President of ERD visits CNI

In a worst ever natural calamity, thousands of lives were swept away in a wink of an eye on 26th December, 2004 by a tsunami wave that snuffed out the South East Asia Region. While Banda Aceh in Indonesia was the worst affected keeping the whole world at bay, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India would have never thought of redrawing its map by any way. Car Nicobar, the Islands that was always known for its scenic beauty, has lost its beauty. Ten thousands out of twenty thousands people who resided in the islands were reportedly dead or missing. Thousands of lives were lost and those spared were not better off than those already dead.

In that crying situation, the Church of North India was one of those organizations which plunged into the service of relief and rehabilitation immediately. Camps for food and clothing were established and temporary tents and shelters were built. When lives started limping back to normalcy, many livelihood projects were undertaken with the support of our partners in India and overseas. We were requested by the Administration to help them in reconstructing Schools in Nicobar District. It was a great challenge as there was no infrastructure available. It was all possible because of the generosity shown by our mission partners all over the globe. One such major mission partner was the Episcopal Relief and Development, (ERD) USA. In a friendly gesture Dr. Robert Radke, President of ERD recently visited Church of North India along with his colleagues Ms. Malika Kamunanwire, senior director for Marketing and Communication and Ms. Julie Petrie during 5th to 7th September 2006.

Accompanied by Mr. Sudipta Singh, Secretary of CNI Disaster Management Committee and Director, Programmes, when the visitors landed on Port Blair, they were given a rousing welcome by the people of Andaman & Nicobar Diocese with garlands in their traditional tribal way. From Port Blair the visitors went to North Andaman to see the progress of reconstruction and rehabilitation work being supported by them but faced with a terrific cyclone on their way. Traveling on rough muddy roads by a car must have been a unique experience and adventure for them but it spoke much about the condition of infrastructure and life of people in the Islands. But not to leave them desperate, a public reception was arranged at Port Blair in the evening on 6th September where 200 people from Car Nicobar along with Bishop Christopher Paul, Chief of Tribal Council, and many other dignitaries were gathered to honor the visitors.

The next day on 7th September 2006, the visitors flew to Delhi and joined in a Thanksgiving Sunday Service organized by CNI DMC at CNI Free Church on Sansad Marg. Dr. Radke brought the message to the congregation and had fellowship with the local members over a hi-tea. Following that the visitors interacted with the CNI DMC members and got apprised of the progress of work and future requirements in rebuilding lives of people in Nicobar Islands. The Church of North India expresses its gratitude to Dr. Radke and his colleagues for having visited CNI and continued support to its mission. We feel that through this visit, our partnership has been strengthened.
 

CNI at Indian Social Forum 2006

It was a gathering of thousands but still some forums stood conspicuous at the Indian Social Forum 2006 which was organized by World Social Forum’s India Chapter at the Exhibition Ground, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi from 9th to 13th November 2006. The Church of North India made its programmatic and contributing presence at the ISF 2006 in partnership with the National Council of Churches in India, the South Asia Ecumenical Partnership Programme of WCC and CCA, and the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Church in India.

A Workshop under the theme “Youth Ensuring Justice and Liberation for Dalits” was jointly organized on 10th November 2006 where the facilitators and the delegates affirmed that Dalits Rights are Human Rights and thus youth should ensure that their Rights are safeguarded by all peaceful means. The delegates further condemned the recent killing of Dalit families in Bhandara district in Maharashtra which spurred violence and brought the State Government under its knee, and appealed for Justice on their behalf to the culprits. While strategizing to fight against the detrimental forces, the delegates resolved that an inter-faith approach should be initiated in thrust areas such as empowerment of Dalits through education, networking with like minded people and organization and being involved in advocacy to be in solidarity them.

The Workshop was facilitated by Rev. Raj Bharat Patta, Executive Secretary for Dalits and Youth Concerns, National Council of Churches in India, Mr. Kasta Dip, Coordinator, Youth Concerns, Church of North India Synod, Dr. Raja Gerald, Youth Director, Union of Evangelical Church in India, Mr. Mrinal Lankapalli, Coordinator, Dalits Concerns, Union of Evangelical Church in India. A group of panelists who shared their views during the Workshop include Mr. Franklin Caesar Thomas, Coordinator, National Council of Dalit Christians, Ms. Ratna Mala, Young Women Christian Association and Mr. P. Muralidhar, President of All India Youth Federation National Council.

