Four Corners Ministry - Community Center

THE COMMUNITY CENTER SCHOOL
Bringing English Proficiency to Southeastern Gujarat, India

Project Description

Overview

Since 2008, Bishop Ramanbhai Holiabhai Gamit of Gujarat, India, has partnered with Four Corners Ministry in Tacoma, Washington, to further outreach, healing and biblical instruction to those under his leadership. In addition to the work of the ministry, the American team members of Four Corners Ministry fellowship with the Bishop’s extended family and participate in village life around the perimeter of his farm and surrounding villages. A solid Christian community is a rare phenomenon in India; yet, the Bishop’s organization, Calvary Seva Sangh (Calvary Service Organization), extends outward to include 40 pastors and over 20,000 members. In this area of rural Southeastern Gujarat, the church has virtually become the center of community life.
Bishop Ramanbhai shares poignant testimony of his beginning. When he was a young child, a traveling evangelist from the West visited his home and offered the family the opportunity to know Jesus Christ. Young Ramanbhai told God that if He healed his mother from leprosy he would give his life to Him. His mother was miraculously healed and he kept his word. At the age of about 12, he began walking throughout Southeastern Gujarat, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone he met. His efforts were fruitful and as a young adult he began raising up pastors and starting churches throughout his hilly countryside. He maintained constant contact with his churches and continued to walk long distances to minister and lead the growing body of Christ.
Bishop Ramanbhai is an understated man, yet he operates in significant power and authority in the Spirit of God. He heals the sick, overcomes prevailing pagan religious norms and even raises the dead in the name of Jesus! Now in his 50s, he continues to train and release pastors and to oversee the government-sanctioned, non-profit Calvary Seva Sangh organization. This remarkable indigenous ministry now predominates in the area and includes second and third generation believers as well as new Christians.
Location
The Calvary Seva Sangh organization is located in Southeastern Gujarat, India. Gujarat’s overall population is 60, 383628, but it includes much diversity in its west, central and south regions (south region is on the colored area of the right hand map).

Location
		The Calvary Seva Sangh organization is located in Southeastern Gujarat, India. Gujarat’s overall population is 60, 383628, but it includes much diversity in its west, central and south regions (south region is on the colored area of the right hand map). contacts@rajasthantalkies.com and en.wikipedia.org). The south eastern part of South Gujarat includes an estimated 200,000 residents and much of the area is a rugged, rural countryside. Its largest city of Sondagh has a population of 25,000 and its major industry is stone.

Songadh is located at the foot of a solitary mountain, which can be seen from miles around, particularly since the surrounding area has been flattened by almost 30 local stone quarries. However, due to these stone quarries, Songadh does have very good road links to the city of Surat to its West, the state of Maharastra to the East and to the mountainous, rural country side nearby that is the target area of this project. (Wikipedia.org) The mountainous areas of Southeast Gujarat attract heavy rainfall from the rain-bearing summer monsoon winds. The area is marginal and unproductive and is home to subsistence level farmers who depend upon seasonal crops and forest resources for survival. Unfavorable climatic conditions, salinity of soil and water, and rocky terrain are some of the challenges faced by the residents of the region. (www.poompata.com.)

Education

In a recent study of schools in the country’s most populous states in India, researchers found that fast-paced economic growth has failed to improve India’s basic educational standards over the past 15 years. “When the investigators arrived, half of the government schools were still devoid of any teaching activity,” the report said. “In a functioning democracy, this would be a major national concern. Yet little notice has been taken in the corridors of power.” (Financial Times, India, August 11, 2011)

Several factors work against universal education in India and impact the target area in South Gujarat. Although Indian law prohibits the employment of children in factories, the law does allow them to work in cottage industries, family households, restaurants, or in agriculture. Tribal families depend upon their children for harvest, animal care and other essential duties on the farm. Primary and middle school education is compulsory; however, only slightly more than 50 percent of children between the ages of six and fourteen actually attend school, although a far higher percentage is enrolled. School attendance patterns for children vary from region to region and according to gender. (www.indianchild.com)

Even though Hindi is the national language, each Indian state has its own distinctive language or dialect, providing a built in limitation to commerce and business across the nation. Although the language, Gujarati, is spoken in Gujarat market place, Hindi and English are also very commonly spoken, especially in commerce, education, politics, government and shops. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmedabad)
Children in South Gujarat’s mountainous areas have some access to public education but no access to English. As India adopts English in business and commerce, tribal youth are becoming more isolated than ever and they remain virtually captive on their farms. According to Bishop Ramanbhai, the lack of English proficiency is a major factor in the continuing generational poverty. Youth have no visible options and languish on the farm since they cannot bridge the language gap needed to access the mainstream of Indian life. They are labeled as members of “tribes”, the indigenous minority peoples who are not embraced anywhere by India’s caste hierarchy. (www.britannica.com)

Proposed School
	For many years, Calvary Seva Sangh has operated a Bible College to train pastors and leaders in ministering to their growing congregations and to support ministry expansion. However, it is abundantly clear that the non-profit organization’s education must now include a major focus on practical training with a market place focus. They must plan for the future of their children and build a structure to sustain this plan, one that complements limited public education in the area. For the tribal community of Southeastern Gujarat, the project will bring English proficiency to children and youth and will equip students with the basic computer skills needed in today’s market place.
Adjacent to the existing Bible College and several miles from Songadh is a 20 acre plot of land that is currently for sale. The property is on a main highway and can be purchased all at once or in five acre parcels. The parcel and its school would be a permanent structure, owned and operated by Calvary Seva Sangh within donor guidelines and oversight. It would include six classrooms, one computer lab, an auditorium and quarters for instructors. It would bring a new level of transformation to the area, honoring the work that Bishop Ramanbhai began so many years ago.