A mob wanting to 바카라bury Christianity바카라 burnt her husband and two sons alive, but that did not deter Gladys Staines from her mission. She had been working in Baripada, Odisha, for leprosy patients along with her spouse, Graham Staines, an Australian missionary who had lived there since 1965. The murder of her husband and sons in 1999 sparked condemnation across the globe. But Gladys바카라s response was extraordinary.
바카라It is far from my mind to punish the persons who were responsible,바카라 she had declared. 바카라But it is my desire and hope that they repent and be reformed.바카라 Gladys publicly forgave the killers, stayed back in Odisha and continued her work for the leprosy home, established in the 1890s. She materialised her partner바카라s dream project바카라a surgical clinic catering to lepers. The 15-bed Graham Staines Memorial Hospital was inaugurated on the outskirts of the town five years after his death. It wasn바카라t easy. 바카라I missed my husband and his leadership. I바카라m not a leader by nature. I tried to pick up where he left off,바카라 she confesses.
After working in India for 23 years, she returned to Townsville, Australia, in 2004. What prompted the decision? 바카라My daughter Esther had completed her schooling at Hebron in Ooty. She wanted to pursue medicine in Australia, the country of her passport. Esther had never lived there, only visited a couple of times. I wanted to move back to help her settle in the country and her university. At the time, my father also needed me. He was over 90.바카라
She cherishes her time in India. 바카라I love the culture and the sense of community,바카라 she says. 바카라After the tragedy, the whole country came to me to console, comfort and stand in solidarity. I can never forget that support. Even today, Indians I meet in Australia greet me and offer condolences. I hold no bitterness.바카라
Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt alive in his van in 1999.
In her native country, she went to university to regain her Australian nursing registration, which she secured in 2008. She began working a nurse in a hospital and taught the Bible to primary school students. Gladys received the Padma Shri in 2005 and the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice in 2015.
Her longing for the forests and rice fields of Odisha, the Simlipal hills and conversing in Odia persists. Does she want to return? 바카라I miss India, but I have no plans to move back,바카라 she replies. 바카라I believe that our lives are made up of seasons. My season in India is complete and now is my time to be close to my family, my daughter and her family.바카라 Above all else, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. 바카라Esther and Reuben have four children and they need their grandmother nearby.바카라
Read about the 12 forgotten newsmakers who faded out in the past two decades
