Women's Forum

“Let’s  walk together, let’s build a harmonious Association.” Under this theme, we, the ladies of St. Joseph the Worker Church, Neermarga, formed our Women Association on July 20, 2022.

We named our Association as “MOTHER MARY STHREE SANGATAN” and it has been functioning successfully under the elected leadership of the following:

Spiritual Director : Rev. Fr. Anil D’mello

President : Smt. Zita Usha Fernandes

Vice president : Smt. Janet Periera.

Secretary : Smt. Reshma Periera

Joint Secretary : Smt. Anita Pinto

Treasurer : Smt. Jyoti Rebello

Press Representative : Smt. Anita Lobo

With a current membership of 52, we hold quarterly meetings on the second Sunday of the month after the 7:30 AM mass. Each meeting

begins with a word of God, followed by attendance, a report on the previous meeting, and discussions regarding planned upcoming programs and activities. Brief summary of the various activities our association has carried out over the past years:

October 1, 2022: Our members participated in a senior citizens day held at St. Antony’s Asylum, Jeppu, at the Diocesan level and performed group dance.

October 5, 2022: Twelve of our members participated in a picnic organized at Deanery level. 

February 10, 2023: Our throwball team secured second place in a tournament at Kelarai at the Deanery level.

March 12, 2023: Our members participated in the International Women.s Day celebration held by Bejai Catholic Sabha at their parish auditorium. Awareness and Self-Help Programs: We conducted awareness programs and offered self- help guidance regarding breast and cervical cancers.

 Subscriptions: We collected subscriptions for the only diocesan women's quarterly newsletter and are continuing to do so.

March 19, 2023: Thirty of our members attended the International Women’s Day celebration held at Kelarai Church auditorium. Mrs. Usha

Fernandes served as the program’s compere, while Mrs. Reshma Periera and Mrs. Molly Saldanha emceed the cultural portion, which was a great success. Mrs. Molly Saldanha and Mrs. Usha Fernandes were honored with awards for Women.s Achievement and for being the Secretary of the Parish Pastoral Committee, respectively. On the same occasion, our dance- drama presentation on the parable of ten virgins not only captivated the audience but also earned our association the opportunity to present the same performance at the diocesan level on April.

Subsequently we played this on 22nd April 2023 in Roshni Nilaya We organised throwball and lagori competitions for the ladies of our Parish. Subsequently ladies participated in various competition held at outside Parish conducted by ICYM and other inter parish matches.

26th March 2023 International Women’s day: we have honored 2 Women Achievers of our Parish, Mrs.Juliana Pereira and Mrs.Stella Pereira for their outstanding service rendered to the society. We also organised the farewell to our outgoing Parish Priest Fr.Anil D’Mello. We invited the resource person Mrs.Lizzie to brief us on the importance of various documentations. On the same day, we have conducted in house competitions on memorising maximum items, flower arrangements, making garlands for our ladies. The winners went on to compete in deanery level and diocesan level who won the first prizes in the competitions.

May 1st 2023 we performed dance on our patron saint feast. Fr.Paul Pinto took over as the new parish priest on May 15 th 2023 and assumed the role of our new Spiritual Director. Under his guidance, we have undertaken the following activities:

 Food Festival on August 15, 2023. Served with various delicacies of Aati prepared by our ladies. Conducted various games and the invitees were of Secretary of Commission for Women, Mangalore Diocese along with President and Secretary of City Deanery. 

Participated in a Skit, Singing, and Dance competition at the City deanery level on August 20, 2023

October 14, 2023: Ten of our members participated in a picnic organized at Deanery level. 

Performed a traditional inaugural play with the welcome address on March 10th 2024 for City Deanery. International Women’s day celebration organised by City Deanery at Vamanjoor. Also, presented group dance as an entertainment item.

Celebrated International Women’s day 2024 on 17 th March in our parish with the Theme song of our Women Association, followed by songs and games. Winners were accoladed with prizes.

 Office Bearers: The office bearers of our association are dedicated to keeping our association active and thriving. 

Talent and Teamwork: Our association is filled with talented members who collaborate effectively and participate enthusiastically in all our programs. 

WhatsApp Groups: The WhatsApp groups we have formed at ward levels facilitate communication and participation among our members.

We formed self-help group named as SAMRUDDI to enhance our ladies to be financially independent.

Our aspiration is for our association to grow stronger and provide a platform for every member to play a leadership role in the coming

years.