so they don't kill snakes, even if they are bitten by snakes. So during the summer, we work seven days a week, 24 hours a day, day and night.”
Because of poverty, many of the patients you see are people who live in huts made of bamboo and grass, with a kind of mud floor, which can attract venomous reptiles, especially in the summer and rainy season.
“Many people tell us: when they wake up in the morning, and from the moment they put their feet on the floor, they get bitten by a snake.”
To help them stay safe, the nuns also train dogs to detect the presence of snakes.
Sister Sun also said: “I was very afraid of snakes, but when we were in Bangalore in the novitiate, to become nuns, in that area we also had many kinds of snakes, including cobras. It also helped me learn how to deal with and even kill some snakes, so when I came here, I was somewhat prepared.”
More than 6,000 people were cured last year
In 2018, the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions treated more than 6,000 people who were bitten by snakes at this clinic in Kanti, Bihar state. “I believe God uses nuns as tools and miracles happen because God heals,” Sister Sun said.
At the forum on October 16, 2019 in Rome, the US Ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich, said: “Sisters are among the most effective and vital partners we have on the front lines of our lives. vulnerable communities in the world. Sisters are often the last ray of hope for millions of voiceless people, without them. They serve the displaced and desperate, often at their own risk, in places where governments fail and humanitarian organizations struggle to function.” (CNA October 16, 2019)