Boarding Homes
THE FOUNDING OF THE ARCOT BOARDING HOMES AND SCHOOLS
In 1864 the Danish Missionary Society sent its first missionary, a German by the name of Ochs, to Tamil Nadu, India, to start at orphanage in Melpattambakkam in the South Arcot District. At first schools were started followed by the establishment of congregations as people were converted to Christianity. The church was led and controlled by Danish Missionaries in the beginning, but in 1951 the Arcot Lutheran Church was formed with indigenous leadership. Since 1951 the Arcot Lutheran Church and the Danish Mission Society (now Danmission) have enjoyed a partner relationship resulting in the church’s growth and witness. Through this partnership many schools and community projects were built.
The ALC has about 30,000 members and works in several districts of Tamil Nadu. It is an evangelizing Church, expressed in local congregations and in the service to society through schools, orphanages, homes for women, hostels for students and working women, hospitals and community service centers in villages and towns. Now the ALC educates nearly 40,000 students in 90 schools. The Bishop of the ALC is the Rt Rev. Gideon Devanesan.
Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry first became associated with the Arcot Lutheran Church in 1996 when it began to support children in three boarding homes – Melpattambakkam, Siloam and Saron.
THE BOARDING HOMES OF THE ARCOT LUTHERAN CHURCH
Siloam Boarding Home (010) – Siloam is located in the heart of the Arcot region, in the town of Tirukoilur, about 130 miles southwest of Chennai, formerly known as Madras. As headquarters for the ALC School Project which embraces over 90 schools and with a guesthouse that sleeps more than 20 people, Siloam is often the location of many training conferences and church-wide meetings and events. The 100 year old boarding home, managed by Ms. D. Kanimozhi, who is also the headmistress of the school, houses about 600 girls, 550 of whom are supported by LPGM. The adjacent school educates mostly female students from the 1st standard through the 12th standard (grade) . Students worship in an ALC church located on the campus. With a staff of child care workers, gardeners, watchmen, counselor, cooks and maintenance workers, the campus is an oasis in a very poor surrounding community. Recent improvements to the campus include the renovation of an all-purpose building and several landscaping projects.
Melpattambakkam Boarding Home (020) - Located a few miles west of Cuddalore and southwest of Pondicherry, Melpattambakkam was the first settlement for the Danish missionaries in 1864. It is now the largest boarding home, housing nearly 650 girls, standards (grades) 6 through 12. On the campus is also a higher secondary school for girls. Managed by Ms. Sujatha Stephen, the boarding home has a staff of 10 child care workers, a counselor, several cooks, watchmen and maintenance workers. 400 of the girls are supported by LPGM. The girls worship at the ALC church across the road. The Melpattambakkam campus has had a recent addition of solar powered lights which give light and safety to the campus when the electricity goes out. The kitchen was renovated with funds donated by Swedlanda Lutheran Church of Hector, Minnesota.
Saron Boarding Home (030) – Rev. Jayapathy Daniel, a pastor of the Arcot Lutheran Church, heads the Saron Boys Boarding Home located in Tiruvannamalai, a city of about 500,000 in the northern part of the Arcot region. Tiruvannamalai is known for its huge mountain of the god of fire. An enormous Hindu temple, one of the largest in South India, is located next to the mountain. The Saron Boarding Home houses 400 boys, all of whom are supported by LPGM. On the campus is a school that educates children in standards (grades) 1 through 12. Rev. Daniel pastors a church adjacent to the campus where the boys worship each Sunday. Over the past 100 years the Saron Boys Boarding Home has educated many of the church leaders. Improvements to the campus include the building of a wall around the entire campus, renovation of an old dormitory, the construction of a new dormitory and many other landscaping and renovation projects. A full staff of child care workers, a counselor, cooks, watchmen and maintenance workers make sure the children are cared for in a clean, safe, nurturing and pleasant environment. At the center of the campus is a huge colonial mission house that is now used for classrooms and offices.
Prairie Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota has been a large contributor to Saron and funded the $90,000 construction of a new dormitory that was dedicated in January of 2006. Olivet Lutheran Church in Fargo, North Dakota has also donated $30,000 for other major projects on the campus.
Three Boarding Homes in the Kalrayan Hills (040) – LPGM supports 215 children in three boarding homes located near each other in the tribal region of the Kalrayan Hills. Primary schools are located at Alathi and Kariyalur and a higher secondary school is located at Mavadipattu. Danish missionary/nurse, Helga Johansen climbed the hills over 30 years ago to start the first school. Now the higher secondary school is named in her memory. Families live in villages that have not changed much in the last 1000 plus years. Small fields of mostly tapioca and rice are scattered around the hillsides. Rev. Priscilla Sudhakar is the manager of these three boarding homes. In 2006, becasue of it’s remoteness, this school was the last one to be get a phone line and internet access.
Several years ago LPGM began to support 50 children at the Alathi Primary School and Hostel in the tribal region of the Kalrayan Hills. This new little campus is located near a small village by the same name and is staffed by child care workers, cooks and teachers. Although in a remote area, the school is self-sufficient with its own well and electricity. The children attend a church nearby.
Kariyalur Boarding Home is a residence of boys, grades 6-12 who attend the Helga Johansen Higher Secondary School. Located a few hundred yards up the road from the school, the boys are cared for in a new hostel run by the Arcot Lutheran Church. LPGM began supporting these boys in 2004.
Mavadipattu Boarding Home is a residence of girls, grades 6-12 located adjacent to the Helga Johansen Higher Secondary School. The hostel houses about 60 girls who are supervised by a single warden. LPGM began supporting these girls in 2004.
BOARDING HOMES OF THE INDIA EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
LPGM supports four boarding homes operated by the IELC. Three of the hostels are in Nagercoil and Tuticorin at the southern tip of India and one is located in Ambur near the large city of Bangalore.
Lutheran Boys Boarding Home, Nagercoil (080) – Formerly a hostel for girls, this facility was extensively remodeled in 2000 to provide a special home for 50 boys. The campus was renovated again in 2007 in order to add 50 more boys from the Concordia Boys Home for a total of 100 boys. Now the boys have a very comfortable home with a chapel, sleeping areas and a dining room.
Christ Lutheran Boys Boarding Home, Ambur (090) – This little hostel, which was remodeled in the year 2000, is a clean and neatly kept home nestled in a campus of Lutheran schools, churches and hospitals. The 50 boys who attend the local school are in grades 6-12. The manager is Mr. Jabus who is also the headmaster of the Concordia High School.
Concordia Girls Boarding Home, Nagercoil (070) – This hostel was built as an entirely new facility in 2000, designed by MSAADA Architects and funded by Youth Encounter. The beautiful facility is surrounded by a wall for security and has four sleeping rooms, each holding 12 girls. The girls are in grades 6-12. The manager is Mrs. Indira Michel.
Good Shepherd School for the Deaf, Tuticorin (110) – The India Evangelical Lutheran Church started several programs to serve children who are physically and mentally challenged since it became interested in the ministry to the disabled in the early eighties. Good Shepherd School for the Deaf in the port city of Tuticorin in the southern part of Tamil Nadu India was started in 1981 by the then LCMS missionary to the IELC, Rev. Arnold J Lutz. The school started with just three students in first grade; however, the school has since expanded through middle school. The present enrollment is 47 children between the ages of 5 and 19 years (preschool through 8th standard).