Struggle and Success of Sarala Gomes

Sarala Gomes is an orphan girl. She lost her father when she was a child, even she cannot remember her father. She can remember only her mother. She has no other siblings. She was the sole survivor of her widowed mother. After her father died, her mother used to work in other people's houses to support their family. Within few years, her mother sent her to Panjora Boarding School. From there she got education, and learnt various activities with the Sisters. When Sarala Gomes was 17 years old she got married to a man named Rafael Gomes from Karan village in Nagori. Her husband's family was very poor, while her husband was unemployed. Her mother-in-law made her do a lot of work inside and outside the house and also tortured her physically and mentally. She used to work in other people's houses and often she passed whole days without food. The sisters offered her husband a job at Caritas. After her husband got a job at Caritas, their luck of family began to change.

Sarala Gomes has three sons and one daughter. At the beginning of CJW, Sister Michael Francis and Sister Mary Lilian SMRA went to the Koran village to train up the women in make jute products. Thus Sarala started a new chapter of her life with the touch of Golden Fiber. She used jute to make various designs of mats, carpets, bags, baskets, boats, etc. and earned money by selling them through the CORR-The Jute Works office. She bore all the expenses of his son and daughter's education. She was able to build a new house in place of his house.

Later Sister Mary Pratibha SMRA went to the village and formed an active group. Sarala Gomes was elected as leader of that Artisans’ group. She collected the goods of woman Artisans and sent them to the Sisters in Jagarani Center. She was very good at making new jute products and the samples of her new products were sent to the CORR-The Jute Works.

She worked in CORR-The Jute Works for nearly 45 years through Jagarani. She is now 80 years old. Although she is not able to work as she used to due to being old enough but she is still engaged in the manufacture of some jute products in her mind. Her desire is to be involved in this work till the end of her life and encourage others to become self-reliant. She is grateful to CORR-The Jute Works forever.