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1901
Health needs in British India
In 1901, when British India was facing many health hazards, as medical science was in its pre-antibiotic and pre-vaccine era, there was a great need for the services of trained women nurses and doctors.
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1920
Archbishop of Madras
The Archbishop of Madras invited people to educate medical women as missionaries in India. Mary Glowrey of Australia, following in the footsteps of Dr Agnes McLaren, came to India in 1920.
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1942
CHAI
In 1942, Sr Mary Glowrey initiated the Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) with the support of Bishop Pothacamury of Guntur.
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1969–1993
Growth of Sister Doctors in CHAI
The nascent CHAI had sixteen Sister Doctors representing eight Catholic medical institutions at that time. In 1968 the number of medical doctors in CHAI went up to 121, and in 1993 there were about 300 Sister Doctors.
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1993
Golden Jubilee evaluation
An inspiration to organize a forum of Sister Doctors originated in a Golden Jubilee evaluation of CHAI. Fr John Vattamattom, who was the Executive Director of CHAI, played a major role in this formation process.
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1993
Sister Doctors Forum of India (SDFI)
Sister Doctors Forum of India (SDFI) was formed in 1993 during the National convention of CHAI at Kaloor, Ernakulam, with Sr Dr Lillian as the President. As of now, the Forum has more than 800 members who are working for the rural and urban poor as Sister Doctors.