Monday, February 4, 2013
Today, Jim and Susanne and Libby headed off to Sarenga with
two other members of the Diocese of WNC delegation. We will get something out the Sarenga
experience in another post.
Our team leader, Shawnee, and I headed off to Raniganj this
afternoon. The newest child development
center is here. Raja, the staff person
for the Diocese of Durgapur that oversees all of the child development centers,
accompanied us. It was about 45 minutes
away—the drive was once again quite an experience. One just has to completely trust in the
driver. It does have the sensation of
playing chicken, but somehow, nobody ever seems to wreck.
Durgapur is one of the most industrial areas in India, and
Raniganj is in the heart of it—steel, iron, and coal. The coal sounds a lot like mountain top
removal, except with no mountains. Raja
was explaining that they do not go in the mines, but they blast on top of the
ground to get to the coal. I explained
that we had mountain top removal and that often the water is poisoned. He said it is the same here. I asked him about the wage in a factory—he
said about 10,000 rupees a month—about $200.
The women in the basti near the diocesan compound who work as servants
across the street in more affluent homes get paid about 100 rupees a day—about
20 cents, and he said that work is intermittent. The pollution driving up there today was
unbelievable. Raniganj felt much more cramped and congested than
Durgapur. You just sensed that life was
even harder here.
The child development center just started in May, just 8
months ago. Most of the children are Muslim,
but the parents are very open to them coming here. They know that the people who run the program
are Christian, but they want their children to have this opportunity. There are 25 kids, ages 5 or 6 to 11,
currently in the program with a waiting list of 20 more. Our diocese sponsors the majority of these
children. This center began because the
pastor, Sumanta, saw that there were children playing in the area in front of
the church. They have no place else to
play. These kids come from a slum with really
difficult living conditions. Some
children going for several days with no food.
He told of one boy, 4 years old, who was smoking. Drugs are a problem with some of the
parents. The pastor and Raja went around
in the slum and met all the parents as they started the program. Once a month, the teachers and have home
conferences with the parents. So, part
of this program is about mentoring the parents.
The children get help with their studies. Raja said that not all of the children were
in school when they began the program, but all the children who were there
today are now in school. They learn
dance, like at the other centers. He
said the children had no discipline when they first came, but that too has
changed.
Every month, Raja visits all six centers. He interviews the teachers and the children
and looks over reports. Accountability
is hugely important at sustaining these programs, and such accountability is a
great legacy that Bishop Dutta has brought into this diocese. If people trust the accountability and
transparency of these programs, they are much more likely to support them—the
auditor in me gets that. I found it
fascinating that Raja asks the children questions—what was good that month,
what was not good, etc. It is a very
subtle and wonderful way to empower the children. These children said that the good things
were: studying, playing games, and snack (which is substantial). For some, this might be there main source of
food. It reminds me of the statistics in
our own state about food security—17% of households are food insecure. Some of our children depend upon school
breakfast and school lunch as their main source of food.
When we arrived, we first met with the pastor, Samanta. I met him over the weekend when he was in
Durgapur for the Thanksgiving Service.
He struck me then as such a gentle, gentle soul. I was very glad for the time to talk with him,
though he was very quiet. We were each
poured a cup of coke a cola (I thought three
cups of coke). He was really, really
quiet. Did I say how quiet he was? But he came to life when he got the chance to
explain the Church of North India to Shawnee.
I only know about the Church of North India (CNI) because we had to
study it in seminary. In 1970, six
denominations came together to form this church—Anglican, Baptist, Church of
Brethren, Methodist, Disciples of Christ, and United Church of Christ. It was a shining moment of ecumenism. So, pastors/priests are ordained in the
Church of North India. The church they
serve may come from one of these six traditions if it was formed earlier than
1970, so it may have more of that flavor.
Like Samanta said that communion might be done one of three ways, intinction,
common cup, or separate cups. Some
places might feel more Anglican, some might feel more Baptist, etc. The Diocese of Durgapur has 32 pastorates
(they sometimes call these parishes), but this is more on the English model
where the parish is a geographical area.
Within each pastorate, there could be many churches. There is the mother church in Raniganj and
two daughter churches. So, Samanta is
responsible for three churches. Within
these 32 pastorates there are a total of 136 churches. The pastors/priests are appointed to the
places by the bishop, so they do move according to where he sends them. You can tell that Samanta has a pastor’s
heart. The church is able to work with
Muslims and Hindus because they trust him and they trust the church. This child development center started because
he saw the need.
Once again, we were greeted with a lei of flowers upon our
arrival. The children sang songs for us. I commented on how wonderful their dancing
was on Friday night which sent everyone into a flurry to find the music so that
they could perform the dances for me. Then
there was a technical difficulty. I
really just meant to complement them, but they were determined that we get to
see them again, and boy was I glad we got to see them dance again. When these children dance, they stand taller,
and you can see them brighten with confidence.
We took a picture of each child, partly for those back in Western North
Carolina who sponsor these children, and partly to help get sponsors for those
who do not have sponsors. I then took a
page out of Libby’s book and sat down on the floor in the middle of the kids to
show them their picture—they love to see their picture. They are beautiful, beautiful children. I has the honor of praying over them at the end of
our meeting.
The biggest need here, more sponsors and a classroom
space. Right now, they are meeting in
the church building which is the sanctuary.
This space is used throughout the day by other people in the community,
so it is difficult for the children’s program to be here too. For instance, the church building is open
from 8 or so in the morning until 8 or 9 in the night. The Muslims use the space to come in and say
their prayers. Every afternoon, older
Hindu men, elders, come in talk. Sometimes
the pastor joins them. Five of them came
in as we were getting ready to leave. I
was asked to pray over them. What an
honor. I gave thanks for our elders and
their wisdom. Sometimes these elders
mentor the children. Intergenerational
mentoring. It reminded me of the VoCare
that was inaugurated at ASU between college students and older adults.
Then we went next door and had tea with Samanta and his wife
and son. Rice pudding, chai, and something
really, really sweet that we also had on Friday night. Once again, the hospitality was so very
gracious. As we left, we walked over to
the edge of the grounds and looked over the edge to see the train going by. They dream of a hostel on those grounds like
in Durgapur Center, where some of these children who come out of the worst of
the circumstances can come and live. Raja tells of heartbreaking instances where parents
will approach him and just say, “You take my child.” There is nothing easy about these situations.
And still, in this work, there is tremendous hope, one child at a time.
We miss you, but really, our circle of friendship is only
growing larger by being here. I hope you
are beginning to feel your friendship with these people through us.
In peace,
Cyndi
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