ANEKAL
The Anekal Jesuit Educational and Charitable Society is a part of the Jesuits of Karnataka. The Society, which has its head office at Loyola Mandir, Bangalore, has its branch office in Anekal established in 1974.
Jesuits of Karnataka were entrusted with the care of the entire Anekal Taluka by the Archbishop of Bangalore in 1974. Apart from the pastoral care of the small Christian communities the Jesuits also established a hostel for poor rural boys to facilitate their school education. In 1977 Jesuits went in for an organized mass literacy programme, rural housing schemes, and small developmental works. At the invitation of the Jesuits Canossian Sisters came to Anekal. They first collaborated with the Jesuits in social work projects and then ventured into formal education by starting a school.
The situation
Anekal Taluk of Bangalore Urban District consists of 211 villages. It has a total population of about 2,21,000 of whom about 40% are dalits and tribals, living in dire poverty and working mostly as land-less labourers and menial workers. This section of the population is so poor that they can hardly afford minimum required nutrition, decent housing and basic education. Being mostly landless, they are primarily dependent on high caste land holders for seasonal employment as farm labourers and menial workers. Their utter poverty has inevitably trapped them in chronic indebtedness.
The money-lenders charge them 120-240% interest for the loans taken. They are exploited in every way. Socially considered untouchable, economically exploited, educationally deprived, culturally marginalized and religiously exploited Dalits and Tribals are prone to several infections and diseases. Their helpless situation has led many of them to work as bonded labourers. A large number of their children drop out from the school at an early age and begin to work in unhygienic conditions to take care of the family. According to an estimate around 3,000 children are working in as many power looms in the town itself.
Our Inspiration.
The life, the person, the values, and the teachings of Jesus Christ our Guru and master is our inspiration. We are trying to follow the programme of Jesus as annunciated in Lk4,16-18: ‘The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people’. The living example of so many Jesuits and non-Jesuits, priests and laity, Christians and non-Christians also inspire us to dedicate ourselves more to the mission.