History

The Congregation of our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd was founded by St. Mary Euphrasia in 1835 in Angers, France.  In 1956, the Good Shepherd Sisters arrived in Kuala Lumpur & founded a mission that was rooted in a history that reached out to women & girls in crisis & those in the margins.  

Founded by St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796 – 1868) and known as the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, The Good Shepherd Mission has its origins in Angers, France. On 16 January 1835 Pope Gregory XVI approved the Congregation which has its roots in the Order of Our Lady of Charity known as the Refuge, which was founded by St. John Eudes (1601 – 1680). John Eudes was an outstanding priest and leader in the Christian renewal of 17th century France. Fired by the love of the hearts of Jesus and Mary, he established a refuge in 1641 to help women and girls who were exploited and in moral distress.

From a few committed women in this service, the Order of Our Lady of Charity evolved. In 1814, Rose Virginie Pelletier entered Our Lady of Charity at Tours. She was given the name Mary of St. Euphrasia. Sister Mary Euphrasia combined a great apostolic spirit with a deep interior life. The community and mission took on new vigour when she was elected superior at the age of 29. A house in Angers was founded in 1829 at the invitation of the local bishop. There, in 1831, Sister Mary Euphrasia formed a contemplative community for some of the girls and women under her care who desired to dedicate their lives to God. These contemplative sisters offer their lives of prayer and penance for the people served by the Congregation.

