Read Part One HERE
In this post I will focus on a woman named Emilie Mallet. She lived from 1794 -1856. She was a woman of great moral integrity, who spent her life helping children prisoners and the sick.
She was the daughter of Christopher Oberkampf, who had founded the factory which produced the famous Toile de Jouy (a kind of printed cotton). Her father-in-law was Guillaume Mallet, the manager of the Banque de France.
In 1826, she opened several infants' schools, inspired by the English models; these" shelters" were the nursery schools of the future, taking in children from 2 to 6 years old, mostly from working-class backgrounds.
During the cholera epidemics of 1832 and 1849, she took children into her own home and kept them in a building which she rented out in Jouy-en-Josas.
In 1838, she organised a committee of women who visted the St Lazare prison and helped to develop the charity which cared for those coming out of prison, run by the Diaconesses.
Emilie was a model wife and mother. However, in addition to this, she wanted to witness to her faith (which was strongly influenced by the Revival movement) in all her activities. She took on positions of responsibility in society, involving other women of her social level as well. In fact, she instigated an awareness of social problems which led other wives of prominent businessmen to take part in associations to help those in need. She died in 1856.
Read Part Forty-Six HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment