Report by BHW India Partnership Facilitator

Bright Hope World staff met with the BHES team in March 2015. We were looked after by Reuben (Premila’s nephew - on the left in the photo and Jonathan on the right) as Premila has been in America visiting her mother and siblings since April 2014. A large part of the support for Bright Hope English School now comes from Premila’s brother’s church in the USA.

Recent Events

School

We had spoken with Premila about travelling to the USA and one of our concerns was how the school would continue to function without her. It was very pleasing to see that not only has it continued to function but it has also grown significantly. At our last visit in 2013 there were 55 children attending the school and 20 living in the girls’ hostel. There are now 90 children attending the school and 35 living in the hostel. The BHES team believe that they could grow the school to 125-150 children with the current facilities that are being built. 

Buildings

There is also a major building project being undertaken where they are building around seven new classrooms along the boundary of the property. While this building is occurring they have built a roof on the top floor of the hostel to hold classes, and have erected some temporary classroom space outside. 

Staff

The staff team is now ten (four men and six women) and four of the staff are Hindus. 

Another key team member is Jonathan (who we met in 2013). Jonathan teaches and handles all of the accounts for the school. I was able to review the audited financial statements and was impressed with how ordered everything is. However, it was also clear that the financial performance of the school is an exercise in daily faith. Premila stays in regular contact with the team and encourages them to trust the Lord for their needs. It was fantastic to hear that when Bright Hope World was able to provide a small amount of extra funding last year it came at exactly the right time for them. Jonathan said they were unsure how they were going to pay the expenses of the school, and then they received our extra donation. He said it was so timely.

There is also a new teacher called Aphy who is a long term friend of Premila’s and taught with her at the local college. She came on to the team around the time that Premila was leaving and it was clear that she is a very key part of the team, bringing maturity, and also a passion for the Gospel.  

Personal Stories

I did not spend time with the children this time, except to say hi and take some photos, as it was more with the staff and just checking in while I was there. 

I met Pinky again briefly – here is her latest photo. 

I also met the little girl that was mentioned in the February 2014 report who had been molested by a young man at the age of 3.5 and brought to BHES by her father. She is a beautiful little girl, and looks so joyful now. Amazing! She is the little one in yellow, second from the left.

Aphy told us that one of the Hindu male staff members recently lost his purse while cycling to school for work. He asked the staff to pray for him that he would find it. Amazingly enough someone called him and said they had found his wallet. Aphy says this is amazing anywhere in the world, but especially in India. And not only that, when he received his wallet back absolutely nothing had been stolen. Aphy presented the Gospel to him and said God is protecting you because you are working in the Christian school. When it came to New Year’s 2015, Aphy got the staff to all share what God has done for them. This Hindu man declared that this is what God has done for him. 

Partnership's Influence within the Community

The staff told us that every morning they have Chapel time with the children and a devotion. On Saturdays the children lead a youth service, and do the speaking and arranging of the service. There is a church service on the Sunday, where family members of the children are encouraged to attend. The impact on the community is obvious through the growing number of students who would not normally have the opportunity to attend a school with this level of educational input, and particularly for those who have the opportunity to live in the hostel.

Some of the family members who are from the tribal people find it difficult to come to a Sunday service and so the Bright Hope English School team and their pastor will make home visits to those families.

The current builders working on site are Muslims. Aphy told us that one of them came to the Sunday Church service at the school. This is an amazing occurrence and highlights again how open they are with their faith. 

Current Issues and Challenges

Future for girls as they graduate

This was the same issue that we faced last time but I think we may have misunderstood Premila at the time. Adya speaks very good English and the way she explained it is as follows: 

BHES only goes to year 7. After that if girls want to carry on studying then they need to find them another school to attend. They do not want to send them to Government schools as that is one of the reasons that BHES exists, because it offers a much better level of education. However the cost of sending the girls to these schools is around 1,500 – 2,000 Rs (US$32) per month per girl, plus costs for uniforms, transport etc. 

Reuben was talking about a dream to be able to build their own school for these senior year groups, as each year more and more girls are going to be graduating and they do not know how they will be able to get them all accepted or how they will afford it. However, to start a high school requires registration with the Central Board of Secondary Education. This is a difficult process and requires them to have a registered teacher and to also have extra land as part of the requirements. Land in the area is increasing in value very quickly as Siliguri is now the fastest growing city in India, due to its trade position close to other countries.

Prayer and Praise Points

1) Praise for the team that is continuing on the great work that Premila started
2) Praise God for more children and families being reached with the Gospel
3) Prayer for Pinky and four other girls who are starting their last year at BHES and need to go to higher education. It is looking hopeful that they can attend a Christian private school but it is very expensive for them, and each year the number of girls will grow.