Heroes

This world is not worthy of some who have trod the soil.

The most gracious one of all was nailed to a rude set of wooden beams.

But over the years some of His followers have also shown glimpses of their Master's love.

After my melancholy musings on our 63 years of Independence from the Brit Raj - its time to give some credit where it is due. Today's mini-task - to thank God for some of the amazing people who have served at Nav Jivan Hospital in Tumbagarah village, on the border between the Palamu and Latehar districts of Jharkhand.

The TB team a few years ago - Anugrah, Anub, Guddu, Augustin Sundar, Jeevan K.

Those who have served at Nav Jivan deserve so much. Especially those who are there not because they are 'serving out a bond' (yes - they too get a special mention) but those who chose to go and live out their lives in a very challenging climate.

Hats off to Dr. Jeevan and Angel Kuruvilla who have just taken up the leadership of Nav Jivan Hospital in its golden jubilee year! Our dear friend Dr. Chering Tenzing has faithfully served at Nav Jivan for 9 years (she arrived the day before we shifted as a family to do HIV work in Mumbai). Now Chering is taking up the challenge of being the deputy medical superintendent at Herbertpur Christian Hospital (Dehra Dun district).

What makes young dedicated men and women put in years of (usually unacknowledged) toil in remote parts of our country? It certainly isn't just for the satisfaction of 'doing a good job.'

For most of these heroes get scant thanks from most of the people they serve. In fact, it more often seems the exact opposite - a strange set of unrealistic demands made by 'the locals' who 'remind' one about 'how good' your predecessor was. That most of this is pure fantasy doesn't take away the sting - and the deadening numbness that easily sets in.

We get the Nav Jivan Hospital prayer letter and have placed under our plastic table covering - so that we can pray every day for Nav Jivan. How I can remember the sheer fear that sometimes crowded into my heart during my time at Nav Jivan. It wasn't the Maoists (though they were around even then) or even the at times sword-wielding 'locals'. It was a blue fear that crept in like the heavy smell of coal smoke that wreathes the ground on cold winter mornings. How much our prayers - small as they be from such a distance - are needed by our heroes who serve.

For not only do our dear ones serve by diagnosing and admitting and cutting and discharging the dear (and often complex) people of the Latehar and Palamu districts. The Hospital also has a presence in the villages. Ambitious work in several blocks means our heroes from the hospital are providing TB care and education in a wide swathe of Latehar district. That most government health employees refuse to go to their postings there because of the Maoists is not a barrier to our Community Health and TB teams. They pray. They go. And how many lives they have saved.

The community health team at a TB mela some years ago

But perhaps the most heroic of all are the ones that get the least publicity. One of the deep disappointments that newcomers face is the gradual unveiling of long-standing conflicts and resentments between people. This is true of so many places of this dear beautiful world of ours - and is probably the main reason idealistic people quit their dreams - because they cannot get along with other folks there (idealistic or not). At the root of our challenges lies the challenge of the spirit. Our old cruel nature that so often licks at our boots with its cynicism.

My final heroes are the dear men who are doing the work of prayer at Nav Jeevan Hospital. They are holy fools - considered odd and quaint by many on the compound - but without them so much of what has happened would never take place. I think of the Friday night prayer times on the ground of the Mennonite Church building - and the Wednesday night Bible studies - and I know that some of that little band has continued to meet and pray over the years. They are not flashy folks - and some of their flaws are pretty evident - but they are the faithful rocks on which Nav Jivan Hospital has entered its golden jubilee year.

Christochit Kerketta addressing the hospital community at a revival meeting

What a privilige to know these living heroes. Its been 9 years now since we left Nav Jivan - but a big part of our heart remains there. It is so exciting to see new directions in the current set of remarkable folks who are serving at Nav Jivan - and to realise that the current and past set of servant-heroes have done so much more than we were ever able to do during our tenure.

Hats off to Jeevan and the team!

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p.s. All pictures from the Nav Jivan Hospital Facebook group - you can join by clicking here