BELGAUM, India (UCAN) -- Siddhimaran Yellappa did not shout for a Catholic priest and a Muslim veterinarian to go away when he saw them making their way toward him down a dusty hill in southern India.

Standing amid his flock in a valley in the Belgaum region of Karnataka state, Yellappa, waved his staff to welcome the visitors, friends who have helped his shepherd community out of illiteracy, ignorance and exploitation. "They have saved our sheep and changed our lives," Yellappa said.

Ajith Hulloli, Yellappa's friend, explained that in the past their nomadic community never mixed with outsiders "nor trusted them," but they now trust the priest-veterinarian team and modern medicine.

The story of Jesuit Father Joe Chenakkala becoming the "shepherd of shepherds" started three years ago, when he saw a protest march of "poor people" demanding "some compensation."

The inquisitive priest noted that the protesters were shepherds seeking compensation for thousands of their sheep killed by a contagious disease in the Belgaum diocesan area where he works.

He then accidentally met veterinarian Zaffrula Baig, a Muslim, who told him that medicines are available to prevent contagious diseases among sheep.

The two then decided to help the predominantly Hindu shepherds, almost all of whom were illiterate. The task proved difficult as the shepherds who do not own houses or properties kept moving.

Baig said he and the priest "literally walked with them, sharing their joys and sorrows," to understand them and gain their confidence. The Muslim doctor now heads a mobile veterinary clinic to assist the shepherds in their pastures around Belgaum, some 1,750 kilometers south of New Delhi.

Hulloli told UCA News that the priest and veterinarian "gave us not only medicines to treat our sheep, but also training to prevent contagious diseases and confidence to face such situations without superstitions."

The shepherd, dressed in a cloth wrapped around the waist and a long rough woolen cloth around his body, said that in the past when sheep died, "we sacrificed a live lamb." They considered disease as a god's wrath.

Father Chenakkala, who launched a literacy program among the shepherds, described their community as "the most disorganized and exploited because of their nomadic lifestyle."

He now heads the Jana Jagaran (peoples' vigilance) that tries to safeguard the shepherd's interests, including literacy and just prices for their sheep.

Bhimappa, a shepherd-volunteer, said, they have decided to educate at least one member of each family, noting that 90 percent of shepherds are illiterate.

Vasu Pujari, another shepherd, said a flock consist of some 75 sheep. A group of four or five flocks and their shepherds, often blood relatives, undertake the journey together. "Each group would have a fixed route but will meet with others in temples and markets," Pujari said.

"Our women deliver and children grow up on the same route," said Yellappa adding that their ambitions never went beyond eating three meals a day and celebrating their traditional festivals.

Father Chenakkala said illiteracy, strong traditional beliefs, extensive migration and exploitation by organized groups of butchers and middlemen blocked the developmental programs among the community.

The priest-vet team has began teaching shepherds about de-worming, vaccinations, modern breeding practices, shearing and marketing, besides organizing them into self-help groups.

The programs are funded by Andheri Hilfe, a Church funding agency from Germany, the Jesuit priest said. He added that they also help the shepherds obtain aid available from government resources and projects.

"The diseases have come down," Baig said, noting that they have reached out to some 3,460 shepherd families who tend some 1 million sheep.

Yellappa recalled how they dreaded "outsiders" three years ago, but the attitude changed after the priest-vet team helped them sell sheep without middlemen and identify and prevent sheep diseases.

As the visitors climbed the hill to leave, Yellappa waved goodbye to them -- and perhaps to his people's bad days.

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