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Remote Area Education (India)

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Blogs, Remote Area Education (India)
August 31, 2018

Dear friends,

Greetings! It’s with delight that I share a little about how the Diocese of Amritsar is ministering to communities in Northwest India through the valued support of UnitingWorld.

We work in a unique context, among communities which have been systematically deprived of standard education and healthcare, severely impacting their development and growth. Education in the region has become mostly privatised and institutional, accessible by only a few. Infrastructure is failing, and there are not enough adequate teachers or books. Girls are most affected, as they are considered a burden to the family. They risk abuse and harassment.

Our church ministry, as well as social empowerment programmes, are aimed at breaking systems that dehumanize people and keep them helpless and despairing. With your help, the Church is able to go beyond its boundaries and walk with people in times of need, working together to transform unjust social structures, and provide hope where there is none. As we work alongside our brothers and sisters in the villages, our aim is to help them develop their strengths and capabilities and give them back their sense of identity and self-confidence. Young girls and boys in villages located near the Pakistan border now have more access to quality education and healthcare and are on their way to becoming agents of change for their own communities.

In all these efforts, we see God’s design in bringing people into deep friendships, connecting individuals who have joined the journey along with UnitingWorld to enable the Diocese to carry out this life-transforming ministry. Thank you for partnering with us in this work. Please continue to keep the ministry of the Diocese of Amritsar in your thoughts and prayers.

May God bless you!

Most Rev. P. K. Samantaroy

Bishop, Diocese of Amritsar

 

Your gifts to our HOPE HAS MANY FACES Appeal support Bishop Samantaroy and the work of the church in India – providing training for church leaders and education opportunities, especially for girls.

Click here to donate today

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Remote Area Education (India)
December 15, 2017

High up in the Indian Himalayas, in a small village of mostly farming families, a busy school day begins. Students leave their homes and walk the short distance to newly built classrooms for their first lessons of the day. They are taught by young, local teachers, enthusiastic to see improvements in their classes and their own teaching practice, encouraging students to excel in all areas of learning.Until just a few years ago, going to school was a very different experience for many children in this remote community.

With no school nearby, children would have to walk four hours each way to attend the nearest school, often on isolated mountain trails, a journey made largely impossible during monsoon season. For many parents the risk was too great, especially for their daughters; many children dropped out of school altogether, losing the opportunity for education for another generation and raising the very real risk of human trafficking.

With the support of UnitingWorld, the Church of North India, Diocese of Eastern Himalayas responded to this need by establishing a local school in this remote region. The school began in February 2015 with its first cohort of 63 Year 5, 6 and 7 students. Steadily growing each year, there are currently 150 students attending the school from Years 5 to 9.This access to local education has been life-changing for these students and their families. Young people in the area are now better equipped for future employment and livelihoods, parents no longer fear for their children’s safety and local communities are filled with hope for their future.