SR. UMBERTINA: A WOMAN WITH A BIG HEART FOR INDIA 

Sr. Umbertina, (Teresa Carrogu), a member of the Religious Congregation of the Ursuline Sisters of Somasca, Italy, died on Sunday, Mar. 26th 2006 in Bergamo, Italy, after a prolonged struggle for life against cancer.

Sr. Umbertina, known as Mother Teresa of Mysore among friends, admirers and associates, became the corner-stone for Jyothi Welfare Centre at Nadanahalli Village on Bannur Road, Mysore. She built the institution brick by brick with personal attention and care, and was the moving spirit behind all the human development activities of the Centre until the diagnosis of cancer limited her movements. After twenty years of her presence that meant so much to the well-being of the poor in India, she was forced to go back to Italy, much against her will, for further treatment five years ago.

Despite the perennial struggle for her own physical well being, her heart and soul were always attuned towards India and her mission in and around Mysore. She was a woman of indomitable spirit with unconditional love for the poor of India. She was introduced to us in 1980s by Fr. Raja Rao, a Montfort priest. We had an endearing friendship in the years that followed, extending it to her family in Sardegna (Sardinia) and to the Society of Ursuline Sisters of Somasca in India and Italy as well.

Born in Sardegna, Italy, in 1941, she joined the Congregation of Ursuline Sisters of Somasca in 1965 and became a nun in 1968. After a few years of mission experience in Bolivia, Latin America, she moved to India in 1980. Her experiences with the poorest among the poor of Mysore and surrounding villages moved her to opt for a simple life-style and dedicate herself with devotion to the well being and happiness of the poor. She was a woman of determination and commitment vis-à-vis issues of social justice and fairness to the poor and those who suffered different forms of injustice and exploitation.

She had a good understanding of Indian culture and Indian sensibilities and cherished her own subaltern perspectives about the plight of the poor in India.

Using the local language of the people to communicate, she was instrumental in forming rural women core groups (Mahila Sanghas), organizing health camps and facilitating the children of rural areas and poor background to pursue formal or vocational education. Vidya Jyothi Higher Primary and High School, located at Jyothi Nilaya Campus has all modern facilities including computer and lab facilities for the rural poor and needy children. These facilities are comparable to those available in any good city based English Medium school. Orphans and street children have an integrated programme with one of the best residential centres for their overall development, located within the campus.

She ensured that a new-born child in Mysore whose mother died in childbirth was adopted by an Italian couple, and today, the child is Maria Priya, fifteen years old, studying in Italy. Gangadhar, an orphan boy from Nadnahalli Village, who is an employee of Spice Jet Airways in Bangalore today, is another success story. These are some of the many success stories amidst odds, difficulties and frustrations Sr. Umbertina and her Congregation had to endure during her stay in India.

She never made any discrimination between the rich and the poor. She loved every individual for whatever he or she was worth. She approached everyone with a divine heart and complete dedication. As a woman of faith and love, she was a worthy follower of Blessed Caterina Cittadini and Giuditta Cittadini, founders of her Congregation. As a consecrated nun, she was particular about community life, radiated joy all around with a smile and a sense of dedication, and was fully alive and responding to realities in the lives of the poor even to the extent that she could ignore her own well being.

Though she never cared for fame or name, the CUORE AMICO award, considered as the Missionary's Nobel Prize, presented to her by an Italian agency based in Brescia in 2004 was the acknowledgment and appreciation for her commitment to the well being of the people at the grass-roots in India. The number of poor people thronging Jyothi Nilaya and paying tribute to her on hearing the news of her demise is the recognition of her selfless love and compassion.

'I may go one day but remember the poor will be always with you. Do not disappoint them'. The Indian community members of her Congregation are unanimous in their tribute to Sr. Umbertina: 'She was an angel who sojourned briefly on earth with a message of unconditional love and sharing and has now returned home — to the One to whom she belongs for all eternity'. And as Mahadevaswamy, Physical Education Teacher at Vidya Jyothi School campus states, 'None could forget her kindness. Even the stones inside the Campus of Jyothi Nilaya would continue to remember this angelic personality'. Adieu, Sr. Umbertina. Arividerchi in heaven.