A NEWSLETTER OF THE HENRY MARTYN INSTITUTE
Once again we at Aviator Henry Martyn Institute are glad to meet and converse with you through the Interaction, our newsletter. It is a pleasure to let you know the events that happened at HMI and how we managed to run the institute in spite of the various vicissitudes. Life is moving as a stream or even as a path
to be trodden with aspirations and uncertainties accompanying us all the way. But at the same time what is required from the part of each one is to contribute the maximum and move ahead leaving the impacts one has created for posterity. Moreover, there is a need on the part of an institute like
ours to let others know how the plans were successful or how we failed due to various factors some of them beyond our control.
Let me open the account with a note of gratitude to our partners who supported us, some of them beyond our expectations and made us feel happy and contented. No words are sufficient enough to express our feelings but sitting at a distance what we can do is to send a mail or write a letter
appreciating their contribution. We further feel the importance of acknowledging our thanks in our newsletter too. To you, dear partners, we offer our salutation and raise our hearts to God in gratitude and love, and acknowledge all that you have done for us. God is the reward-giver and I am sure it will be in abundance for you. We assure you our special prayers.
With all the ups and downs of life it is gratifying to note that with the assistance of God and support of many good-willed people we could achieve a good bit in all the sections of our institute, and as you glance through the pages you will get a fair glimpse of all the activities during the
period. All the sections at the institute tried their best to come through with as best a performance as possible, but as we depend on human and other factors for the implementation of the plans many of the ideals that we set for ourselves may not have been fully achieved or got postponed due
to unexpected events in the political arena. Still we face a lot of political uncertainties. Yet, holding fast to our own ideals of promoting peace and harmony we surge ahead. We are sure that your support in various ways will accompany our onward march towards justice, peace and harmony. May the good God accompany your life’s journey as well as ours!
Academic News & Events
This year HMI offered SIL in Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Six students from various universities took part in a ten-week intensive language course.
Short Term Programmes:
- Centre for World Mission – India, face-to-face
- programme to understand theology in lived
- context
- Training in context – student group from
- University of Hamburg, Germany
- SWINDIA- Project Programme
- Swedish Youth
- HMI Collaboration and Network
Community Development
In this period lot of emphasis was given to organizing the programmes planned for the year 2010-2011. The programmes have been implemented and monitored regularly. The following report highlights the Community Development project activities – Aman Shanti Community Centre programmes, Young Men’s Initiative activities, Partnering for Peace project that have been carried out in the CommunityDevelopment Department of HMI.
Education
- One hundred and two students are attending
the primary school in Sultan Shahi Centre.
Out of these fifty four are girls and forty
eight are boys. - Five students who receive educational
scholarship from HMI continue their
education. Play for peace games, mid
morning snack, art and cultural activities
continue to be organized regularly as part
of peace education in the school. - Literacy classes are conducted for the young
women in Sultan Shahi and Shankernagar
centre to develop the reading and writing
skills. - Coaching classes in Chandrayangutta centre
have been offered as a bridge class for
twenty seven girls and boys to complete their
regular education.
Vocational Training
- More than eighty young women are learning
Tailoring, Hand Embroidery, Fabric painting
and Typing course during this period from
the three projects. - Mehndi / henna designing and Karchop, a
local handicraft, classes were started in all
the three centres on self sustaining basis.
Thirty young women are attending the classes
regularly. After the completion of the course
these women will take up petty job orders
from the locality and make an earning to
meet their expenses. - Tailoring students also volunteer in pulse polio
immunization programme. In this
programme the students make door to door
visits and immunize the children with polio
vaccination. This effort encourages the
young women to work together for a social
cause and also learn to be together with
women of other faiths.
Clinic
- 731 patients benefited from the health
services in the clinic. - 63 members benefitted from the Eye Camp
organized in Sultan Shahi Centre in
collaboration with Hy Lep Lepra Society. - Eighty two children received immunization
in this period. Vitamin A Dose was given to
all the community children for the healthy
development of the children. - In collaboration with the Arogya Shri
Department of Government different health
awareness programmes on women and
children were conducted in Shanker Nagar.
Conflict Transformation
The second half of 2010 has been very important
phase for HMI’s Conflict Transformation
Programme. The CT team conducted 8
workshops training 235 people (68 women and
167 men) from Manipur, Gujarat, Nagaland,
Assam, and Andhra Pradesh. These workshops
have helped the participants and organizations
in understanding key issues, challenges,
complexities and also enabled to find ways to
address/transform conflicts by working in
collaboration with individuals/local organizations/
networks.
