CHRISTIAN DEAF SCHOOL & MISSION WORK FOR THE DEAF IN INDIA
It's Meal Time at the Deaf School
CHRISTIAN DEAF SCHOOL IN INDIA AT KAMAGERE
[The school is located in South India, almost directly South of Bangalore, about 5 minutes drive from the little town of Kollegal, East of Mysore.]
History:
This school for the Deaf apparently was started by the Lutheran Church. Many years ago the Lutheran church accepted "ministry to the deaf" as part of their "missions" program. They had a school in India, as they have other work for the deaf in many places [including a "Deaf Church" in Edmonton, AB].
However, the attendance was only at 7 students and finally they turned the school over to the Seventh-day Adventist church. A church group from Australia, "Asian Aid", has been willing to help fund this school. Asian Aid actually works with supporters around the world in putting over 4000 children in Christian schools. They are needing more sponsors, at $20 US per month, for students in the Deaf School.
If anyone wishes to sponsor a child, they should contact: "Asian Aid Organization", P.O. Box 333, Wauchope N.S. W. 2446, Australia.
Or email: [email protected]
As of January, 2000, the school had grown from 7 to close to 70 students with six teachers and helpers. The students vary in age from 4 to 16 years old. 90% are residential students at the school. In addition to reading and writing, students may learn: tailoring, sewing embroidering, cooking plastic wire weaving, drawing, painting, etc. The school has many needs.
GOOD NEWS DEVELOPING IN A SCHOOL FOR DEAF CHILDREN!
January 1999:
We have received good news from Dorothy Watts, Associate Secretary of the Southern Asia Division of SDA. They are working on getting money from the USA to buy a building so the school does not have to be in a rented house. [As of Jan. 2000, they are still working on plans, and Kay and Trexler, from Adventist Deaf Ministries, will be visiting.]
February 1999:
Pastor & Mrs. Blake have worked through their newsletter to raise over $1,000 Canadian to buy simple cotton mattresses for the children and teachers to sleep on.
February 2000
Thompson Kay and David Trexler (Deaf) of Adventist Deaf Ministries visited with full time Deaf Ministry worker, P. Sathiyamoorthy. They also visited with Kamagere Deaf School in February, 2000. They also visited a Deaf Baptist church, and several Deaf schools in India. They felt that Deaf students they met were being quite well trained in the city areas, but there were great challenges in the country areas.
March 2000:
A Dental/Pastoral Team has now visited the school in March with Dr. and Mrs. Curt Mathisen of White Salmon, WA. [Special April 2000 Trip Report]
Deaf Students at Their Desks in India
IF you would like to know some of the latest developments in the new school building now in use, go to www.asianaidusa.org On August 20, 2002, they officially opened Phase I of a new school building for deaf children with different government and church leaders attending. They are looking for donations to help with Phase II!
** PLEASE NOTE: THIS SCHOOL IN INDIA IS ONLY FOR DEAF CHILDREN IN INDIA. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT CANADIAN DEAF MINISTRIES ASKING TO ATTEND A SCHOOL IN CANADA FOR THIS SCHOOL in India IS RUN BY 'ASIAN AID' AND WE HAVE NO SCHOOL IN CANADA (other than a Bible School on the Internet where you can take one free Bible course: www.bibleschools.com/canada)
NEW MISSION WORK DEVELOPING:
On July 1, 1999, P. Sathiyamoorthy began as Deaf Ministry Director of the South India Union of Seventh-day Adventists. Before becoming a pastor, Sathiyamoorthy had spent 16 years on the streets of India as a deaf beggar. Though he has recently had an operation which has restored a significant amount of hearing, he is still Hard of Hearing. On Dec. 29, 1999, he married a Christian teacher, Dorca, and they now continue together. There are an estimated nineteen million Deaf among the one billion population now in India. It is our understanding that this is the largest number of Deaf in any country in the world.
June 2000: A Second worker has begun by the name of Rao. He is working in the Hyderabad area in central India.
Funds were raised to send Thompson Kay, who was Director of Adventist Deaf Ministries in Lincoln, to help in India with advice and counsel. Kay & his then associate, David Trexler (deaf) did visit the small school at Kamagere. Kay has been in international Deaf Ministry leadership since 1980. In March 2001, Kay will be starting a non-profit charitable organization specializing in tutoring deaf children, etc., in Lincoln, NE.
October 2000: a baptism of 18 Deaf individuals from the Tanjore and Fort Cochin area. Two lay workers, Mr. and Mrs. Mesak, deaf themselves, did much to begin work with their fellow deaf in that area.
The 18 Deaf baptized. Pastor Sathiyamoorthy is shown in the white shirt close to the center of the picture. A brave lady, Sumathy, in the red sari with the Bible in her hand, was also in the baptism. This has been a special step in faith for a single lady!
August 2002: there have now been two baptisms of several people in Fort Conchin (near Tanjore) with a lay worker by the name of Baby leading out. Pastor Rao, in Central India, has also had baptisms of deaf people. Sathiyamoorthy has moved to work with hearing, and Pastor Inbaraj Paulraj has now begun his work in Tanjore.
New deaf group under lay Bible Worker, Baby, at Fort Conchin in India
October 2005: God has been blessing and we are now associated with 15 full time workers for the Deaf in India. Some are Deaf themselves, and some are Hearing. In the first half of 2005, God blessed with the baptism of over 50 Deaf people in India through their ministry. Pastor Jeff Jordan, who went with Pastor Blake to India in 2002, is planning to return to India for evangelistic meetings in two locations in Andhra Pradesh. Rose Caloroso, a young lady of 20, went this Spring and had revival meetings in Cochin, Thanjavur and a number of locations in Andhra Pradesh. She also took part in the 'ground breaking' ceremony of a second new church building just for Deaf.
We have also been involved with the setting up of two schools to teach sewing and tailoring. These schools teach these deaf young ladies and help give them a trade to help them earn a living. They learn on new, but 'old style' treadle sewing machines. At the end of their one year program, if faithful, they get to keep the machine they have worked on. We hope that there can be more classes in other areas, but we have to raise the funds first! If you would like to be involved in helping financially, write us at: [email protected]
Deaf Young Ladies Learning to sew and do tailoring in India - and when finished, get to keep their sewing machine
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