India Programs and Projects

Education

Aizawl Theological College, Aizawl, Mizoram

Ewing Christian College, Allahabad

Ewing Christian College grew out of the purchase of a school by the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and was established as a college in 1902 by Dr. Arthur H. Ewing, a Presbyterian missionary in Allahabad. The College has grown steadily over the years and has over 2,500 students enrolled in 3-year degree programs and in 1.5-year diploma courses.

Farrukhabad City Girls School

Farrukhabad City Girls School was founded in 1840 with 20 students. The nursery section was founded in 1955. Located in the heart of the city of Farrukhabad , the school is the only Christian girls school in the city. It now has some 1,300 students.

Henry Martyn Institute, Hyderabad

In 1930 a school, named after missionary Henry Martyn, was started to equip missionaries for evangelical proselytizing. The Henry Martyn Institute of Islamic Studies gave missionaries language skills and information about Islam that would better prepare them to answer the objections to Christianity that Muslims and Hindus would bring. Since 1986 the institute has been functioning as an expression of the church's ministry of reconciliation.

Sangli Industrial School

In 1884 an epidemic of bubonic plague wiped out one-third of the population of Sangli, a city of 20,000 people and capital of state of Sangli. Sympathetic Presbyterian missionaries opened an orphanage and provided food and shelter to 44 motherless children. This was the beginning of Sangli Station, which has now become one of the larger stations of the mission. The Sangli Industrial and Agricultural School, the only institution of its kind in this area, began in 1888.

Satyaniketan Theological College, Allahabad

The only Hindi-medium theological college in India, Satyaniketan was established by the Church of North India as an innovative, issue-oriented theological college. Inaugurated in Delhi in 1986, it was later moved to Alahabad. Although the school was started by the Church of North India, it is an ecumenical theological college, a post-secondary theological seminary training both young men and women for the pastoral ministry.

Union Christian College, Aluva, Kerala

Union Christian College (UCC) was founded in 1921 as an adventure in ecumenical cooperation and Christian service. From a modest beginning with five teachers and 64 students, UCC has grown to be one of the foremost institutions of higher learning in South India. It is a residential college that offers postgraduate studies in nine fields.

United Christian Institute, Suranussi, Jalandhar, Punjab

By the 1930s several overseas missions had established a widely scattered presence throughout the vast region of pre-partition Punjab. Both the American Presbyterians and the Methodists had a number of small schools with few students and teachers. The Great Depression brought financial difficulties. Mission managers decided to pool resources in order to manage a single larger school. The missions constituted a governing body for the central school and registered it as United Christian Schools in 1941. United Christian Schools continued to grow and in 1970 it was re-christened as the United Christian Institute. The vocational training wing, the Industrial Training Center, was established in 1952. Most recently the United Christian Primary School was established in 1993.

Evangelism

Witnessing Ministries of Christ

Witnessing Ministries of Christ spreads the good news among the 135 million Dalit (or “Untouchable”) people of India. The church promotes six ministry branches: Evangelism, Pastoral Care, Education, Health, Economic Development and Reconciliation.

Health

Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI)

Founded in 1926, CMAI is a membership organization for all Protestant and Orthodox health workers in India, serving over 300 mission hospitals, health centers and community health programs. It brings together Christian health professionals to work with and through churches, the government, communities and individuals to promote good health, the prevention of disease and the well being of all, irrespective of caste, community or creed.

Church of North India/Health Ministries

Many of the 58 former mission hospitals owned and operated by the Church of India are in serious disrepair and require renovation and new equipment. Additionally, staff need continuing education in order to develop programs that meet the needs of the rural poor. Funds from an ECO account will be used for training costs, renovations and equipment. 

Emmanuel Hospital Association

The Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) is an Indian medical missionary society that provides medical services to the people of rural, urban, central and north India. The EHA serves 21 villages through 32 trained health workers. An ECO fund assists with continued support of in-service training in surgery, administration and many other areas.

Frances Newton Hospital

Frances Newton Hospital in Firozpur, begun in 1894 as a women's and children's hospital, is the only well-equipped, 300-bed hospital in an area with a population of 2 million people. Annually more than 40,000 people are seen as outpatients, and 8,000 patients are admitted. The hospital is affiliated with the Church of North India and also provides a chaplaincy service for its patients.

Christian Medical College/Brown Memorial Hospital, Ludhiana

Christian Medical College/Brown Memorial Hospital in Ludhiana is the oldest Christian medical college in the world still actively providing training for medical personnel. It was started in the late 1800s by Dame Edith Brown, one of the earliest British women physicians, and 13 other women medical missionaries. From its inception it was an interdenominational and international effort. It has grown to become one of the most respected medical facilities in India, continuing to provide quality medical care, training, research and outreach even through famines, wars and disasters. The violent partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 led to the hospital becoming co-educational as streams of male refugees were given treatment at the previously all female facility. The hospital provides a full range of services, and patients are referred from surrounding states for specialized care.

Miraj Medical Center

Miraj Medical Center is one of the older Presbyterian medical ministries in India and has been serving the needy people of a vast rural area in the name of Christ for more than 100 years. Affiliated with the Church of North India , Miraj is the only fully comprehensive health care entity in a 150-mile radius, providing both training and delivery of a full range of services from health promotion and prevention to sophisticated treatment to all, irrespective of race, caste, creed or ability to pay.

Mussoorie Gramin Vikas Samiti (MGVS) (the Mussoorie Village Development Committee)

This is an integrated community development and outreach project of the Christian Retreat and Study Centre working in the village communities of Chamasari and Kanda-Kimor. The program includes community awareness, forest conservation, health and health education, work among women, and agriculture. Eight village women have been trained as health workers. Weekly clinics and an immunization program are held at six centers [Read more].

Society for Nurture, Education and Health Advancement (SNEHA)

SNEHA works actively with the poorest of the poor among the Dalits in the slums of Khurbura. The program includes a school for children, community health education, and a subsidized visiting clinic. SNEHA has a strong commitment to the empowerment of women. Forty have been trained in knitting and sewing skills. One hundred women are learning to read and write in the Adult Education Program.

Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore

The Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC) began in 1900 as a one-bed clinic started by Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder, a young American missionary, in response to an encounter with the suffering of Indian women. Dr. Scudder was one of the first women graduates of Cornell Medical College in 1899. Shortly after graduation, she returned to India and began work in Vellore , where in 1902 she built the 40-bed Mary Taber Schell Memorial Hospital, the forerunner of today's large, well-known, modern medical complex.

Hunger

In 2006 the Presbyterian Hunger Program made the following grants:

Allahabad Agricultural Institute — $10,000
Training Program for Dissemination of Sustainable Agriculture
Training in sustainable agricultural practices for rural leaders from all over India.

Allahabad Agricultural Institute — $10,000
Rural Community Development Service Center 2006-2007
Sustainable agricultural extension, rural schools for children and women, rural women empowerment.

Joining Hands (JH) — Chethana — $75,000
Right to Livelihood and Enhanced Quality of Life
Integrated program for rights of marginalized groups and women, training and advocacy for sustainability.

Manipur Development Center — $8,000
Lhangmi Shawl Weaving Training
Organizing and training women in weaving skills to produce shawls as an alternative income-generating activity.

And through the World Council of Churches:

Self-Development

In 2006 the PC(USA) Self-Development of People program made these grants:

Tamarind Processing and Broom Producing, Andhra Pradesh, $2,214 for providing crops and industry to a group of women attempting to rise out of poverty.

Rural Women’s Development, Vellore District, Tamilnadu, $4,330 to a group of women to fund a pickle business.