Joti Educational and Cultural Center

The Joti Educational and Cultural Center is the catechetical center of Hyderabad diocese, Pakistan. It is generally known as Joti Center. “Jyoti” is a Sanskrit word meaning light, so the name chosen for the catechetical center acknowledges the importance of light as a reality and as a symbol in the rites and rituals of all religions.

The center was started in 1992 by Fr. Anjou Soares, a Karachi diocesan priest seconded to Hyderabad diocese. It is based in the city of Mirpurkhas in interior Sindh. Infrastructure wise, Joti Center has grown and expanded from a one room center in the parish house to its present-day infrastructure of fifty plus rooms for residential programs, and all the facilities that go along with that.

I have been working at the center since 2017. I am not the first Columban presence at the center. Columban Sister Peralita Ponge had served previously on the staff for twelve years. The purpose and vision of Joti Center is to provide an integrated and holistic catechesis to enable people to grow in, and deepen their faith. It is a faith that is informed and deepened through prayer, reflection and input, which motivates and challenges people to transform themselves and others. Therefore, it has an important role to play in the life of the diocese, especially in faith formation and catechesis.

Every effort is made in all programs resourced by Joti Center that the input given is holistic and integrated. Also, any training, formation and input is from the perspective of PMU mission priorities i.e., Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, Inter-religious dialogue, inculturation and formation of the laity. This is one advantage of having a Columban as director of the center. Also, the content of programs is strong on Catholic Social Teaching, including recent encyclicals by Pope Francis on climate change and care for planet earth.

The center connects people from around the diocese, and gradually more and more, with people from around the country. This helps foster relationships and friendships. It also gives people moral support and a sense of belonging. It is important to include the poor and marginalized of our society. These are the people Joti Center seeks to serve.

The Christian community in Pakistan is made up primarily of low caste Punjabi people of sweeper background and of Tribal Peoples that includes Parkari Kohli, Kutchi Kohli, Sindhi Bheel, and Marwari Bheel. These are the people who suffer the most discrimination in society. This is a land where scholars trace the 5000-year-old oppressive caste system all the way back to the ancient Indus Valley civilization, Mohan-jo-Daro, located in what is now northern Sindh. While not overt, this caste system still impacts strongly on social relations. In such a context, the acceptance and inclusion of all the various ethnic Tribal Peoples that make up the church in Hyderabad diocese is a great witness to Gospel values.

The purpose and vision of Joti Center is to provide an integrated and holistic catechesis to enable people to grow in, and deepen their faith.

Joti Center gives people the opportunity to connect with other people of diverse cultures and religions among whom we live i.e., the large Muslim majority, and the equally small Hindu minority. Records show that 1,350 programs have been conducted since the center’s foundation, as well as programs in the various parishes and schools throughout the diocese.

Over the years, the Joti Center team created and published catechesis materials for schools and parishes in Urdu, Sindhi and the various Tribal languages. The Christian community in the diocese has a rich diversity of Tribals Peoples, cultures and languages. But much more needs to be done, including work towards a common inculturated liturgy. The same work needs to be done with the sacraments, rites and rituals so that they are available in all languages.

Catechesis, at its best is also practical, it seeks “to make the word flesh.” One of the insights that liberation theology reclaimed was that seeing God in the eyes of the poor is a profound way of praying. One way Joti Center does that is by getting involved in flood relief efforts. This includes food ration distribution to flood affected people and a medical outreach to rural villages. It started as part of the response to destructive flooding that is almost becoming normal for monsoon season in Pakistan. The medical outreach team includes a doctor, a male and female nurse, and a dispenser. They continue to go to various rural villages two days a week. The outreach does not discriminate and patients include Christian, Hindu and Muslim.

Joti Center also seeks to be a place of hospitality and welcome. One example is that it is a space being used by young missionaries. Between Columbans, Mill Hills and Spiritians there are now more than twenty young missionaries from various African and Asian countries. A few times a year they gather in Joti Center for some recreation and sharing of their missionary experiences. While presently an informal gathering, there is a felt need among the group that the gatherings grow and evolve so that they are also a time of orientation, especially in the area of inculturation, to missionaries coming to live and work among the various Tribal Peoples.

Columban Fr. Tomas King lives and works in Pakistan.