The clerk of Bhopal Monthly Meeting, Sunny Nathaniel, asked me last night in his home what the Quakers are doing about relief work for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. First, I explained how parents of students at Wilmington Friends School had organized to gather food and supplies to take to families in New Jersey. I hoped AFSC was doing something because Philadelphia Yearly Meeting probably didn't have funds to offer help given difficult financial straits. Sunny urged me to tell Philadelphia Friends that Bhopal Friends would like to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy recover.
Since Bhopal Friends are making major renovations to their meetinghouse/church, several families drove 30 kilometers north to Raisen yesterday where we worshiped on the rooftop of the extended Masih family's home. At the close of meeting leaders shared news, made introductions and gathered for lunch.
During lunch Bhopal members asked about travel conditions for reaching Bhimkothi, the tribal village in the National Forest lands north of Hoshangabad. Much to my surprise, they are planning to take clothing, which Bhopal MM families have collected, to this village that Unami MM has been helping over the last several years.
It was when Archana, Amit, Philip and I returned to Friends Rural Centre at Rasulia with Ekta Parishad staff (after an overnight stay at Bhimkothi) that our India Friends Working Group's two-pronged mission came together. We never anticipated that Indian Friends would become involved with Bhimkothi. Indian Friends are debating whether to go to Bhimkothi after attending Hoshangabad meeting, or making it a separate event on another day.
Our visit - last evening back in Bhopal - to the Nathaniel family home was so warm and friendly. Actually it's home for three of the four brothers and their wives and children and grandfather, Alic Nathaniel, who live in a complex of three houses all connected to each other. I had met many of them in the morning at the meeting for worship in Raisen on the rooftop. So it was a treat to be talking again with the young people and their parents in their home. This is when Sunny Nathaniel offered to send assistance to those recovering from Sandy.
Scott writes "Unbami MM." Remove the "b" and you have Unami MM of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting which has been sistering with Bhimkothi village in the Hoshangabad District of Madhya Pradesh, India. The sisterhood has allowed Unami Meeting members to understand the simplicity with which some people live on this earth. And it has assisted Bhimkothi in obtaining irrigation equipment and crop seed. This relationship has been assisted by Ekta Parishad, an Indian NGO, and Archana Gour, a member of General Conference of Friends in India, who has seen to educational opportunities for the children of the village. Google "Bhimkothi" to find Youtubes of a visit to the village.
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