Lucy Kurien is the founder and director of Maher, a community and interfaith organization for abused and destitute women and children, headquartered in Pune, India. Born in South India's Kerala province, Lucy moved to Mumbai to access better education when she was twelve. The city's slums were her first introduction to the conditions of the poor. At the age of nineteen, she decided she wanted to become a religious sister and joined the Holy Cross order, which focused on teaching and nursing. However, she was inspired by Mother Teresa's work and felt called to be closer to the people she wanted to help, directly touching the lives of the poor. In 1989 she joined the HOPE organization, founded by Sr Noilline Pinto of the Holy Cross Convent to help abused women. In 1991, while still working at the Hope, she had an encounter that would inspire her life's work. A pregnant woman came to her asking for shelter from her alcoholic husband who she thought would beat her. Sister Lucy did not know where to send her since the convent did not take laypeople. She had to send her away but promised to help the following day. That evening, the woman's husband doused her in alcohol and set her on fire. Both the woman and baby died. Sister Lucy was absolutely devastated. For six years she struggled to come to terms with this heinous incident and how she couldn’t help. She realized that she had to do something for such women, and the result was the founding of Maher in 1997 in Pune, Maharashtra. She had to single-handedly start Maher as she did not receive backing from anyone. A friend, Fr. Francis D'Sa, helped her with advice and also helped her to find some donors to start a non-Christian organization. Maher is 100% secular. Since its inception, Maher has provided safe refuge and rehabilitation to women who were suffering from abuse, starvation, or neglect.
