NEEREKSHE: Friday, November 11, 2011

Friday, November 11, 2011

NEEREKSHE TRUST

CHRISTMAS LETTER

FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN, TO US A SON IS GIVEN AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS. AND HE WILL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, THE MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER,PRINCE OF PEACE. Is 9:6

Jesus, the mighty God came down to be our Savior and to carry our concerns. This has been true as we saw the government of this God- commissioned work in Muranpur and other villages of this North Karnataka region upon our Savior. He guided us in the work at every step. Our resources were impoverished but God’s abundant grace upheld us and made us hold on to Him as we kept moving forward. Our God is a God of miracles. Christmas is a reminder of God loving the world. This slant of Christmas comes to us all the time. People of our region are poor (recent National TV news brought out a sad news of 2,200 children dying of malnutrition in a year in Raichur), despised, hurt, exploited, and forsaken. BUT GOD’S LOVE REACHES DOWN. We live here and work among people to personify the loving Savior’s message.

ST.PETER’S SCHOOL MURANPUR:

One answer to prayer was the HEADMISTRESS, MRS. DORCA. As a godly person to lead the school. There are 10 Teachers for 10 classes with only 6 class-rooms. About 120 children are brought in 2 Buses from 5 nearby villages. Most of the Teachers are Hindus and Muslims. The morning Teacher’s prayer for 10 minutes helps them to see what is in the Bible. Children love to study in English. One landmark achievement was getting Government permission for the High school Department in ENGLISH MEDIUM. This meant we could continue classes from 8ht (this year) to 10th standards. Our big need is for at least 2 new class rooms. Any short term volunteers are welcome.

HOPE CENTRE HOSTEL:

There are 43 children in our Hostel. They are our “MISSION AT THE DOORSTEP PROJECT”. They are all from Hindu background, except one. Some are high caste some low. But all are equal here. They love the songs and the Bible-storytelling time every morning and evening for 10 minutes. The HOPE CENTER HOSTEL is a magnanimous gift for the children of this area donated by EHA—CANADA. We are grateful for this gift. This L-shaped building is almost complete. The last part of constructing 3 Toilets and 3 Bathrooms has started. The electrical work is also almost done. We hope to shift the children to this spacious building as early as possible. We still need to setup a Kitchen with some utensils and also get dining tables and Chairs

which can also be used for the study purpose. SHANTHRAJ is our new HOSTEL WARDEN.

MEDICAL WORK:

Saw a set-back when Dr.Luke shifted to Bangalore in March 2011. The village people are in need

medically. We are looking for a Christian doctor to run the Hospital. Luke and Shobhna held a

Medical camp in Muranpur on 4th October For half a day. Please pray that God will Provide someone to carry this vision for the needy people of this region.

RURAL INDUSTRIAL TRAINING INSTITUTE:

We are waiting for permission for our Institute which is still pending. Pray that the officials

will do the inspection and give permission. Once the permission is granted, then about 80

young people will train for two years and earn the living so that they will come out of the

poverty line. Samuel John, the Principal needs Our support and prayer as he is trying his best

to get things organized. We also need some more money so that some equipment can be brought.

Please uphold us by prayer and support.

MURANPUR CHURCH:

The roof has collapsed in one corner and bit unsafe for children to sit there. We have just

got it repaired now. One bright side of the Church life is that in April 2011, 5 of our young people from the village took a bold step of taking immersion baptism. Two of the girls were from Hindu background and their parents too came to see their children taking this bold step at a roadside well. We then later had a community lunch as part of rejoicing. Pray for the Spiritual growth of these young ones.

SUMMER ACTIVITIES:

THE VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL was conducted for children from 5 or 6 villages. Children came in big numbers as this was vacation time. The sad part was we did not have enough people to teach. One young Evangelist directed this VBS. Bible stories and songs were taught from 9AM to 12 Noon and then lunch was provided for the 200 strong crowd and the children would be dropped to their villages by our Buses.

YOUTH CAMP: was held for 4 days in the 1st week of May 2011. Around 20 young people attended by staying day and night on the campus .The emphasis was on equipping young people to study God’s word for themselves.

MISSION VENTURE---ENGLISH FRIENDS:

14 Friends from the India Africa Foundation, UK visited us from Farnborough, UK. They saw

this mission work in a village like Muranpur. Our school children enjoyed their input of

English teaching and other subjects. Our village people could not believe that white people could

love them, stay with them and share their lives with them for one week in February 2011

This was a great blessing to all. When these friends were with us the PARISH CENTRE was

inaugurated in Feb 2011.Many thanks to the IAF friends for this beautiful building which is a

big gift to the Neerekshe community.

