In the first half of October 2024, the International Kindergarten & Shristi Academy of the Moravian Church in Kathmandu-Baneshwor, Nepal, drew attention to itself and its various educational offers with several advertisements on Facebook. See here and here and here and here. At the end of September 2024, there was already a Happy Grandparents Day. See here. The special profile of the kindergarten and the school, which is still being developed, was highlighted: the Montessori approach, the many educational opportunities outside of the school premises, the experimental and research-based approach to teaching (Turning The Class Room Into a Discovery Zone), on learning through play, on the importance of art, movement and music, on foreign language teaching, on the effort to provide emotional care for children (Emotional Regulation) and on promoting children's social skills from the first day of school.

• The Kindergarten & Shristi Academy of the Moravian Church in Kathmandu-Baneshwor, Nepal, had invited a special guest for September 9, 2024: Dr.Smriti Mathema. The pediatrician and vaccinologist (vaccination expert) is committed to global child health and leads training and teaching sessions in this regard. Pictures of her work with the academy children in grades 4, 5 and 6 can be found here.
• Several children from the academy took part in the 13th Sushil Kedia Vishwa Bharati Memorial Inter School Table Tennis Competition (U12), which took place in Kathmandu from August 27 to 29, The boys' team from the academy came in third after the competitions. Pictures of the award ceremony here. he boy Arnab even came in first in his age group. A picture here.
• On August 10, 2020, the children of grades 8 and 9 visited a local mushroom farm and explored the fascinating world of mushrooms. Pictures here.

The International Kindergarten & Shristi Academy of the Moravian Church in Kathmanu-Baneshwor, Nepal, reports on three recent events on Facebook. Firstly, it says: "Our 7th and 9th grade children heard old stories and timeless melodies at the Music Museum of Nepal. They visited the heart of Nepalese folk music and saw fascinating instruments." See here. Elections for the new student representatives were then held at the academy. It was reported: "It is important for the children to experience democracy in action. It is important for them to have a person they trust on the student council." See here. Finally, an excursion to the Ekadeshma Agrocultural Centre was organised with children from the 4th and 5th grade, "a wonderful opportunity for the children to get to know village life and learn about traditional agricultural technologies." See here.

The Board of World Mission BDM, the North American sister organisation of Herrnhuter Missionshilfe, celebrates the third Thursday in February every year as a special day of prayer for the work of the Moravian Church in Rajpur, North India. The organisation writes: "We invite you to pray with us for our brothers and sisters in Rajpur." And it reminds: "The Moravian Church runs the Moravian Institute in India, which operates at three locations. Needy children are taken in and receive boarding school care and a high-quality education. Many of the children are orphans and preference is given to girls, who often have no other educational opportunities. Religious affiliation is not taken into account, but the institute is Moravian. The morning school assembly includes a prayer service. The schoolchildren are supported by the Rajpur Foster Child Project of the Moravian Church in Canada. Herrnhuter Missionshilfe also have a sponsorship programme at the Moravian Institute. Specific intercessions are available in English here.

The various local congregations united in the Unity Province of the West Indies East in the Trinidad Conference wrote on Facebook at the end of February 2024: "We have been privileged to serve the people of the entire Unity Province with our Lay Academy for the past two and a half years. Our desire is to work according to the annual theme of our province: Know our identity, return to our purpose, reignite our passion. Would you like to read some testimonials from our lay students? Then please do - here - with background music." Also published was a short information video from the annual meeting of the church leadership with the superintendents of the six conferences (Virgin Islands; Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis; Tobago; Trinidad, Antigua) as well as with the bishops of the Moravian Church from the region, which took place in January 2024 on the island of Antigua. See here.

