| The Ashbourne Churches Together - Patna Partnership grew out of
a visit to Derbyshire by Bishop Philip Marandih of the Church of North India
in 1998 when he stayed with Christopher Harrison, the Rural Dean. The Church
of North India is an ecumenical church, formed in the early 70's by the
amalgamation of five denominations. A party from Ashbourne visited Bihar
for three weeks in 2000. Bihar state is one of the poorest in India. During
their stay they spent three days at St Luke's hospital, Hiranpur. ACT has
decided to support the partnership by launching an appeal to raise money
to re-roof parts of the hospital.See Photographs |
It caters mainly for for the indigenous tribal people and its conditions are extremely basic.
The hospital was built over 70 years ago and is heavily used by local people. It is self-funding
for its day to day running costs (just!!) but the buildings are in poor condition and there is
no money available for repairs. Hence this appeal. All the roofs leak! The first priority is the
operating theatres and the inpatient wards. At the moment they have to close completely in
the monsoon rain. Ashbourne Churches Together intends to raise £12,000 within three years, to re-tile the whole roof. If you would like to know more about this exciting venture telephone 01335 342859 |