Kachhwa Christian Hospital: 125 years

The 125-year anniversary celebration of Kachhwa Christian Hospital, on 17th February 2024, was a time of great rejoicing, writes Shankar Ramachandran, Managing Director. Staff, current and past, along with friends from various EHA units and other well-wishers gathered together to celebrate God’s goodness and steadfast faithfulness.

The planning and preparation had begun 6 months earlier – maintenance of buildings, sprucing up the campus, practice for the cultural evening and getting decorations. Fountains were put up with lights at two locations. It was heartening to see the staff working together in unity, some late into the night, to get things ready. We prepared to welcome 75 guests from across India, as well as local friends.

Time to celebrate
There were two main events. The morning programme started with a satsang and bhajans, followed by a video presentation of the history of the hospital and short talks by former leaders who had worked at the hospital during challenging times, including Dr Santosh and Dr Saira, Dr Rajan, Dr Raju Abraham & Mrs. Catherine Abraham.

The evening was a cultural extravaganza, with the local public invited. It started with worship, filling the air with praises unto God. As is the tradition in India, a lamp was lit signifying the importance of light that dispels darkness, and to us also pointing to Jesus the true Light. The chief guest, a local political leader, spoke about how the hospital had been serving the poor and has been a blessing for so many years to the people in the region.

This was followed by dances, a Creation to Christ drama, a national integration choreography showcasing the diversity of India, group songs composed by our staff, a satirical skit by the nursing team and so on.

Time to reflect
We were grateful for the opportunity to pause, reflect, give thanks and celebrate God’s goodness to us and His loving plan for the people of Kachhwa. We saw how his plan unfolded in the past and we are excited to see what He will do in and through KCH in the years to come.

Our great concern is ‘how can we become a Christ-like community? How can we keep our spiritual life alive, rather than just maintaining our routine?’

We have weekly cottage meetings in which the whole staff community (about 70) gather for worship, testimony and sharing God’s word. A different family sponsors the meal each week.

Our Community Health team reaches out to 15 villages around us, with health and palliative care, TB prevention (Safal programme) in partnership with the government, and the Rihai programme to cut smoking and oral cancer. The team also works with young people in the villages to help their social and educational development. Many are addicted to social media.

We partner closely with other organisations who are also reaching out in nearby areas.

People come to the hospital chapel, with over 250 attending each week. We are planning to divide into groups of about 15 for teaching and fellowship and will appoint leaders to teach and pastor these groups.

Article by: Shankar Ramachandran, Managing Director of Kachhwa Christian Hospital