A humble celebration and the founding of three schools in the Vhembe district marked 10 years of selfless service rendered by catholic sisters, some from far away India.

The centenary celebration was held at Carmel Phathutshedzo Special School in Madombidzha on September 21 and was attended by Father Frank Gallagher, Sister Elite, Sr Cecilia, other sisters and teachers, guests, volunteers, children and parents.

"The sisters achieved a lot in the last 10 years," said Father Gallagher. The parents see great progress in the children, due to Sister Elite and Sister Cecilia’s faithfulness and dedication. At times they are not appreciated enough and it is good to give recognition."

Ten years ago, when Sister Elite, of the Carmelite Order, was asked to do missionary service in South Africa, she had already founded a number of schools for children with special needs in India. Elite responded to the call of Bishop Hugh Slattery of the Tzaneen Diocese of the Catholic Church.

Once in the region, she served under Father André Stephan, based in Louis Trichardt.

"We were introduced to the people, the culture and the language. We found out what the needs of the people were," Sr Elite said. One of the needs in the communities was that there was an apparent lack of schools for the mentally handicapped.

"We found that many handicapped children were sitting at home. They got ridiculed and teased in a normal school," Sr Elite said.

Ten years later, the Carmelite Sisters run two schools for the mentally handicapped in Madombidzha and Madodonga and one school for normal children, the Mt Carmel Catholic Independent School, in Louis Trichardt, with about 95 children.

Sr Elite and Sr Cecilia both have training in working with handicapped children. Sister Elite followed up her degree in India with special training for the mentally handicapped in the USA and visited schools for the handicapped in Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. These connections proved to be profitable. After a visit to the USA, friends from there collected funds so that the Carmelite Sisters acquired land in Madombidzha for projects of the Carmelite Sisters. It is the land where the Carmel Phathutshedzo Special School now stands. Some 50 children who are mentally handicapped and four who are physically handicapped are cared for and educated at the two special schools.

"The children are allowed to express themselves in a creative way in a safe environment. They gain self-confidence. We create awareness that these children are part of the community and must be integrated into society," Father Gallagher said.