MADURAI JESUIT DOWNTRODDEN PEOPLE WELFARE TRUST 

‘Quality life of a nation is measured by the quality of Education and Health Care received by its least Children’ says Indian renowned economist and Noble Laureate Amartya Sen. Today unfortunately in the consumerist society both Education and Health Care become costliest commodities and accessible only to a small group of people, whereas a vast majority of Indian poor are deprived of them. Dalits who constitute 16.6 percent in total Indian population have been intentionally denied access to quality Education and Health Care for several generations.

Fr. P. Antony Raj, SJ (1945 – 2021) the veteran of Dalit cause who in his young age shared the misery of Dalit Community resolved to ensure the quality Education and Health Care to Dalits of Tamil Nadu. Thus he founded Madurai Jesuit Downtrodden People Welfare (MJDPW) Trust in 1994 (Reg.No. 126/BK4/1994). Today MJDPW Trust runs two different institutions, namely DR. AMBEDKAR CULTURAL ACADEMY (DACA) which was founded in 1997 ensures quality education to Dalit Children and strives for the empowerment of Dalit Community and CEYRAC MEDICAL FOUNDATION (CMF) founded in 1999 provided health care to the rural poor. Today CMF has been changed into JAICARE (Jesuit Antonyraj Inter-disciplinary Centre for Advanced Rehabilitation and Education) which offers health care services to Dementia and Autism patients.

Today DACA by carefully reading the signs of time, continue to empower the marginalized in particular the Dalits in collaboration with the people of good will.