(Above, L to R) CJI Donor Relations Coordinator Madeline Lunney, CJI Executive Director Jenny Cafiso, former Jesu Ashram Director Fr. Julius Kujur, SJ, and (below) new Jesu Ashram Director Fr. Shiju Matthew, SJ, at the CJI webinar, Your Solidarity in Action: Update on Jesu Ashram.
On April 15, the former Director of Jesu Ashram, Fr. Julius Kujur, SJ, and his successor, Fr. Shiju Matthew, SJ, met with donors and supporters of Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) online to thank them for their decades of support and to provide an update on the centre’s work of providing medical treatment to the poor and marginalized in Matigara, West Bengal.
“My heart is filled with gratitude,” said Fr. Kujur, as he spoke about his decades of service at Jesu Ashram and the challenges and grace he experienced, during a CJI webinar, Your Solidarity in Action: Update on Jesu Ashram. Although he and the staff often found it difficult to bear the deaths and suffering of patients, they also found joy in seeing other patients recover. “People would go back home laughing, joking.”
Fr. Kujur began by showing a video about the origins of Jesu Ashram, which was founded by Br. Bob Mittleholtz, a Canadian Jesuit who brought home people he saw dying in the streets, and Sr. Ivana of the Daughters of the Cross, who joined him in looking for people who were sick and abandoned on the streets. The Darjeeling Jesuit Province formally established Jesu Ashram in 1972 as a health care facility to provide free medical treatment and care to the poorest, especially those living with leprosy, tuberculosis and other ailments. Since then, it has opened an outpatient clinic; it also offers a three-year nursing course for women from poor families who have completed high school.
Fr. Kujur said that he and the staff drew strength from God’s grace and providence to be able to handle the work of helping thousands who have passed through the doors of Jesu Ashram. “It was divine grace…”
He also thanked Jesu Ashram supporters for helping to sustain Jesu Ashram’s mission, and said he learned generosity from them, too. “Their generosity really taught me to be generous myself.”
Fr. Shiju, who began working alongside Fr. Kujur in 2024, said that he never expected to become the next director of Jesu Ashram and was hesitant about it at first. “But slowly, things changed in me, and I fell in love with the those who are suffering,” he said, referring to the patients, most of whom lead difficult lives and received no medical treatment until they came to Jesu Ashram.
He thanked CJI and Jesu Ashram donors, saying, “People come with hopelessness, and slowly, they walk towards life because of all of you.” He said he will always recall Fr. Julius’ advice to “trust in God.”
Responding to a question during the webinar about the new challenges facing Jesu Ashram, Fr. Shiju noted new government rules that could affect the healthcare centre’s activities. He also cited the impact of the closure of many tea gardens, which has resulted in more people going hungry and suffering from malnutrition. He said that cases of tuberculosis and other ailments are rising, and that many people cannot afford treatment. He added that one of Jesu Ashram’s goals is to visit poor villages and provide treatment and information.
Other donors of Jesu Ashram who attended the webinar also took the opportunity to thank Fr Julius and the Ashram for “doing good work for humanity.” Among them was Carol Mittelholtz, the sister of Br. Bob Mittelholtz.
CJI Executive Director Jenny Cafiso noted the “long, faithful commitment of donors,” saying they have developed “a real community of support,” along with CJI and Jesu Ashram. She noted, however, that the donor base has been shrinking as people get older. The challenge is to attract new donors, she added.
