After a wide gap of founding communities involved in social work alone, a community of Bethany Sisters with both school and social ministry was started at Barnala in Punjab on 5 July 2002. The invitation to start this convent came from Mr Rajinder Gupta, the Managing Director of Trident Industries, Barnala. Being a citizen of Ludhiana he was familiar with Sacred Heart Convent School there and dreamt of having a similar school in Barnala to uplift the educational standard of the city. Side by side non-formal education and other developmental works were on the anvil. Sr Nora, the Provincial Superior, presented this invitation to the Generalate resulting in the establishment of Sacred Heart Convent and School in 2002. The convent, located in the Officer’s colony of Malwa industries was officially inaugurated by Sr Nora and blessed by the parish priest Fr Freddie Thomas. The pioneers are Sr Jane Chantal, Superior and Principal, Sr Cedra, Sr Immaculate and Sr Luciana Abraham, members.
After a wide gap of founding communities involved in social work alone, a community of Bethany Sisters with both school and social ministry was started at Barnala in Punjab on 5 July 2002. The invitation to start this convent came from Mr Rajinder Gupta, the Managing Director of Trident Industries, Barnala. Being a citizen of Ludhiana he was familiar with Sacred Heart Convent School there and dreamt of having a similar school in Barnala to uplift the educational standard of the city. Side by side non-formal education and other developmental works were on the anvil. Sr Nora, the Provincial Superior, presented this invitation to the Generalate resulting in the establishment of Sacred Heart Convent and School in 2002. The convent, located in the Officer’s colony of Malwa industries was officially inaugurated by Sr Nora and blessed by the parish priest Fr Freddie Thomas. The pioneers are Sr Jane Chantal, Superior and Principal, Sr Cedra, Sr Immaculate and Sr Luciana Abraham, members.
It was only in June 2014 that a convent building was constructed for the sisters. This convent was blessed by Most Rev. Ignatius Mascarenhas, the Bishop of Simla- Chandigarh, and inaugurated by Sr Maria Leena, the Provincial Superior. Sisters in this community are involved in education, non-formal school, village development programme and a Vocational Training Centre (VTC). Sr Reshmi is the present superior of the Convent and Sr Anita Mendonca, the Principal.
The school did not limit its services only to the formal school students. Today about 200 children from the surrounding areas attend the evening classes conducted on the school campus; these classes are sponsored by Mr Rajinder Gupta and supervised by Sr Preeti Margaret. The children are privileged to get the school bag, uniform and conveyance free of cost. Besides this, Bethany Social Service Society Punjab, conducts regular classes for the dropouts preparing them for the Punjab Board Open School Examination.
