Saved by the sisters of Missionaries of Charity

Blood is thicker than water, most will tell you. 58-year old Jishnubhai Vyas though, has a disturbingly different tale to narrate.

This is a man who, when ailing and with nowhere to go to, was rehabilitated and looked after by a bunch of women who didn’t even know him.

And yet, it is these very women he says he owes his new lease of life to. "These Sisters are responsible for bringing me back from near-destruction. They represent God to me," says Vyas.

Vyas hails from a family that had all they could ask for. His grandfather was with the Indian Civil Services, while his father was a judge at the high court in Mumbai. Vyas was schooled in Mumbai and was doing his MA from Mumbai’s Wilson College, when tragedy struck. Vyas lost both his parents in a short span of time.

As Vyas became depressed, his relatives distanced themselves. That is when the Missionaries of Charity (MC) in Rajkot came to his rescue.

Vyas stayed at the MC’s home for the dying and destitute for 2 years, before he was moved to Ahmedabad for better treatment. He has been in the city for four years now, and says he feels at least 60% cured of his depression.

"I hope that with my health steadily improving now, I shall be able to live life normally very soon," Vyas says, adding that he wishes to continue living with the Sisters even after his recovery.