Nesakkaram-SEEDS, a Franciscan NGO serving in Chennai celebrated on 21 September 2019 the 800th anniversary of St. Francis meeting the Sultan. Nesakkaram which celebrates the “Women Cultural Fest’’ annually thought it fitting to remember this year the great historical event of St. Francis meeting the Sultan and thus spread the flavor of peace and dialogue among the people of various religions.
Almost more than half a million migrant workers, who live in and around the city of Chennai, are unskilled workers. Migrants who come to the city of Chennai are typically at the receiving end of misplaced bias, such as loud, sexually open, dirty and so on. In workplaces, migrant labor is often deprived of the most necessary and essential of amenities such as a clean toilet, drinking water, and a place to rest. It is perhaps not news that migrants are taken for granted and the accounts show that there is a long way to go before migration with dignity is achieved.
A cycle rally was organised by the friars in Chennai, South India on the 7thof July for the cause of water and land, and around 250 children and youth had participated in this event. They covered up around 20 km of distance in and around Madhavaram, Chennai and the neighbouring area holding posters with slogans “Save water and it will save you later; No water no life; Water is life, Treat it Right; Reuse the Past, Recycle the present, Reduce pollution in the future…”
One such support came from the Franciscan Family Chennai (FFC). An Inter-Religious Floral Tribute to the victims of bomb attack as well as to show our unity beyond boundaries of religion, caste and race were organized on the 28th of April 2019.