The Bishop of Patna, the Rt. Rev’d Philip Marandih, has long been trying to get me to visit his diocese. So when the director of schools for Derby Diocese suggested that I join a trip to India, designed to set up and develop links between schools in Derbyshire and in India, including Patna diocese, I readily accepted her invitation. A few days ago I returned from a tour which took me through the flooded areas of Bihar state, one of the poorest parts of India, to some tribal villages which have been left virtually untouched by India’s recent economic growth.
Christianity was first brought to these peoples – the Santali tribe – in the 1860s, and the first church was built there, in the village of Taljhari, at about the same time as St. Peter’s church in Parwich was being rebuilt. Fenny Bentley school is making links with two schools in this area, one in the tribal village of Barharwa, where it costs only £800 to build a new classroom, and one in the city of Patna, where email links are likely to be better. My tasks during the visit included speaking and preaching on several occasions, and giving three talks to a conference on the Church’s engagement in society in another tribal area, this time in the diocese of Eastern Himalaya.
This is a video clip of the welcome shown to us by the Santali tribespeople of Barharwa –
Other video clips of the visit, and of my visit to Assam earlier this year, may be seen here.
PARWICH.ORG 
The video clips are fascinating, and it is perhaps salutary to realise what we take for granted.