IT
EN 
ES 
PT
Sr. Presanna Karimala is a God fearing, simple, genial, warm, generous, compassionate, and self-sacrificing and service-minded person, and a daring, dynamic, resourceful, enthusiastic and committed Missionary. Hence, when the question of a new foundation arises, invariably, hers is one of the names that come to the mind of the Major Superiors. By God’s grace, she has lived up to that trust so far! Praise the Lord!
Blooming of a New Vocation…
She was born at Kooroppada, Kottayam (Kerala) on 8 December 1966 as the only daughter for her parents and lone sister for her three brothers. She spent her initial years as a prayerful, jovial and playful child. In 1983, she left her loving parents and her parental home to join the CFMSS family and serve the Beloved of her soul. After her initial formation from 1983 to 1987, she was sent to one of our upcoming village community at Swar (Rampur) for community experience.
Maturing of an Indomitable Missionary…
Immediately after her first profession in 1988, Sr. Presanna began her missionary life as a pioneer at our newly erected community in a remote village at Chunawalah, Rampur (U.P) which lacked even the basic amenities of life. The undaunted young missionary gave herself totally and gladly to the mission – be it shopping, carrying grocery and other essential items on her back or working hard to cultivate their own food. She never deterred to utilize her God-given physical strength in helping the sisters cross over the river without a bridge en route. She always kept herself busy, visiting the nearby families to gather children for the upcoming school and sharing God’s love through her very presence and loving interactions.
A much-sought after Pioneer
The next mission where the Lord planted her was at Baheya(1991), an interior village community in Jharkhand (the then backward Bihar) with neither electricity supply nor running water. She continued labouring…giving shape to the garden, cycling to the market, going around visiting families and enrolling children for the school, and instructing them in the rudiments of hygiene and sanitation and assisting them to clean themselves before entering the class room.
After this initial experience as a pioneer in these two communities, she arrived at Thuvarankurichi, (yet another backward village on a high way) Tamil Nadu in 1995, as one the quartet who formed the first community, and with the mandate of administering a school for the first time. The handicap of not being familiar with the local language did not deter her. She went ahead reaching out to the people with the language of love. Her keen interest in adapting to the local culture and learning the vernacular language helped her to bond well with the people. She brought out/maintained the aesthetic dimension of the house by planting and watering the trees, digging and clearing the grounds, cleaning the classrooms etc. ably guided and supported by her superior Sr.Benjamin Quadros and assisted by Sr. Abha Pullokaran. Contemporarily, she would meet the nearby civil authorities to collect different certificates for the school’s smooth running. In spite of the busy schedule, she found time for
visiting the families in the vicinity regularly. She made extra efforts along with her community members to bring up the weaker students by teaching them in the evening. Even after the Sunday Mass, she would talk to the children and parishioners. She was the errand girl for her community, as she would speed off on her scootie to get the essentials or get an urgent work done.
In 2002, she was appointed as Head Mistress of OLF junior School, Gurugram (then Gurgaon). She enriched the school activities with her diligence and creativity throughout the three years of her tenure after which she found herself in Faridabad with multiple responsibilities as vice- principal cum teacher, hostel in-charge and youth animator.
She arrived at Hauz Khas in 2007 and remained there for 5 years juggling between various responsibilities and activities in the community, school as well as the parish.
In 2012, she came back to Thuvarankurichi once again, as Principal of the school. Though she was very busy in the school activities, she found time to paint all the desks and benches in the classrooms. She continued with her regular visits to the families.
After a term of six years there, she was called back to her role as a pioneer by helping to establish a new mission at Dindigul. Thus, the avid missionary continues… to labour hard – putting things in order, carrying forward the growth of the budding school by getting the required permissions, and the fulfilling the usual challenges and needs of a new mission.
True to her name, Presanna which means “joyful”, her very presence brings joy to the community, school as well as to the people around her. In addition, she has this enviable trait of transcending the barriers of caste, creed, language, culture, gender, age. In spite of holding various responsibilities in the school and community, her prime task is to live as a prayerful missionary, as a vibrant evangelizer to those who do not know Jesus. Her interest in adapting to the local culture, customs, traditions, languages bonds her to the people as though she were their own family member. Her passionate love for the poor prompts her to alleviate the pain of others by giving them medical help, providing provisions to the needy. Her constant and caring presence to the poor families, especially when someone is sick or at the time death, supporting and reconciling broken families… her empathetic listening, guidance and counselling to the youth… her prayerful life as she joins them in praying the Rosary along with them for their various intentions…all testify to a life given to the Lord and His people…willingly and joyfully. Thus, she is not just a sister, but also a mother, a teacher, a counsellor, a friend and so on.