Joachim Kreusel (Great Britain), Bishop of the Moravian Church and pastor of Ockbrook Moravian Church and Leicester Moravian Church, has published a photo report in a newsletter dated 21 January 2024 of his recent visit to the new Mission Province South Asia of the Moravian Church, in which - by decision of the Unity Synod 2023 - congregations in North India and Nepal are united. During his visit, Joachim Kreusel witnessed the constituent synod of the South Asia Mission Province, the election of the first church leadership and the first ordination of a woman as a pastor of the Moravian Church in Asia, the ordination of Suaihiamlu Pamei from Binnakandi in the Indian state of Assam. Joachim Kreusel also visited congregations. Shanti Pradhan (Kathmandu) was elected as the first President of the South Asia Missionary Province. Kameleshwori Pradhan is now acting as his deputy. To the photo report here.

In the Moravian Messenger, the information magazine of the British Unity Province (issue for December 2023, page 144), some congregations of the new Mission Province South Asia, which was elevated to this status by the Unity Synod in Cape Town in September 2023, are presented. See here. The page headline reads: Church services in South Asia. It continues: "This month we introduce you to some churches in Nepal, Ladakh and New Delhi. When we meet for our Sunday services, our brothers and sisters in Nepal have already met because their service day is Saturday. In India, the time difference is generally 4.5 hours. A variety of music can be experienced in the church services. The church rooms are usually carpeted and the congregation sits on the floor. As you can see from the photos, it is not always warm in India and Nepal; you have to dress warmly. Please think of our brothers and sisters in Christ when they celebrate their services and have fellowship."

Four years ago, on 31 October 2019, Ladakh gained its new status as a Union Territory of India after the Jammu and Kahmir Reorganisation Act came into force. Prior to this, Ladakh was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Now the new structures are beginning to take effect. In this context, the Ladakh Lieutenant Governor, Brigadier Dr B. D. Mishra, met with the Director of the Moravian Institute in Rajpur near Dehradun, Thsespal Kundan, at his Raj Niwas residence in Delhi. During the audience, he informed the senior government official about his initiatives to set up a new type of teacher training programme at state schools in Ladakh. He had previously been introduced as an expert for this specific task at a round table meeting between the Deputy Governor and Ladakhi leaders in July 2023 (see here) to discuss various problems facing the country.

The President of the Republic of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, in office since July 2022, visited the Ladakh region from 31 October to 1 November 2023. On 31 October 2023, she attended the official celebrations of the fourth foundation day of the Union Territory of India Ladakh in the city of Leh. Press release here. A short video of this event in the 24x7 News Ladakh here. Pastor Danish from the Moravian Church Shey was invited to pray publicly with the President at an interfaith ceremony in Leh on 1 November 2023. The Moravian Church has been working in the Ladakh region for 140 years; it had previously been active in the Lahoul region for 30 years. There are currently three Moravian Churches in Ladakh - one each in Leh, Shey and Khalatse (with outposts). And there are three Moravian Church schools in Ladakh in addition to other congregations and schools in other parts of India (in the states of Uttarakhand and Assam) that have been established as a result of the work of the Moravian Church in Ladakh. Director Elijah Gergan in a longer TV interview about the Moravian Mission School in Leh, which is considered the best school in the city, here. Click here for the school's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MoravianSchoolleh?locale=de_DE

The Moravian Institute in Rajpur, an institution of the worldwide Moravin Church at the foot of the Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, celebrated its 60th birthday in 2023. On April 2, 1963, Eliyah Thsetan Phunthsog, a pastor of the Moravian Church from Leh (Ladakh), opened a school here for twelve Tibetan refugee children together with his daughter Zhindey Kundan. From small beginnings, the large Moravian Institute has grown into a boarding and day school of the Moravian Church for over 500 boys and girls, which is highly regarded far and wide. Today, it is not only Tibetans who study here, but also other ethnic groups such as Hindis, Nepalese, Gurkhas, Nagas, Ladakspas, Kanjars and Banjaras. The school campus has been repeatedly expanded and modernized. There has also been a church in Rajpur since 2009. Herrnhuter Missionshilfe maintains a sponsorship program for the children of this school.