Placement Information
Tamilnadu Theological Seminary
The first placement will be for a month or so at Tamilnadu Theological Seminary (TTS), http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/SKM/din_vilja/Indien/seminary/, an ecumenical seminary established in 1969 and affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University). TTS aims to train pastors and lay leaders for ministry and mission and to provide a sound theological education. Many of the CSI – Diocese of Madras pastors are trained at TTS.
The following courses are offered at TTS include BD (Bachelor of Theology); MTh Master of Theology in History of Christianity, Christian Theology, Social Analysis, Communication; MSc Communication; MA MPhil Philosophy and Religion; Diploma in German.
The Principal, Dr Mohan Labeer, welcomes volunteers who will be able to assist students with written and spoken English. For many students working in English medium, English may be their third language (after their mother tongue/local language and Tamil (regional language of South India). Hindi, the national language, may be the fourth language. You will be arriving towards the end of the academic year, so your primary focus will be to work alongside students completing final essays.
Church of South India – Diocese of Madras
From early April, you will return to the Diocese of Madras. Initially, during the summer when schools and hostels are closed, you may be involved in VBS (Vacation Bible School) and/or English teaching for rural students doing the preparation for English medium schools (eg Jesse Moses). As well the Diocesan youth rally takes place in May and it may be helpful for you to have some involvement in the planning for this event.
Options after that time include:
- Girls hostel*(possibly Kollagunta where Mel Foster spent time). You may also have the opportunity to go to the home villages of some of the girls, to gain a sense of the poverty and lack of opportunities for girls in these remote areas, and to understand more about the strategy of ‘education for transformation’ in the Diocese. Deep Creek UC provided some of the financial support for part of the wall to be built along one side of the hostel grounds.
The role of volunteers in the hostels will be to build friendships as the children and young people are away from home and family nurture, to help them with their homework, to participate in recreational activities, to help them learn English (primarily conversational English), and to join in the life in the hostel.
- Pannur pre-school (where Mel Foster also spent time) – establishing a school in a remote village for children with little or no access to public education
- Ewarts College (for post high school girls – your role here will be in the form of ‘chaplaincy’ with the girls. You may also have the opportunity to go to the home villages of some of the girls.
- Board of Socio-Economic concerns (eg tsunami relief projects, hospitality course, etc)
- Board of Women’s Concerns (disadvantaged women, domestic violence and women’s shelters, pavement dwellers etc)
- Aged care (eg rural villages, Ambagam)
- Clinics (hospitals like Kalyani have clinics to villages and remote areas)
- Purthuir (school for differently abled students), School for the Deaf and other such institutions in Chennai
Education is a primary focus for the work of CSI – Diocese of Madras. The hostels, schools and colleges are a strategic response to enabling poor rural Dalit children to gain an education that they would otherwise be denied if they remained in their village, as Dalits have limited access to education beyond the early years of schooling. The hostels are usually very basic in facilities, but the children and young people in the hostels appreciate the opportunity they are given and make the most of the situation. The Bishop of Madras, Rt Rev Dr V. Devasahayam, gained his primary and secondary education through the hostel system, and went on to gain tertiary and post-graduate qualifications. Without an education, Dalits have very limited opportunities, and often must eke out an existence as day labourers. The Bishop’s story is a wonderful witness of the transformation that can take place through education.
