Oct 22, 2026
Saron Students Plant 100 Trees ahead of El Niño
As you may know, the Arcot Lutheran Church (ALC), our partner in India, owns and operates the boarding homes where LPGM-sponsored students live and attend school. This small Lutheran church body is for - and by - Dalit people, and we've partnered with them for the past 30 years to bring access to quality education to people at the margins.
We recently learned that the ALC's Bishop, The Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Thomas, was named President of United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI). The ALC is one of 12 Lutheran Christian denominations in India, and the UELCI brings the four million members of these 12 distinct denominations together.
The Bishop's appointment was cause for celebration, and ALC considered meaningful ways to mark it. They decided to plant trees at Saron Boarding Home, as a small step towards mitigating the expected effects of this year's El Niño.
After learning of this opportunity, students and staff at Saron expressed enthusiasm about the project and jumped on board.
On September 23, a group of Saron students spent all day planting trees. The children wanted to take full responsibility for the project. They dug 100 holes, hand-wrote and painted posters, and started a garden. Staff also encouraged students to plant trees in their home villages.
However, it rained continuously for the following two days. Water collected on the ground and the holes filled with mud. But nothing stopped them. They cleared the holes again and dug a channel to divert the water to the other side.
One student named Krishna wrote, "El Niño brings unpredictable weather and dry spells, but our hands choose resilience. By planting these 100 team trees, we are building a cooler, greener, and more climate-resistant tomorrow."
Saron's LPGM Sponsor Relations Coordinator, Praveen Kumar, shares,
"I was surprised to see that my work had inspired the other children as well. Some of them asked for an opportunity to water the plants so that they, too, could contribute to the tree-planting program. I believe this is the true success of the program."