Tomorrow our delegation will begin its journey back to the mountains of North Carolina.  I must admit that I am now eager to see my husband, dogs, cat and church family once again.  I find myself longing for the comfort of biscuits, mashed potatoes, and your basic Southern cuisine.  We have stayed very busy touring each of the child development centers and having meetings with representatives of various ministries within the Diocese of Durgapur.  There have been moments where I have stopped and realized that in some small way I was part of something amazing that God was doing.  I really felt that when I attended a special service for the elderly of the slums.  It had rained and the program needed to be moved to the cathedral that is still under construction.  How appropriate that God sought to honor those dear people by making it possible for them to celebrate on the floor that will soon be covered in marble.  The cathedral will never be as beautiful as when all of those elderly people in their colorful garments were gathered there in celebration.  The orientation for the first Jr. Chapter of The Order of the Daughters of the King was held; 16 beautiful young women were in attendance and prepared to begin their period of study to become Jr. Daughters; the first chapter in India. It will be hard to say farewell tomorrow to my dear friends here.  

Tuesday, February 5 and Wednesday, February 6, 2013

 First, a few corrections.  It is spelled “lei” not “lay.”  Susanne corrected my math—100 rupees a day converts to $2 a day.   $1 is approximately 50 rupees.  And the official word within the Church of North India structure is “pastorate” for the parish.  They sometimes refer to them as parishes, but they are officially known as pastorates.  So, in the Diocese of Durgapur, there are 32 pastorates with 136 churches within those 32 pastorates.  Just want to make sure we get our church polity clear.  Also, I got clarified that Durgapur is the city in the district of Burdwan in the state of West Bengel in the country of India.   I think I got that right.   

So, Tuesday.   In the morning, Shawnee, Norma, Susanne, and Betty Jo were a part of the Prayer Shawl meeting with the two Daughters of the King chapters.  From what they have shared, it was quite powerful, and Susanne has been knitting ever since trying to do the pattern they were teaching her.

In the afternoon, we headed to Bankura, about an hour and a half away.  A young man accompanied us who will start his theological training this June.  He was sharp as a tack and a great translator. 

We first went to the Leprosy Mission Bill Edgar Memorial Vocational Training Centre.  Best I can tell, the Danish Church helped establish this many, many years ago.  Their mission is very holistic.  They work on awareness and advocacy, advocacy, sustainable livelihoods, medical care, and education.  Sewing is a major focus of this center.  There is a Boys hostel here, as well as a Girls hostel.  The program is a mixed population—there are people who have leprosy, people who have been affected by leprosy, and people who have not been affected by leprosy who simply want the training.  It is still the case in India that if your grandparents had leprosy, even if you do not, you are still ostracized, an outcast.  In Purulia, the Diocese of Durgapur has a child development center, like in Durgapur, and a hostel as well.  Many of the children are those whom leprosy has affected—they are stigmatized because their parents or grandparents had leprosy.  The Bankura Leprosy Mission Vocational Training Center is amazing for their vision of mixing the population of those affected by leprosy with those who are not affected by leprosy, but want the training.  This integration helps those graduating from the program mix in with the general population when they move beyond the training center out into the world to get work.  And they teach advanced sewing skills that allow these graduates to get higher paying jobs in the factories.  The man who runs this center is 35 years old and has a background in social work—again, an amazing individual.

After this visit, we went to the Bankura Interfaith Child Development Center.  This one is the second oldest in the Diocese, second to Durgapur Center.  It began as the others have, children playing around the church who had nothing else to do.  There are 60 children in this program now—95% Muslim.  Once again, we were greeted as with marigold leis, marigolds petals showered in our hair, and a great deal of dancing.  Many of the parents and grandparents had come to watch the program, mostly women, but some men too.  This was a rowdier group—beaming with confidence.  I was struck between the confidence of these children and the more timid nature of the children I met on Monday in Raniganj.  The difference between a program that has been going for many years and one that has been going for 8 months.  These programs change lives, and it is long-term systemic change. 

Bishop Dutta happened to be in Bankura for another meeting, and he told us quite a bit of the history.  The Diocesan center used to be in Bankura.  When he came to the Diocese there were 40 suits against it.   In many places, the property was in great disrepair and the government was ready to take the property, taxes had not been paid.  He talked of how he stood on the steps outside the building next to the church and settled the suits.  He said they used to have horrible problems with the Muslims behind the church in the slum stealing from the church, but because of this program, the Muslims now protect the church.  Two of the girls from this program are now in college.  At first their parents wanted them to marry, but now those parents want their girls to continue in college. Two young girls, 5 or 6 years old are going to St. Michael’s English Speaking School.  This was the church where Bishop Dutta challenged them to look beyond the wall behind them where the slum where most of these children live exists.  They have, and this little piece of the world is changing in dramatic ways.

This morning, Wednesday, was the Diocese of WNC day with the children of the hostel here in Durgapur.  It was a mini-camp with several stations.  This children were given permission to stay out of school today, so we were VERY popular.  We had dancing with Libby, Native American Indians with Norma, reading with Shawnee, friendship bracelets with Susanne, and basketball with Jim and me.  Six 30 minute basketball clinics—I think I will sleep well tonight.  And I have gorgeous fuschia toenails.  They learn everything so fast!  They were shagging, and they picked up blocking out and picking right away.  Our remaining basketball games should be great.  Maybe with a few less fouls.  And the girls are naturals.  They love all the new basketballs and soccer balls we were able to get at Big Bazaar. 

Everyone on our team is doing well.  Four of the seven of us now have colds--pray that folks get on the mend quickly.

In peace,

Cyndi

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