Five students completed their summer and long
term internships. The internship opportunities
have enabled them to interact and work with
people who have long term association in conflict
transformation work, gain greater
understanding of how conflict transformation
work is done practically in particular settings.
This helped bridge the gaps between theoretical
learning of conflict transformation and its
practical application in the field. Few important
strategic meetings were held during this period
which fostered our relationship with Ekta
Parishad and South Asia Peace Alliance, thereby
strengthening HMI’s engagement with other
actors committed to principled non-violence and
engagement as practitioners engaged in capacity
building for peace, justice and reconciliation.
Director’s Trave
During the second half of the year our director
undertook many travels in India and abroad
for conferences, participation in some
celebrations of the partnering institutions and
also visiting partners. Early July he was in
Bangalore to attend the Centenary
Celebrations of United Theological College
(UTC), as UTC is one of our partnering
institutions. From 6 th to 11 th August director
went to Agra to participate in the South Asia
Fund Raising workshop organized by the SAFRG
(South Asia Fund Raising Group). Methods of
various forms of fundraising were discussed in
this workshop and tips offered. Again middle
of September he was in Bangalore to take part
in the General Body meeting of the NCCI held
at the Ecumenical Resource Centre of UTC.
From the end of September and throughout
October director was in the US for various
activities like taking part in seminars, meeting
partners as well as for some fundraising. He
visited various places in the US meeting active
partners as well as non-active ones. He held
discussions with USIP (United States Institute
for Peace), UCC (United Church of Christ),
Cleveland, Templeton Foundation, Philadelphia,
etc. Also there was the opportunity for him to
participate at least for a few days in a seminar
organized by the Council for Research in Values
and Philosophy at the Catholic University of
America, Washington D.C. This was a
reminiscence of his participation in a three
months’ seminar more than 20 years back. He
could also raise some funds through his
interaction with a few friends and relations.
Early November director went to Germany to
participate in a consultation organized by EKHN
in Frankfurt. Ms. Jalaja from the Community
Development also joined him for this
consultation. Prior to the consultation director
took time to visit some of the partners like
NMZ, EMW and also friends like Rev. Eberhard
Will, Rev. Eberhard von Hyde. He also got
chances to address some groups who are
interested in HMI’s vision and activities. From
24 th to 28 th November director was in New Delhi
to participate in the silver jubilee celebrations
of CISRS presence in Delhi and also to offer
directions to the publishers of the new book of
HMI: “Jesus Verses of the Qur’an.” On 30 th
November he went to Chennai to address the
national consultation of UELCI (United
Evangelical Lutheran Churches of India); the
address was based on the theme: “Conflict
Management in Ecclesial Congregations.” Again
he is booked for their International Round Table
to be held at Mahabalipuram at the end of
January 2011.
The Annual Report (2013 – 2014) of the Director
To the Members of the Governing Council of the
Henry Martyn Institute:
It is a privilege to come back to the Henry Martyn Institute after 25 years and take over as its Director. I thank Almighty God for bestowing me with this mission of working for interfaith relations and peace-building.
HMI remains focused on its prime objective, of peace for all, the mission of reconciliation and the promotion of justice and harmony.
ACADEMIC
2013-2014 was a year of considerable academic activity at HMI, with a total of more than 200 students participating in various activities, including study programmes, research, training and seminars. We conducted a number of academic programmes this year, bringing together participants from different countries, traditions and backgrounds. I am deeply appreciative of our academic team for their efforts in this regard, including Rev. Dr. M. M. Abraham (Associate Director), Maulana Abdul Kareem (Arabic Faculty), Asma Nuzhat (Urdu Faculty), and Sribala (Coordinator). Our academic team has been strengthened with the addition of Yoginder Sikand, who joined us in December 2013.
Post-Graduate Diploma
Three students completed HMI’s nine-month Post-Graduate Diploma Course in Islam and Interfaith Relations. The award ceremony for course was held on 13th March 2014. The students who passed out were Rev. Siatha Solo (Mizoram), Mr. Shamshuddin B. Vadsariya (Hyderabad) and Ms. Ngun Zin (Myanmar).
Language Programme (Arabic, Urdu and Persian)
- Sept-Nov 2013: Rev. Stephen Joseph did a three-month course in Arabic Language at HMI.