We need help to revive the SULTHANPUR AND MURANPUR CRÈCHES which had functioned last year. Children in both these villages are asking us to come to them .Any takers?? We rejoice when God shows us signs of His mercy and care for all of us here on the campus. The aroma of Christ is spreading. The love of Jesus reverberates in lives here. God sent His Son to show His love to us and that message is seen and passed on in many different ways.

All glory to Jesus!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED YEAR!

Shadrach and Gladys and all here at the Muranpur

Community

History and Activities of the Trust

Muranpur is a village in the interior of North Karnataka, about an hours bus ride from the nearest provincial town. It has a population of about 2000 people who live in abject poverty, being an agricultural community and dependent on erratic rainfall for their crops. This area has already been designated as a draught-prone area and has very little option for alternate economic activity. Given the generally poor state of the community, 90% of existing wealth resides in the higher caste and 70% of the families of lower caste live below the poverty line. In early 2000, a government surveyor was sent to the district and his report indicated that the situation in this community was unsatisfactory, with existence below “third world” standards. Due to the lack of stable economic activities and the resultant poverty and neglect, most of the inhabitants of this village suffer from perennial malnutrition, while the children suffer from retarded mental and physical development. There is no medical facility of even the primary level and the nearest medical center is 20 kilometers away from the village. The residents have no access to any modern mode of transportation due to lack of funding, and medical emergencies are handled by the village bullock cart. Diarrhea, influenza, gastro-enteritis, and skin diseases are common problems that go untreated. There is no sanitation, no toilets, and no access to potable drinking water. The Managing Trustee, Mr. Peter Shadrack, was born in this village. Despite the depressed situation he and his family faced, his father converted to Christianity and thus Peter Shadrack was educated in a mission school in Raichur. He grew up to become a science teacher, and after ten years of teaching he joined the Church in full time work for the poor of his village and the surrounding areas. He started by providing food and shelter to those in need from his area.

Social Awareness and Empowerment

The Trust also sees the need in this community for a general improvement in knowledge about life in the 21st century. Due to the racial imbalance whereby a minority of people belong to the upper caste and more than 70% of the population belong to the lower caste, a large group in this village are discriminated against according to age-old traditions that make up the racial divide. Knowledge about their rights, combined with education and awareness about various aspects of life would definitely change the social fabric of the village. A successful model could then be replicated in other areas of the state that suffer the same fate of poverty and backwardness. Presently the trustees try to organize meetings of women such as “mums & toddlers” for awareness about child care, health, and sanitation. Similar community meetings on topics of interest are organized for the men. With additional funding, the Trust will be able to put up a community center that can take care of such needs, as well as organize important awareness meetings regarding the environment and water conservation.

Role of the Organization

The Neerekshe Trust plans to expand and build on the work already in progress to provide the village of Muranpur and the population from surrounding districts with facilities that will enable the children, youth, women, men, and elderly access to education, information, and knowledge about various livelihoods by which they can improve their standard of living and have access to a decent life. The program will include the following facilities: · A Créche for the very young · A School · An Orphanage cum Hostel · A Vocational Training Center · A Hospital · An Agricultural Development Center · A Community Development Center · An Administration block · Staff Quarters · Sports facilities · A Church

Objectives

· To provide education for children and literacy for the adults.

· To provide youth with vocational training as well as communication skills.

· To empower women through literacy, adult education and health information so that they are better able to make informed choices regarding themselves and their families.

· To provide shelter and occupation for the elderly so that they can continue to live with dignity.

· To foster a sense of responsibility and self-worth among the members of the community, to each other and to their environment.

Program Activities

· Development of innovative activities with the objectives of providing education, information and knowledge to the children and adults. · Training the youth to acquire adequate life skills in order to engage in sustainable livelihood programs. · Providing information on new innovations in agriculture as well as improving methods of management of land, crops and markets, water and energy. · Providing health care and facilities for the inhabitants of the communities and improving knowledge and standards of sanitation and environmental awareness. · Involvement of other voluntary agencies, social activist groups, individuals and the community at large in the furtherance of the objectives of education.Networking to ensure that this model can be replicated in other locations with other social working groups