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Broadway Baptist Church

NAGPUR LINKS

Nagpur visitorsShanta Barsagade and Aradhana Upadhyay visit the Allestree Churches

It is amazing what we take for granted. Who would have thought the street cleaning machine would have caused so much interest for Shanta and Aradhana! They were amazed that we have so many machines to do work that poor people especially do in India – self-service petrol pumps and with automatic payment, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and dishwashers.

Shanta asked what sort of work there was left for poor people to do? This is a relevant question for Shanta who comes from a village and has a brother who is a farmer. What will happen to the farmers and farm workers in India if all the work becomes mechanised? More will migrate to the already overcrowded cities and probably live on the streets and sift rubbish on the city dump. Some have taken their own lives and will continue to do so when they are unable to discharge their responsibilities to their families. The Social Services Institute in Nagpur tries to address some of these issues through the agricultural work and training at the Allestree Field. Women are encouraged to form self help groups by saving small amounts of money together, start small businesses using the proceeds to feed clothe and educate their children. Shanta benefitted from a mother who believed education was important. SSI provides training for young people who have dropped out of education; they learn skills in the workshops and children living on the streets and at the railway station are given a place to sleep at night,  have a meal and some basic education in hygiene, drug and alcohol problems and basic reading and writing.

Our visitors heard about work with women in Derby as they visited refuges, and work done by Derby City Mission. They were impressed by the care given to older people through the Live at Home scheme and the “Teatime” occasion at DCM where older people are determined to make the most of their later years. The Beetle Drive was a revelation!

Aradhana gave two formal presentations about the wide ranging work of SSI at the Church of North India / Derbyshire Churches Partneship AGM and at the Open Evening at Broadway. Some of the most revealing moments came during one to one conversations when we heard about more personal issues in their lives; their obligation to finance health care for extended family and care for widowed and unmarried family members.

The many projects are all under the umbrella of the CNI and their mission statement is-

The CNI/SSI is inspired by the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ and is committed to the holistic development of persons and society, particularly the weaker sections. It seeks to serve responsibly and to nurture healthy relationships for community building. 

Nagour Ladies1              Nagpur Ladies2

Nagpur Ladies 3

Nagpur Ladies 4

 

 

 

 

 

 


Karim David—died 8th December 2009

It is with great regret & much sadness that I have to report the death of our great friend Karim David on the 8th December 2009 in a hospital in Nagpur after a short illness followed by heart attack.

Karim devoted his entire life to the care and welfare of the very poor living in and around the city of Nagpur in Central India.

Born into a wealthy Muslim Indian family in Tamil Nadu, he was educated in a Christian school where he came under the influence of Bishop Newbiggin, leading to him becoming a Christian. His family then totally rejected him and Bishop Newbiggin found him work in Nagpur, where he was to spend the rest of his life.

Jean and I first met him in November 1988 when he was in charge of the Industrial Services Institute (ISI), a Christian organisation in Nagpur. We were visiting Nagpur at the request of the Allestree Group of Churches (Derbyshire). Although we were only there for 36 hours it was 36 hours that changed my life. I was deeply impressed with this quiet, humble, man of God who had a heart overflowing with love for the poor and marginalised people living in and around the city of Nagpur.

Following that visit both Jean and I were determined to return and this we did in 1990 where we stayed in the village of Nagazari and in Karim's house for two weeks. I then took early retirement from my work at the end of 1991 and was free to devote much more time to Nagpur. We realised that the best way we could help, in the long term, was to set up a charity and thus Phoenix-India was born in 1994.

Karim started the "Driver is the Owner Scheme" for the poor rickshaw pullers in Nagpur & provided 5000 rickshaws to them with the help of the Banks. He also started the Landless Peoples' demands for land rights & the "home for the destitute women & children".

He retired from the ISI when he was 65 and started working full-time on his charity the Comprehensive Rural Tribal Develop-ment Programme (CRTDP). Over the next 20 years he developed his work amongst the villages and also took on his ISI Staff member, Vimal Jadhav and later, her ISI co-worker Mr Pillai. Soon their work had spread to several of the large slums in Nagpur and in 2000 we were able to open a new training centre for destitute children called Barbara's Multipurpose Polytechnic. By 2009 Karim's organisation was supporting up to 15,000 village people, 30,000 slum dwellers and, after 10 years of training destitute children at BMPT some 3000 ex-students had got a job and were on the first rung of the ladder of self-sufficiency.

He had received many awards from the Indian & German Agencies for his contribution to Watershed Development work & as the best Social Worker, by the Govt. of Maharashtra for bringing about the great change in the lives of the people of Seshnagar Pardhi Tribal Village.

He continued as Secretary/General Manager of CRTDP until 26 November 2009 (the day I left Nagpur).

