Kirkspire march 2007
St Andrew’s Church Village Project
a more up-beat assessment
Murdoch MacKenzie
The set-backs reported last month did not tell the whole story of 1976 in the Village Project. On 3rd July 1976 the cattle travis donated from project funds was installed at Thiruppalaivanam. It was soon put to good use with 24 castrations, 15 pregnancy verifications, 10 artificial inseminations, 155 lanikhet disease vaccinations, 265 rinderpest vaccinations, 2 CLP operations, as well as de-worming of 726 sheep, 12 calves de-wormed, examination of 12 sterility cases – 2 cows and 12 buffaloes.
Loans negotiated with the State Bank of India enabled 12 working bullocks to be bought for 6 persons in Kammalamadam, Rs70,000 worth of crop loans to be negotiated for 48 farmers in Kaltavoor village, Rs40,000 worth of similar loans for 25 peasants in Panappakkam village, Rs30,000 worth for 20 farmers in Iluppakkam village, and in Perumbedu village 90 small farmers received a total sum of Rs1,20,000 for the cultivation of a high yielding variety of paddy.
On 1-6-76 a new sewing centre was opened in Kammalamadam with 10 girls and Miss Rosalind Rajakumari as its teacher and also a child welfare centre with 25 balwadi children and Miss Amsavalli as teacher. Treatment for mental patients began with 39 cases being referred to the Government Hospital Madras and the Children’s Hospital Egmore. The patients were examined by Dr Sarada Menon, Superintendent of the Government Mental Hospital Kilpauk and her research associates. Dr Menon was a good friend of Rev MacKenzie and of the Kirk. Also two social workers from the Centre for Development Research and Action conducted a 3 day seminar on the work of the Village Project.
In John 10:10 Jesus is recorded as saying: ‘I have come that they may have life and have it in all its fullness’. In Matthew 11:30 Jesus, the Master Carpenter, is also recorded as saying: ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Just as Jesus loved people of all shapes and beliefs in the villages of Galilee so He was loving people in the villages of Ponneri District in the 1970’s just as He continues to do today in making yokes easy and burdens light. Next month we will read Rev M Azariah’s account of a visit to the villages on Independence Day 1976.
Murdoch MacKenzie
The set-backs reported last month did not tell the whole story of 1976 in the Village Project. On 3rd July 1976 the cattle travis donated from project funds was installed at Thiruppalaivanam. It was soon put to good use with 24 castrations, 15 pregnancy verifications, 10 artificial inseminations, 155 lanikhet disease vaccinations, 265 rinderpest vaccinations, 2 CLP operations, as well as de-worming of 726 sheep, 12 calves de-wormed, examination of 12 sterility cases – 2 cows and 12 buffaloes.
Loans negotiated with the State Bank of India enabled 12 working bullocks to be bought for 6 persons in Kammalamadam, Rs70,000 worth of crop loans to be negotiated for 48 farmers in Kaltavoor village, Rs40,000 worth of similar loans for 25 peasants in Panappakkam village, Rs30,000 worth for 20 farmers in Iluppakkam village, and in Perumbedu village 90 small farmers received a total sum of Rs1,20,000 for the cultivation of a high yielding variety of paddy.
On 1-6-76 a new sewing centre was opened in Kammalamadam with 10 girls and Miss Rosalind Rajakumari as its teacher and also a child welfare centre with 25 balwadi children and Miss Amsavalli as teacher. Treatment for mental patients began with 39 cases being referred to the Government Hospital Madras and the Children’s Hospital Egmore. The patients were examined by Dr Sarada Menon, Superintendent of the Government Mental Hospital Kilpauk and her research associates. Dr Menon was a good friend of Rev MacKenzie and of the Kirk. Also two social workers from the Centre for Development Research and Action conducted a 3 day seminar on the work of the Village Project.
In John 10:10 Jesus is recorded as saying: ‘I have come that they may have life and have it in all its fullness’. In Matthew 11:30 Jesus, the Master Carpenter, is also recorded as saying: ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Just as Jesus loved people of all shapes and beliefs in the villages of Galilee so He was loving people in the villages of Ponneri District in the 1970’s just as He continues to do today in making yokes easy and burdens light. Next month we will read Rev M Azariah’s account of a visit to the villages on Independence Day 1976.
Murdoch MacKenzie