CNI and CWS Initiate Study on Human Rights Violations of Girl Street Children In India

A research, proposed by the Church of North India and supported by Church World Service, on human rights violations of girl street children in India is being conducted to analyse the status of the street girl children in India. For the purpose of the study 5 cities were strategically selected i.e. Nagpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Allahabad and Siliguri. The categories of children considered for the study are the children who work on the street during the day and return home at night, the children who take shelter and work and earn on the street and have occasional contacts with their parents as well as those children who are abandoned by their family and who live on the streets all by themselves.

The Interview Schedule was prepared for the purpose of Data Collection. A pilot study was done in Nagpur taking 10 Samples from the various pockets of the city after which immediately Data Collection in Nagpur was conducted. A sample of 30 was selected from the Nagpur Railway Station, Bhandewari Dumping Ground, Yashwant Stadium, Tandapeth and Kalamna Market. The children were either living alone on the street or with their family. The occupations that they were engaged in are sweeping the trains, begging, rag-picking, working in hotels, and some were sex workers while others stayed at home doing household chores.

The girls almost all of them were found to be addicted to tobacco and solution (Whitener). They earn Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 on an average and spent a large amount of it on buying these substances. During the interview few girls were not able to respond properly as they seemed to be in sedation of the substances. The girls were vulnerable to all forms of abuse - physical, verbal and sexual. The strangers,pavement dwellers, police municipal and railway authorities are a constant threat to them. The girls usually beg for food and many a times go hungry. When enquired about their future aspirations majority of them expressed their desire to learn vocational skills and live a decent life. The most immediate desire is to stay in a safe shelter.

The Data Collection in Mumbai has also been conducted. The areas selected were Kurla Railway Station, Kamathipura (red light area), Agripada, Sewri, Mumbai Central and Colaba. In Mumbai large numbers of sexual exploitation cases were found by family members and local people. The girls who had abandoned their family and came to Mumbai to earn money were deceived by pimps and sold into prostitution. In many pavements there was large scale sexual harassment by the fathers/ stepfathers and brothers. A large number of them were denied education and were forced to do household chores.

Several minor girls were found begging on the railway platforms. Though some of them go to welfare organizations but still during evening they continue begging. The level of addiction was also found to be high. The substances used were tobacco, alcohol, whitener solutions, charas, ganja.

The data collection in Delhi, Allahabad and Siliguri will be completed in the month of November.

Mission and Evangelism: A Biblical Mandate

A Mission Seminar was organized at the CHPD, Nagpur by the Christian Life and Evangelism Committee (CLEC) of Church of North India Synod from 26th to 29th September 2006. A group of 45 people including Bishops, Lay people, women and youth came to reaffirm that Mission is always to meet the situational need of a particular geographical area. Welcoming the delegates, Bishop B. R. Tiwade, President of CLEC, CNI said that when we talk about our mission engagement, we should design our mission strategies according to the context in which each of us live and witness Christ through our services.

In his keynote address Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary of Church of North India Synod, stressed on the need of ‘Revisiting Evangelism as the Mission of the Church in today’s Context’. We can never generalize the issues which draw our attention in India. What is issue for a particular region may be a privilege for another region. That is the dichotomy and irony of life in a pluralistic country like ours. Thus, our mission engagement requires us to address many concerns. In India, we have many mission organizations engaged in various mission fields. Each of us has our own style of working which at times causes us to look down upon others. But we should not forget the fact that though we are working differently on different concerns our ultimate goal is to establish the kingdom of God wherever we live through our work.

The Seminar focused on thematic presentations on “As Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21) which was led by Rev. Dr. F Hrangkhuma, Professor in SAIAS, Bangalore; Gujarat Missionary Movement by Mr. Samson Rajwadi, Coordinator, GMM & Director ICT; Evangelism and Church Planting by Rev. Israel Devdass, FMPB Field Secretary; United to Witness: Churches and Missionary Organizations by Rev. DB Kulothungan, General Secretary, MVM, Nagpur; Mission of the Church in Historical and Theological Perspective by Mr. P. K. Zachariah, Director of Christian Life & Evangelism, CNI; Prayer and Evangelism in South Korean Church by Rev. Dr. C. S. Kim, Chairman, IGM; Prayer and Church Planting by Mr. Patrick Joshua, Prayer Facilitator, National Prayer Network; Mumbai Diocesan Missionary Movement by Dr. Usha V. Ubale; Korean Church Growth by Dr. Cho Beon Yeon, Professor, UBS; Mission and Evangelism in Church of South India by Rev. T. Augustine, Director of Mission and Evangelism, CSI; Holistic Mission in CNI by Mr. Sudipta Singh, Director of Programmes, CNI; Evangelism Explosion by Mr. George Mani, National Director of EEI; and finally “Towards the Mission Conference 2008 & Beyond” by Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary, Church of North India Synod.