BANGLADESH
‘Model mum’, with six children consecrated in the
Church, gets award
Sumon Corraya
Josephine Corraya, 82,
receives ‘Jewel Mother’ Award from the parliamentary speaker. After losing her
husband, she raised ten children and gave them a good education. Three sons
became priests, and three daughters became nuns.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) – Josephine
Corraya, 82, has been a model woman, a loving and caring mother of ten, who
made sure they all got a good education. For this reason, the Bangladeshi
parliament gave her the Ratnagarva Maa (Jewel Mother) Award (pictured).
Josephine is Catholic, and lives
in Rnagamitia parish, Gazipur District (Archdiocese of Dhaka). Six of her
children chose the consecrated life: three priests, and three nuns.
“We gave Josephine this award
for her outstanding work in educating her ten children,” said Abul Kalam Azad,
a Muslim and head of the organisation that finances the prize. “She made
enormous sacrifices to ensure their education, so that they could serve our
society. "
Her ninth child, Joel
Rebeiro, works for Caritas. "Our mother has shaped us in a special way,”
he said. “She usually took us to Mass every morning, then we did housework,
studied, and then went to school. She taught us morality and respect for the
elderly."
Josephine's husband died when
the children were still small, so she had to raise them alone and in poverty.
Yet, "Even though we had
money problems, our mother worked hard and managed to pay the costs of our
education,” said Fr. Bulbul, her tenth child.
"She is a simple woman
and has always had a positive attitude towards the Church,” he added. “I cannot
remember a time when she spoke ill of a priest or a nun. She encouraged us to
enter the seminary."
Josephine is very grateful
for the award. "I think that the Almighty God has blessed my family. I've
always been a simple believer and I have taken care of my children according to
the teachings of Jesus. In the last days of my life I thank God because I am a
happy woman."
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