SELF-HELP IN INDIA

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 17, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 42.

SELF-HELP IN INDIA.

IN Chingleput district of South India, Dr. William Walker represents the church as its medical missionary at the stations of Walajabad and Conjeveram. His view of the need for teaching the people self-reliance and self-respect needs to be insisted on abroad as well as at home. There is an unfortunate idea among the poor Christians that the mission is here to support them, and for years they have been doing all in their power to make it do what they consider its duty, and they seem to welcome this time of want, and will not try, as others do, to get work, but come to the mission for help. They have been told over and

over that they should support the mission and not the mission them, but they draw my attention to cases outside where many are more or less supported by missions and tell me that we are not doing our duty. At this time I feel face to face with a difficulty, as, if one or more poor Christians get help, many others will feel that they have been overlooked, and explanations that they are not so badly off as the others will not be heard or understood. This mistaken idea of what the mission should do for them is one of the greatest hindrances there is to the work among the lower classes in this district, as in some villages they refuse to hear the catechist preach, thinking in that way to force the mission to give charity to all who want it.—Free Church Monthly.