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Milestones

• 1950's
• 1956: Set up of Good Shepherd Convent at Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
•  1957: Good Shepherd Convent School in Jalan Ampang was initiated to reach out to the community through their children and to generate income for the sisters’ living expenses. The Good Shepherd Convent School consisted of the Junior International School and Good Shepherd Kindergarten and Nursery. The sisters started providing residential services to girls from poor families and taught them sewing, art and craft and cooking.
• 1960's
• 1960: Due to overwhelming response to Good Shepherd Convent School, the sisters moved their convent to Madonna Heights, Jalan Hulu Kelang, Ampang, Selangor so that every available space could be used for education. With that, the welfare services for girls from poor families also moved to Madonna Heights. Thus began the Madonna Heights Welfare Centre for Teenage Girls.
• 1965: Nazarethville – Home for Unwed Mothers was set up in Batu Arang, Selangor.
• 1970's
• 1975: Nazarethville – Home for Unwed Mothers shifted to a rented house in Ipoh as the original site in Batu Arang, due to its development into an industrial area, was no longer conducive as a site for the Home.
•  1976: Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd (Sekolah Khas), Hulu Kelang, Ampang, was officially opened by the Minister of Social Welfare. It offered commercial and vocational subjects to help the students obtain jobs and to prepare for their Lower Cambridge Examinations as private candidates. A sewing workshop was started as part of the vocational school.
• 1979: The Bishop of Penang gave the Good Shepherd Sisters permission to build Mariaville Kindergarten, the Sisters’ Convent and Home for Unwed Mothers on a piece of land located in Ipoh. Upon completion of the building, the Home for Unwed Mothers relocated to these new premises.
• 1980's
• 1988: A house was purchased in Ipoh and named Rose Virginie Welcome House. This was a transition house for unwed mothers after the delivery of their babies and women experiencing spousal violence.
•  1989: Seri Murni Hostel, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, was set up on the grounds of the former Seminary at Jalan Sang Kancil and catered for girls from rural villages who came to the city seeking employment or to continue their studies. In response to the needs of teenage girls experiencing pregnancy crisis and women with children experiencing domestic violence, the Good Shepherd Sisters set up Pusat Jagaan Seri Murni (PJSM) in the same premises.
• 1990's
• 1992: In their direction to be more involved in rural community development, the Good Shepherd Sisters took over the management of the rural parish hostel, Asrama Gereja St. James in Tenghilan. This is a hostel for secondary school girls from remote villages surrounding Tenghilan.
• 1998: Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd (Sekolah Khas) in Hulu Kelang, Ampang, ceased operations following a change in the educational policy allowing for automatic progression in the secondary school system until Form 5. There was no longer a need to assist school dropouts who could not progress to Form 4. The Teenage Centre continued to retain its name i.e. Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd (Teenage Centre).
• 2000's
• 2000: The Home for Unwed Mothers and Rose Virginie Welcome House in Ipoh merged into one and become known as Rose Virginie Good Shepherd Centre and began operating from its current premises in Ipoh. Seri Murni Hostel in Kota Kinabalu was officially closed as similar services were being provided in the city. The residents were phased out gradually with some being relocated to the Good Shepherd Sisters Convent in Likas. Pusat Jagaan Seri Murni in Kota Kinabalu was relocated to a double storey house purchased specifically for this purpose.
• 2003: Rural Community Development (RCD) in Sabah was established to develop programs with the focus of empowering rural communities with leadership and communication skills. It also offered human development and social awareness programs. RCD’s main target groups were women, youths and children.
•  2005: YouthPREP Link Level 1, an outreach program for youths from rural villages commenced in November at the Outreach Centre, Good Shepherd Convent in Likas, Kota Kinabalu.
• 2006: Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd (HQ) was set up in Kuala Lumpur to oversee the entire welfare services of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Malaysia.
• 2007: The Family Building and Reconciliation Program commenced with the focus on promoting healthy relationships within families through educational group activities. Programs were conducted in the diocese of Kota Kinabalu, namely villages around Tuaran, Tenghilan, Tamparuli, Pukak in Kiulu and Kota Belud.
• 2008: Asrama Desa Pukak, a residential hostel for primary school children from interior villages surrounding Kampung Pukak, Kiulu, in Sabah commenced operations in January. At the same time, The Good Shepherd Rural Training Centre in Pukak also commenced operations. In February, the Family Building and Reconciliation Program expanded its programs to the diocese of Keningau (which covers Beaufort, Sipitang, Tenom, Kemabong, Membakut, Kuala Penyu, Tambunan, and Apin-Apin) and the diocese of Sandakan (Sandakan Town and Beluran). In July, the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) in Pukak, Kiulu, Sabah commenced operations with sessions held every Monday and Wednesday for primary school children from Kg Pukak.
• 2009: The Mobile Resource Centre commenced operations and brought the programs conducted in the LRC to remote villages surrounding Kg Pukak. Pusat Jagaan Seri Murni in Kota Kinabalu was renovated to increase its capacity to accommodate residents from 12 to 20. Rose Virginie Good Shepherd Centre in Ipoh commenced renovation and extension works to increase its capacity from 12 residents to 30 residents and upgrade its facilities to include counseling rooms, a semi-commercial kitchen and staff quarters.
•  2009: Rose Virginie Good Shepherd Centre in Ipoh commenced renovation and extension works to increase its capacity from 12 residents to 30 residents and upgrade its facilities to include counseling rooms, a semi-commercial kitchen and staff quarters.
• 2010's
• 2010: Alamesra YouthPREP Centre (YPC), in Kota Kinabalu officially commenced operations in February. The YPC also houses the administrative office of PKGS (Sabah). PKGS celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its presence at Madonna Heights Hulu Kelang. “Gratitude is the Memory of the Heart” was published to commemorate the event.
• 2010: Women Shelter - In September 2010, the women shelter in KL began its operation and by the end of Dec 2010, there were 12 women and children in the shelter.
• 2010 Nov: Upon the invitation from the diocese of Sandakan, PKGS extended its services into Sandakan, with the setting up of the Pusat Jagaan Seri Murni (PJSM Sandakan) and the Children Learning Program (CLP). The CLP was officially launched on 11 January 2011 and subsequently went mobile in order to reach more children in the plantations, particularly the Indonesian migrants. Programs are also conducted for the migrant women and families.
•   2012: The extension of the Good Shepherd Mission into the diocese of Keningau, particularly Tulid in 2012, was through the Rural Community Development Program comprising Mobile Women’s Enrichment Program, Youth programs, Socio Economic Development program, and the Mobile Children Program. The wholistic approach caters for women, youth, children and their families.
• 2012 Dec: The Asrama Gereja St. James Tenghilan was handed back to the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu in December 2012. The original purpose for PKGS to manage the hostel was no longer relevant with the availability of more government operated hostels and easier accessibility to schools as a result of infrastructural and socio-economic development in Tenghilan and the surrounding villages. PKGS shifted its resources to the Rural Community Development programs in Keningau.
• 2012: The Women Shelter in Kuala Lumpur started its first outreach program to one government shelter for trafficked victims.
• 2013: PKGS celebrated its 25th Anniversary in Sabah. “Our Zeal Must Embrace the World” was published to commemorate the event.
• 2015: Good Shepherd Services (GSS) was set up on 30 April 2015 as a company limited by guarantee. On 1 August 2015, GSS took over all social services to the Malaysian public which was formerly operated under Pusat Kebajikan Good Shepherd.
• 2017: Global Shepherds Berhad was setup on 22nd September 2017 as a company limited by guaranteed.
• 2018: The Women Shelter now provides services for trafficked victims to 4 government shelters and 1 embassy.
• 2018: On 1 Jan 2018, Global Shepherds took over all social services to non-Malaysians which formerly operated under PKGS.