“It was the most satisfying trip one could imagine. We saw firsthand how the money our foundation sends to our Indian institutions is saving lives and giving hope to people who desperately need our help. And we were amazed at that the four Indian institutions started by Scudders—CMC Vellore, Scudder Memorial Hospital, Arni School, and the Walter Scudder School—could continue to accomplish so much on a relatively small amount of money. We were very proud and very pleased.”
Those were the words of Scudder Association Foundation President Sue Swanson after returning from a ten-day trip to southeast India with Second Vice President Virgil Scudder and Secretary Clive Connor. All are members of the SAF Executive Committee. The fourth member of the committee, Dr. James Taylor, has traveled frequently to India including a recent trip to see the progress of the Jawadhi Hills initiative.
The trip was made at the invitation of Bishop Sharma Nithiyanandham to join in celebrating the Jubilee 50th anniversary of the Diocese of the Church of South India under whose aegis the Scudder institutions operate.
For Sue, it was the first visit since 1992 and for Virgil and Clive, the first ever.
“It’s very important,” said Sue, “for the leadership of our organization to understand the situation in southeast India and the critical need for our continuing financial and moral support for these institutions. It was also important for SAF to show its support of the Diocese and its good works.”
Here are some of the highlights of the trip.
Celebrations of the Jubilee included a thanksgiving service and dedication of three new Christian churches. Hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of worshippers turned out for each of these events.
Sue cut the ribbon at the dedication of the beautiful new staff quarters at Scudder Memorial Hospital. These units will house 16 doctors, nurses, and administrators and their families, making SMH more competitive with government hospitals that pay higher salaries.
Another highlight of the SMH visit was the lamp lighting ceremony for 180 newly graduated nurses.
The SAF leaders saw many examples of the outstanding services being provided by CMC Vellore which was founded by the legendary Dr. Ida S. Scudder in 1900. Particularly noteworthy was the Low Cost Effective Care Unit which serves the poorest of the poor in Vellore. The hospital itself serves 4,000 of the rural poor daily through its Community Health and Development Center (CHAD).
The school visits were especially exciting and revealing.
Hundreds of students, joined by live bands, greeted the Scudder visitors at Arni High School and the Walter Scudder School. There, as elsewhere, Sue, Virgil, and Clive were garlanded, honored, and treated like visiting royalty.
But it was not all joy and celebration. The SAF leaders got a firsthand look at the serious needs of those schools which Sue described as “real eye openers.”
At Arni School in Arni the kids attend assembly by sitting on the dirt courtyard, rain or shine.
There is a clear need for a shelter for school gatherings along with a number of other things. SAF funds the 11th and 12th grades at this school which gives the students a chance to go on to college or rewarding careers. Our foundation’s financial support helps pay the teachers of the 11th and 12th grades. The government’s financial support ends after Grade 10, leaving the kids short of essential preparation for a productive life.
At Walter Scudder School in Tindivanam the roof on the main building is full of holes, leading to rendering some classrooms unusable as a result of severe water damage.
In addition, the Gordon Sherman Hostel (dorm), built to board poor boys from rural areas, remains a hollow shell, half-finished for lack of funds.
The foundation needs to get more money to these schools to meet their many serious needs as they provide good educations for underprivileged children.
Indians love ceremony and celebration. There was much pageantry as the Scudder Foundation leaders were constantly being honored.
Sue summed it up the trip this way, “It was eye-opening to see firsthand the results of SAF funding and to learn that the Scudder name still enjoys respect, reverence, and gratitude in India. We felt especially embraced when the gracious Bishop Sharma told us, ‘You are part of our family.’ We were constantly made to feel like family.”
