21.08.2023
DUMCN Visitors Travel to West Bengal and Darjeeling
Archbishop Michael Jackson is currently visiting the Diocese of Chota Nagpur in India with Canon Dr Maurice Elliott, Director of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, the Revd Steve Brunn, Dean of Residence and Church of Ireland Chaplain at Trinity College, Dublin and Dr Kerry Houston, of DUMCN and TCD. The visit is organised under the auspices of the Dublin University Mission to Chota Nagpur (DUMCN). Here the Archbishop reports on their visit over the weekend.
Friday August 18
On Wednesday evening we said farewell to our hosts in Ranchi.
All day Thursday was spent travelling to Kalimpong in West Bengal by two air flights through Kolkata.
Today we visited three schools where pupils receive support from the Dr Graham’s Homes Irish Committee which works in conjunction with Dublin University Mission to Chota Nagpur (DUMCN). All three schools are entirely different in character yet seek to meet the needs of children in Kalimpong and in the West Bengal region. We attended school assembly in Dr Graham’s Homes School where the school day starts with assembly at 8.10am.
Next we visited Gandhi Ashram School which was founded by the Jesuits from Canada and where there is a small Jesuit community resident on site. Harmony is very much the theme of the school, indeed it’s motto is ‘In Harmony”, and every child learns to play a string instrument. Harmony is also the core of the values of the school with an absence of individual competitiveness, an emphasis of celebration through teaching and learning and there currently is the construction of a kitchen garden to provide food directly for school meals.
After lunching with staff members in Ghandi Ashram, we visited St Philomena’s Girls School (population 7417) founded by Sisters of Cluny from Ireland. We were heartily welcomed and had an opportunity to meet many of the sisters, staff and pupils.
One of the outstanding features of all three schools is that significant numbers of the teachers are past pupils of each.
Saturday August 19
Saturday was a day spent almost in its entirety learning more about Dr Graham’s Homes and their work. Originally there was a second school founded by Dr Graham’s wife in Kalimpong city; it now is a state school. We began, however, by visiting a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in a military zone high above the city.
On the school campus we saw the chapel built in memory of Mrs Graham. It currently is undergoing a total renovation and refurbishment along with structural strengthening by steel girders because of the hammering it got during the earthquake some years ago. This work is to becompleted by the end of the year. This will bring great joy to the whole school community as the chapel is very much integral to daily life.
We saw many buildings in the school along with work that the Irish Committee of Dr Graham’s Homes had done in Mansfield Cottage and in the playground area of The Kindergarden. We also heard of work done by and planned with the alumni and we hope the Irish Committee may be able to contribute to some of this refurbishment.
We went for lunch with students sponsored by the Irish Committee. Four came and it was interesting to learn what they are doing and what they are hoping to do. One is studying Political Science, another English and the twins who are still in school hope to study nursing and history respectively.The evening concluded with dinner with our host and his family.
Sunday August 20
On Sunday morning the Archbishop preached at the Sunday Service of Dr Graham’s Homes School. He took as his theme: an ABC of school life: Acceptance, Belief, Community. Other members of the party from Ireland also took part in the service.
Immediately after the service he and Dr Elliott left for Darjeeling. The journey took us through breath taking terrain including tea gardens and teak forests.
On arriving in Darjeeling we met Father Paul de Souza SJ who directs both Gandhi Ashram School Kalimpong and Hayden Hall Darjeeling where there is both a social centre caring for women and children and a school. Father Paul explained how the project has been working over the long term to change mind sets in the village area in attitudes that men have towards women and children and to offer essential protection to the women and children by assisting the women in becoming more financially self reliant.
We also visited St Andrew’s Church CNI and formerly Anglican before the formation of CNI and CSI where, as often in churches, the memorials on the internal walls were interesting regarding social history.