A missionary Nun, Betsy Devasia, working in Guwahati, Assam, was conferred with 11th International Human Rights Award for her contribution to women development in the region by Delhi-based Inter-national Human Rights Council on 10 December 2021 at the India Islamic Centre Auditorium, New Delhi.
Sister Betsy Devasia, born on July 1, 1947 as the second child, to Mr. Devasia and Rosamma Pulippara in Kerala’s Kottayam district, has been working in Northeast India for the last 30 years.
“I am not sure if I deserve this honour”, said the septuagenarian Holy Cross Nun. “Serving the people of Northeast India in various roles since 1988 and as Director of Women Development Centre (WDC), Guwahati, since 2008, has been the most rewarding experience of my life. That is an award in itself”.
The WDC, established in the year 2000 as a millennium gift to the women in Northeast India by Archbishop Emeritus Thomas Menamparampil, has been catering to the women from rural areas of the region with slew of initiatives to empower them to take their lives forward.
One of the major activities of WDC is educating school dropped out tribal girls to complete their schooling through National Open School. Started with five students in 2005, more than 500 tribal girls from Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Naga-land, Tripura, Mizoram and Assam have completed their secondary education. The current batch has 65 students.
Accepting the award, Sister Devasia said, “My award is to be able to see the lives of these underprivileged children change completely. The underconfident girls who through our educational portals are never the same. They leave our campus with confidence and courage to face the world to make positive contribution to make it a better place to live in.” Many of the girls who completed their secondary education through WDC have gone on to do higher studies including Masters Degree and 20 of them currently working in various Government and private departments in the region, including a motivational speaker, nurses and a radiologist.