More than 80 percent of people in Dhaka now support the Church’s Natural Family Planning (NFP) method, says a Catholic nun who has been promoting it in Bangladesh since 1976.

Sister Mary Imelda, 78, from the local women religious congregation Associates of Mary Queen of Apostles, has worked as a trained nurse for over 50 years.

She was sent to India in 1976 to learn NFP and since then has been sharing with hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis this natural method of family planning approved by the Church.

The nun is also the founding director of the Community Health and Natural Family Planning (CHNFP) project of Caritas Bangladesh and is now working at the St. Mary’s Catholic Mother Care Center at Toomiliah parish, northeast of Dhaka.

She recently gave an interview to ucanews.com on her NFP work in Bangladesh over the decades.

Q: When and why did you start getting involved in Natural Family Planning?

A: I started working as a nurse in 1960 and at that time, I was called to visit a village in the southern part of what is now Bangladesh.

There I found some women in very poor health. They were bedridden and many had symptoms such as stomachache, vomiting and dizziness.

I came to know that all of them had taken birth control pills prescribed by local health workers and were now suffering the side-effects.

The literary rate decades ago was very low and most families had six to 12 children. I started wondering if I could do something for these people.

I then discussed with the late Archbishop T.A. Ganguly of Dhaka on a viable solution in accordance with Church doctrine. As the Church doesn’t support artificial birth control methods, I started reading Humane Vitae, an encyclical on abortion and birth control written by Pope Paul VI in 1968, that clearly mentions NFP.

Then, in 1976 the Dhaka prelate sent me to India, where I attended a training program conducted by a nun doctor, Sister Catherine Bernard.

Q: Can you describe the changes in attitude toward family planning in Bangladesh.

A: At the beginning only Christians knew about NFP, but now many non-Christians are also aware of it. As a matter of fact, today more and more people are concerned about population control. Whereas in the past they would say, “Allah has given the mouth, he will provide food,” now Bangladeshis are learning how to deal with overpopulation.

When I began working in 1976, the number of people using NFP was zero, but by 1984 a poll among 400 people in Dhaka revealed that 88.6 percent of them prefer NFP methods, and I believe the trend is still more positive today.

Q: How is NFP promoted among Catholics?

A: There is at least one NFP volunteer in every parish to hold compulsory trainings during marriage preparation classes.

Q: What challenges did you face while working for NFP?

A: As a nun I faced many challenges. Sometimes even Catholics criticized me. They said, “How can a nun work for NFP? She will soon leave religious life.” I endured every bitter experience patiently and responded to people’s suspicions with dedicated action.

Lack of funds was a major problem. Often I had to walk to remote areas, but I never gave up. Another problem was the scarcity of NFP workers. For three years I worked with only two staff. Now, I’m happy to see the Caritas CHNFP project has been extended in order to successfully cope with the needs.

Q: Why do you consider NFP so important?

A: I strongly recommend NFP because the Catholic Church and all other religions encourage it. Moreover, the killing of a fetus is a grave sin.

The natural method strengthens the moral conviction of the couple and boosts their unity because both need to be involved in NFP. It is effective for family planning and helps couples increase mutual understanding. And it costs nothing.

Q: What do you feel are your achievements in 50 years of health service?

A: I think that my best achievement was in raising awareness of NFP among people of all levels.

The late American Holy Cross Father Charles J. Young was a great help in my difficult mission. If I had any problem I would ask for his help and he always advised me.

I also introduced Doctor John Billings, the Australian inventor of NFP, to the Bangladesh government and they responded quite positively. The government later sent me to various places inside and outside the country to teach people NFP.

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