- 13 Dec 2013-12 Feb 2014: Dr. Kavita Datla, Associate Professor at Mount Holyoke College, USA, did a eight-week Persian Language course at HMI, taught by Muhammad Siddiqi from the Maulana Azad Arabic and Urdu National University, Hyderabad.
- 10th January 2014: Rev. Janana Manohar joined HMI for a nine-month Arabic language course.
- 10th Feb-26 March 2014: The Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London, sent two diplomats, Ms Jude Muxworthy and Mr Sam Toporowski, to HMI to do an intensive Urdu language course in order to write the Diplomatic Service Language Examination. The two studied with our Urdu language faculty, Asma Nuzhath.
Community Development
Education
- Our interfaith primary-level school at Sultan Shahi offers primary education to 99 students (68 Muslims, 10 Hindus, and 21 Dalits).
- Seven children who completed their primary education in our school now continue their studies in other local schools.
- 37 young women benefit from the literacy classes organized at our Sultan Shahi, Shanker Nagar and Chandrayangutta centres.
- Coaching classes in Chandrayangutta centre offered as a bridge class enabled 35 girls and boys to complete their regular education.
- In Shanker Nagar, 10 women enrolled for SSC /Tenth standard education through the Andhra Pradesh Open School Society, a form of distance education offered by the Government for those who have dropped out of school.
Vocational Training
- More than 100 young women attended tailoring, hand-embroidery, literacy, mehendi and typing courses during this period in our three project centers.
- A summer course in tailoring was organized at the Sultan Shahi centre, a mehendi-designing course at the Shanker Nagar centre, and a beautician course at the Chandrayangutta centre.
- Students’ meetings were organized in all the three centres every month, on issues related to domestic violence, elections, health, hygiene, religious festival celebrations, peace, education, etc. were discussed.
Health
- Around 900 patients benefited from the health services provided by our clinic.
- 39 community members visited the Public Health Museum to understand different health andhygiene concepts.
- Some 150 people were screened for eye problems at the Shanker Nagar centre in collaboration with the Lions Club Hospital.
- Students from Roda Mistry College of Social Work, Hyderabad, organized a health camp in Sultan Shahi in March 2014. Around 80 patients benefitted from the camp.
Conflict Transformation
The Conflict Transformation (CT) department organized a participatory planning workshop with
representatives of regional partner organizations to discuss prevailing issues in the region and reach a
consensus to work jointly on issues such as gender equality and empowerment for peace and reconciliation in the coming years. During this period, the CT team organized 12 workshops and supported six peace initiatives.
Workshop on Conflict Transformation & Peace-Building, Terogvunyu, Northeast India, 4-6 May 2013
This workshop was organized by the Terogvunyu Chupwe Youth Organization and brought youth from
four Rengma Naga villages. Altogether, 31 (4 female and 27 male) youth, village leaders and Church leaders participated in it. The process helped them to understand each other’s views, opinions and perspectives pertaining to the conflicts faced by them.
Inter-Faith Peace Pilgrimage Journey-cum-Workshop: Part-3, Ahmedabad, 25-26 May 2013
This event was organized by Social Movement for Educational Thinking (SMET), Ahmedabad, and was
attended by 25 participants from different community backgrounds. The participants visited a mosque, a
Parsi temple, a church and a gurdwara and listened to religious leaders talk about their faith, religious
values and practices.
MANAGEMENT
Administration
HMI’s campus has seen several changes in the last couple of months. These include laying of a concrete cement road inside the campus, procurement of laptops and new computers for staff, installation of three invertors placed in the Programme building, and additional invertors in the guest house, installation of two online UPS systems continuous working on computers during power breakdowns, purchase of a new photocopying machine under a buyback offer scheme,and installation of new RO Units in Programme building for clean and safe drinking water. Buildings at Sivarmapally and its assets were covered under Compact Insurance Policy. The building at Sultan Shahi was also covered under Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy. The institute has taken Group Medical Insurance for the staff, with a coverage of Rs 2 lakhs per person per annum for a year, with Videocon Liberty Health Insurance.
The Aman Shanti Nilayam, HMI’s hostel building, is a home away from home to our students, participants in several of HMI’s programmes as well as to many others. As in previous years, this year, too, we recorded a high occupancy rate—approximately 4500 people (40 groups), including from different NGOs, Government organisations, Churches, overseas visitors, walk-in guests, students and scholars, generating considerable revenue for the institute.