The Jesuit commitment to ‘Walking with the Excluded’ is evident through the dedicated efforts of the Andhra Jesuit Province to create multiple initiative serving their educational institutions, mission centres, and social outreach programmes. These initiatives aim to uplift marginalized communities, promote social justice, and provide education, healthcare, and legal support to the needy.

Jesuit educational institutions – such as Andhra Loyola College (Vijayawada), Loyola Academy (Secunderabad), and Loyola Degree & Polytechnic Colleges (Pulivendula) – actively integrate academics with social responsibility. The Projects of Loyola Academy for Neighborhood, Empowerment and Transformation Programme (PLANET) gives students hands-on experiences of inequality by exposing them to aged care homes, child care institutes, and slums, fostering empathy and commitment to social change.

The Andhra Loyola Extension Service for Rural Transformation Programme (ALERT) in Andhra Loyola College engages students with personal experiences of villages and slums, enhancing their awareness of, and commitment to, social upliftment. Similarly, the Loyola Literacy Programme (LLP) at Loyola College, Pulivendula, gives students the opportunity to learn their social obligations through a rural teaching programme that emphasizes literacy and education. Women empowerment programs at all three colleges actively work towards gender equality and women’s rights. The adoption of villages and the implementation of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) contributes to rural development and social welfare.

Most of our schools, located in rural areas, cater to the needs of poor and marginalised communities. The poor readily reach out to our institutions as we provide quality education affordably. Our Province, certain higher educational institutes, and economically privileged schools have formed partnerships with less advantaged ones to support them in walking with the excluded. In Krishna Devi Peta, Vishakapatnam diocese, the Jesuits cater to the needs of tribal students through a school in the town and 28 education centres in remote villages. Additionally, medical support is provided to 20 villages in collaboration with the Sisters of St Ann’s of Luzern.

Through an MoU with the Adilabad diocese, the Jesuits, now stationed at Keramarri, are ministering to excluded tribal communities by providing educational and vocational training to tribal youth and children, enabling their socio-economic empowerment. In Katukapalli (Khammam diocese), the Jesuits work tirelessly to empower tribal communities, providing free education and boarding for more than 350 tribal students, while also operating – in collaboration with the Sisters from St Ann’s of Phirangipuram – mobile clinics that serve 30 villages. Infrastructure development efforts include establishing satellite schools in remote tribal villages, repairing dilapidated houses, and building sanitation infrastructure. The Jesuits also assist tribals in obtaining identity cards, filing memorandums with government officials, and advocating for their land rights.

Jesuit efforts in Seethampeta focus on pastoral and community development among tribal populations. A century of pastoral work (20 years by Jesuits) supports spiritual growth and faith-based initiatives, while child and young adult programs engage tribal youth and children in holistic development activities. Medical and pastoral collaboration with the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate (MSI) ensures healthcare and community support. An animation centre is also established to provide a hub for tribal empowerment and skill-building.

The Village Reconstruction Organisation (VRO) is committed to the holistic development of rural communities. In addition to around 165 tuition centres benefiting more than 6,000 students, VRO also provides skill development programmes to around 1,500 rural youth, both men and women. Legal aid and human rights awareness programmes support the poor, while housing assistance serves the underprivileged in securing safe housing.

Tender Home for Anawim, Rest and Awakening (THARA) functions as a child care institute, providing shelter, food, and education to orphans, semi-orphans, and street children. Skill training programmes empower children towards self-sufficiency. As part of the campus training, we have availed ourselves of opportunities in farming, poultry, dairy farm, welding works, carpentry works, masonry works etc. Anything that can help our charges to learn life skills. They are trained in the above by experts in each field so that these lessons provide not only knowledge, but experience for their futures. As the children are helped in this way to explore the possibilities in life, they are also enabled to explore the world physically through various trips and tours. Having begun with a local trip around Hyderabad visiting zoos and parks, it has moved into visiting significant places across the country like Delhi, Punjab, Agra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kolkata etc. and neighbouring Nepal, too.

The Centre for Information, Training, Research & Action (CITRA) organises animation and awareness programmes through training sessions for various sections of the poor, Human rights seminars, and leadership training for the rural poor, training and animation of various NGOs. It networks with various groups and movements such as Dalit movements, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Backward Class (BC) commission, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), Domestic workers forum, Justice peace forum of religious, etc. The centre plays a crucial role in migration work through Migrant Assistance and Information Network (MAIN) by rescuing migrant workers from bonded labour, ensuring their freedom and rehabilitation into society. Representation to repeal 1950 Presidential order, transgenders meetings, Dalit ideation programmes and Capacity Building Training programmes are being organised regularly while Issue-based campaigns on lands, adequate housing and education, visiting the victims of SC/ST atrocity and meeting them are conducted. CITRA is working in six districts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana covering about 75 villages. Flood relief works undertaken by Andhra Loyola Institutions (ALI), Vijayawada and Adilabad tribal mission are commendable.

The Jesuit social initiatives across Andhra and Telangana reflect our unwavering commitment to uplifting the marginalized. Through education, healthcare, legal aid, skill development, and pastoral care, we continue to embody the spirit of ‘Walking with the Excluded’ by fostering dignity, empowerment, and social transformation.