COLORADO SPRINGS – When we research NGOs and faith-based organizations (FBOs) in preparation for publication on Missions Box News, we look for something that makes the organization unique. It was easy to find what makes Partner Parents exceptional in its own right. Partner Parents’ ministry is distinctive in that it focuses solely on providing a high-quality Christian education for young people in northern India. What is more, the scope of their work reaches from pre-school through college and seminary.

Beginning with a small school in the tiny, remote village of Senvon in 1959, Partner Parents now operates 42 schools with an average annual enrollment of 9,500 students. Tens of thousands of boys and girls have been blessed with a Christian education that is recognized for its quality that far exceeds government-run schools.

Many of those students have risen to positions of leadership from which they have been used by God to transform the lives of others within their sphere of influence.

The System

The arrangement of the education system in India is different than what we are accustomed to in the United States.

• Primary School is first grade through fifth grade.
• Secondary school includes grades 6 through 10.

Following the completion of the 10^th grade, students must pass the “Higher Secondary Leaving Certificate” exam. Only those who pass the exam may continue on to the next grades.

• Higher Secondary School is grades 11 and 12. Higher Secondary School is roughly equivalent to a Junior College in the U.S.

Partner Parents provides funding for children in northeastern India to attend the Christian schools that are operated under the umbrella of its parent organization, Bibles for the World. The schools operate full-time, following the standard structure of the Indian educational system, although some schools, such as King of Kings High School in Damcherra, offer complete programs from pre-kindergarten through 10^th grade. King of Kings has an enrollment of about 600 students in a community of 1,000 people.

Similarly, the Jairon Junior High School offers classes from pre-kindergarten through the 8^th grade. Students come from Jairon and several nearby villages. There are only 72 households in Jairon, so the influence of the school with its 550 students plays a significant role in the community.

The Sielmat Christian Higher Secondary School is yet another example of the Partner Parents’ impact. Sielmat is located in a village of about 1,300 people in the province of Manipur. Yet, the school, which includes pre-kindergarten all the way through 12^th grade, boasts an enrollment of 2,700. Sielmat is a more prosperous community than Jairon, so that location offer more amenities. (Jairon is so isolated that it does not, as yet even have a reliable telephone system.)

The Start

Senvon, where the first Partner Parents school was established, had been isolated in both geography and darkness until a missionary named Watkin Roberts visited more than 100 years ago with the message of Good News through Jesus Christ. The mountain village is so remote that some who know India well have said that it’s hard to believe that Watkin Roberts even knew about it.

The gospel message was well-received, lives were changed, and the village was transformed. One of the original five young men who decided to follow Christ  was Chawnga Pudaite. Chawnga determined to ensure that his son, Rochunga, would receive a Christian education. The boy learned to read and write. He attended high school 300 miles away from home.

Over time, God’s call on his life became clear. He would devote himself to translate the Bible into his native language so that his people could have a Bible they could read and understand.

Ultimately, Dr. Rochunga (1927-2015) founded Bibles for the World. In 1959, … well, you know the rest of the story.

One man, who was willing to go to the ends of the earth with the message of the gospel, planted a seed that has grown into a harvest that most likely has far exceeded his greatest expectations. He planted. Others watered. God gave the increase – and He continues to do so.

Read more news on Children’s Education, India and Faith-Based Organizations.