Advertisement Columban MissionariesColumban Missionaries Would you like to advertise on ICN? Click to learn more.

Obituary: Sister Nancy Pereira, founder of Bank for Poor


Sister Nancy Pereira

Sister Nancy Pereira

Sister Nancy Pereira, a member of the Daughters of Maria Auxiliatrix (FMA), died on 14 July at her FMA community Home in Bangalore, India.

She was born at Pudukkuruchy, in the Indian state of Kerala, 14 August 1923, and made her first Profession on 6 January 1945. Her name is famous because in the early 1990s in Bangalore (some 1000 km south of Bombay), she started a Fund for the Poor,
re-elaborating the example of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The clients of her Bank had to be poor, people from slums, from villages, people who owned nothing and had no opportunity to build a better life. To obtain credit the person had to prove that he or she had saved a small sum for a year and taken part in meetings of the small credit management group. The annual interest rate was so small it barely covered management expenses. The project of the Bank for the Poor involved the whole family and recognised the needs of each member and therefore, inserted in a Family Integral Development and Education Scheme, it helped improve living conditions for many families and even whole villages.

A brief biography written by the FMA Sisters, says about Sister Nancy "she was convinced her vocation was to be with the poor and to devote herself to serving them. She loved all of them and tried to make them aware of their rights as well as their duties and to live their dignity as children of God. She did this with joy, involving many people in her projects for doing good. Forgetful of self, she lived a life of poverty to enrich the poor. With her creative solidarity she founded numerous groups for the promotion of women (Self Help Group) and development programmes such as IGP (Income Generating Programme) to help the poor live in
worthy conditions and with financial autonomy."

During her life Sister Nancy received many international awards and a film was made about her life.

Source: Fides



Adverts

Congregation of Jesus

We offer publicity space for Catholic groups/organisations. See our advertising page if you would like more information.

We Need Your Support

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

You can support our journalism by advertising with us or donating to ICN.

Mobile Menu Toggle Icon