Photo via wwcs.org

Christmas passes: new beginnings ahead for Christian school

Police patrols intensified in and around Orissa over the Christmas weekend, and all vehicles were checked at entry and exit points, reports MNN.

It's a grim reminder of the disruption of 2007 when Hindu militants attacked Christians in the tribal district as they prepared to celebrate Christ's birth. By August 2008, tensions erupted, and Orissa reeled from one of the worst incidents of anti-Christian violence in the country. Worldwide Christian Schools says only 2% of the people in this area are Christians.

The scars are still evident today. Mistrust continues in some areas. It's not unusual for property owners to break the lease agreements and prematurely evict Christians from rented spaces.

Yet, even as India's Christians marked this anniversary of the 2007 Christmas attacks, there was much hope.

Scott Vanderkooy with Worldwide Christian School says prayer made a difference. "We were concerned that the same thing may happen over this Christmas season, but, thanks to God, there was calm and peace in Kessinga, in Orissa, which is where this school is located."

Vanderkooy says something else amazing happened for the New Life Academy. Evicted several months too early, and constrained by a shortfall in construction funds, there was a question regarding whether or not the school would be able to relocate into a new home in time.

In May 2005, Siani and Suphala Harpal partnered with WWCS to establish New Life Academy with the goal of providing education for poor and orphaned children in their rural village of Kesinga.

Many of the school's first students were from poor or low-caste families who had been pulled out of the public schools because of mistreatment. At New Life, these children experienced equal treatment for the first time.

The school wants to expand their orphan ministry, and there is a definite urgency to this goal. As part of a ministry expansion effort, New Life was able to purchase 1.5 acres for the site of their ministry buildings and began construction two years ago.

Meanwhile, the school operates from a rented facility, but eviction may be imminent as the property owner plans to vacate the property for his children. As with many WWCS school partners around the world, New Life adds to the new building as funds become available; but time is running out. They are getting close. "We have reached the roof level," the Harpals report. "Once the building is completed, it will facilitate more than 800 children."

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TAGS: India Christmas anti-Christian violence Worldwide Christian Schools new beginnings

[12/29/2009]

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