He worked tirelessly for the poor six and a half days a week and never took holidays. He was known by many people in India as a good man and one who was entirely incorruptible.

He will be extremely difficult to replace but we know his son Iqbal, supported by Vimal and the staff Karim leaves behind, will carry on his vital work

His wife is now very frail and bed ridden and he has a son, Iqbal and 3 grandchildren. We ask for your prayers for his family and for his staff at CRTDP, particularly Vimal, the Programmes Director and Rani, the Treasurer.

He will also be sadly missed by all at Phoenix-India..

Simon Byworth (Life President) 


  Chris tells us about :
The visit of Rt. Revd Paul Dupare and his wife Shalu

Bishops visit    During July this year (2009) we were privileged to welcome the Bishop of Nagpur to Allestree prior to the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury.

A very busy programme was arranged for all the bishops from the Church of North India (CNI) visiting Derbyshire together with the Bishop of Baltimore USA. The programme included meeting people from Derbyshire Churches of all denominations, sightseeing, church services, meals and a study day.

Some of the Nagpur Link Committee met at the home of Margaret Cresswell for a bring and share supper. This occasion gave us an opportunity to get to know Bishop Paul and his wife and hear news about his two teenage sons. Paul comes from a Buddhist background and Shalu’s family are Baptist Christians. We explained how we raised money for CNI/ SSI (Social Services Institute) through Lent Lunches, donations and other events and also remarked on how these events bring together people of all the churches in Allestree Churches Together (ACT).

The following day Bishop Paul and Shalu met some more ACT people at Allestree Methodist Church’s Coffee Morning. During this time, Ann Ford’s two nieces from Australia joined us and were interested to find out more about Nagpur Link to which donations in Ann’s memory were given following her funeral. We were grateful to Allestree Methodists for putting on this event on the same day as their garden party.

After lunch we went to the Bishop of Derby’s house in Duffield for tea with all the bishops, their wives and hosts. The tea was delicious and all of us listened to a madrigal choir brought together for the occasion. It was a pity the sun stayed behind the clouds causing our visitors to feel very cold.

Thankfully Sunday brought better weather for lunch in Hulland Millennium Hall provided by the Ashbourne/Patna Link churches. Songs of Praise at Carsington Water was a joyful occasion well attended by churches from around the county with a brass band and music group to accompany the singing. The importance of partnership in all aspects of the Church’s life was emphasised by the Bishop of Derby in his address.

On Monday night at Broadway Baptist Church a reception was held for Bishop Paul and Bishop Samson Das from Cuttack. We heard about the projects in Nagpur diocese that we support and work done in Cuttack among the poor.  Particularly we heard about the work with children in hostels run by CNI. Paul was able to tell us how he himself benefitted from being in one of these homes and being given education there. Many of the girls and boys go back to their villages and share what they have learned, especially health and hygiene issues. Bishop Paul told us how during his time at the hostel he became a Christian not through direct evangelism but by the example of love shown to him by the workers from CNI. He went on to Bible College, then into the pastoral ministry and now the episcopal ministry for the past three years.

Bishop Samson told us about the persecution of Christians in Cuttack during the Christmas period 2007. The CNI had to petition their government to take action against this destructive unrest and violence towards people, Christian businesses, and homes in that area of Orissa This last meeting gave us a better understanding of the difficulties faced by our brothers and sisters in India. An offering was taken up for the work of both dioceses and given directly to each bishop to use as he thought fit.

More photographs

We must continue to pray in our churches for these friends of ours in the CNI.


Chris and Trish's Visit to India 2006

We went to Nagpur to celebrate 25 years of the Church of North India (CNI)/ Social Services Institute, but did not realise that during that time there would be many other celebrations.  As we touched down in Mumbai, fireworks springing up into the night sky greeted us.  It was the first day of Dwali, the Hindu festival of light.  Firecrackers were being let off all over the city.

Sunday October 22nd. was Trisha's birthday. It was celebrated with the Women's Fellowship for Christian Service, a CNI national organisation.  Women had travelled from all over India to discuss "The Role of the Church in Harnessing Gender Justice". Trisha was given a birthday cake and a present of a salwar kameez, which she wore the following day when we shared a Dwali meal with a Hindu family.

Boys who came to the night shelter

 

 

 

 

Later in the week we witnessed the service to end the fast of Ramadan.  It was held in the open air for men and children only.  Women had to view from the sidelines or stay at home preparing the Eid meal.

 

Attending a presentation

 

 

 

 

As we touched down at Heathrow we were greeted with fireworks of the Guy Fawkes variety - we had come full circle! 

Office Address:

166 Broadway 

DERBY 

DE22 1BP