Report from BHW Partnership Faciliator Following Visit

Key person:  Primela Rumtel

Recent Events

School Director

In February 2019 Ruben Sarki, the school director, left the school as he obtained a good teaching position in another school. He had done a great job developing and managing the school. 

Binita Chettri is the new leader at the school. She found out about the school when she came to try and enrol her daughter as a student. While there she found that there was a vacancy for a teacher and applied. Then later, when Ruben left, she was appointed school director. Binita is the manager and an early childhood teacher. She and one other staff member look after the administration and accounts as well. She is married to Sanjot and has one daughter, Priscilla. 

Students

There are currently 145 students at the school and 45 in the hostel.

The Adivasi people in this area are especially vulnerable and poor. Bright Hope English School is 90% Adivasi girls who would not get a chance to go to school and their future would be already decided for them as labourers. They are known to be street people and alcoholics, the girls made a lot of jokes about that, about how they don’t have any land anymore because they sell whatever they have for a drink. Most of the girls at the school are there as a result of the unfaithfulness of parents, death, and alcoholism. 

Driving into the school you can immediately feel it is a beacon of hope and joy. It sticks out like a sore thumb because the community around seems so hopeless. It is very clear the difference that Christian values and God’s compassion make in this culture. About 60% of the girls are Christians and three of the school families attend church held in the school buildings. 

16 of the girls are in grades 8–11 and are too old to remain at the school. They attend a private Christian secondary school. From 2021 some will need to go to further training as the oldest will be completing grade 12. 

Teachers

There are 10 teachers in the school of which two are registered teachers. Some of the others are training as teachers doing Bas by correspondence. The two registered teachers are also doing Mas. There is pressure from the government for the teachers to be registered. 

Rajni, the other teacher who helps with the administration, is the hostel manager. She leaves at 6:00 pm and two of the female school teachers stay on with the girls in the hostel. One of the male teachers also stays for security. 

Twice each year a team comes from Primela’s church in the USA to train and encourage the teachers by running workshops and to give some help in the classroom. This is really useful for the teachers.

Primela 

Primela Rumtel is still in the USA but is trying to be here more often. She is still waiting to be fully resident in the USA. She was here early in 2018 and has been trying to get back here this year but is waiting for another interview. 

Personal Stories

Sangita Osaon

Sangita and her family are Adivasi, and her father passed when she was 4 years old. Her mother was unable to take care of her and around the same time a pastor came to their village, shared the gospel with them and told her mum about the English school. Sangita heard about Christ then, it was the same pastor whose congregation meets at the Bright Hope English School. After a couple of years of struggle her mum became unable to take care of her and dropped her at the Bright Hope English School hostel when she was 6 years old. Sangita came to Christ in the hostel shortly after. 

We asked her what she would be doing if she didn’t have the school and she replied she would be a Hindu and not be able to get a decent job. She now is a believer and carries so much joy, as a 15 year old. She wants to be a flight attendant and has a decent opportunity now because of her English and school teaching that Bright Hope School and Hostel has provided. Her brother stayed with her mum as there is no hostel or place for him like this, he stopped going to school at age 9 and now drinks and day labours when he can. Her biggest prayer was for her mum and brother to know the love of Christ, as they are currently still Hindu. The school has given her hope for a future to impact her community and lead others to Christ.

Neha Sarki

When Neha was 10 years old the pastor of the church which meets at the Bright Hope English School came to her village and shared the gospel with her parents. He also told them about the school and hostel. Neha’s dad came to Christ that day and is no longer an alcoholic. He enrolled her in the hostel for a better life. Neha is 19 years old and following Christ along with her sisters who live with her at the hostel. We asked her what she would be doing without the hostel and she replied not going to school, playing or working in the tea factories like her parents for the rest of her life, and she wouldn't be strong in Christ. Both of her parents work in the tea factories and she told us that mostly in the community the men drink, beat, and take money from their wives, while the women work. The hostel is full of girls like Neha whose story has been changed for eternity. 

Pinkey Rai

We have written about Pinkey’s story previously. She is now 19 years old and is almost done with her secondary schooling. She is a clear leader in the school and every day helps teach when she isn’t in school. She loves Jesus and wants to now be a teacher in her community, which is a very good job.

She goes to school offsite because there aren’t enough funds yet for a building for a secondary school but she gets a lot of grief from the other kids and teachers at that school. They are primarily Hindu and ask what they teach at the Bright Hope English School. Pinkey is looked down upon but that doesn’t stop her. She loves the school and is sad if she ever gets a break to go visit her aunt. Her prayer is for her aunt, who is now the closest family member she has, and she has diabetes. When asked how often she sees her, Pinkey replied once or twice a year.

Pinkey is a natural hope giver to those around her and will make a real difference in this community, thanks to God’s love for her, her amazing response, and the people at the hostel and school pouring into her. 

Partnership's Influence within the Community

The school is not officially registered as it would be financially impossible to do that. They would have to have a much larger campus, build permanent buildings, employ only registered teachers and there would be a lot of compliance they are not willing or able to do.

Many people from the community want their daughters to attend the school or to live in the hostel but they are at maximum numbers and cannot take any more. 

When the girls go from this school to other schools they go right to the top of the classes, mainly because their English is so good. They struggle a bit in science but have just obtained a teacher who will be able to help with this. 

Current Issues and Challenges

There are many ongoing issues in the Adavasi community. They are seeing changes which they attribute to their presence but there is still a very low value placed on education and girl children. There is a lot of drunkenness, abuse and violence.  

Nearly all of the fathers and parents are daily workers or work in tea estates. Many don’t ever get work. Many mothers work in domestic jobs and many children are forced to work to survive. 

Language for the younger children is an issue for the first six months of kindergarten/preschool. They don’t speak any Hindi or English and the teachers don’t speak Adavasi, their mother tongue.  

Prayer and Praise Points

1) That the school is still able to make a difference in the lives of so many vulnerable girls.
2) That they have been able to continue to run the school and the hostel and even grow it. 

Comments

This is still a wonderful partnership in terms of outcome in the community. It would be good to be able to engage more with Primela to get more awareness of her long-term thinking but that will happen. In the meantime, she is able to come up with good people to oversee the work and it continues to grow.