Maranatha Volunteers International recently participated in the dedication of a new boys dormitory at the Pola Adventist School in India. Leaders from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in northern India watched the festivities via Zoom. President Vijay Pal Singh, thanked Maranatha for the lives changed and commented that the transformation on the campus is hard to believe. For decades, this boarding school has faithfully served up to 150 students, but there was never room to expand due to a lack of space. So far, Maranatha’s in-country crew at Pola has constructed two classroom buildings and the boys dorm, which includes a dean’s apartment, bathroom, and showers. Soon, work will begin on a new girls dorm and a cafeteria.
Previously, students lived in a much smaller space, without room to store their belongings. Instead, personal items were kept outside in trunks. Now, students will have adequate living space and storage. The school installed a temporary partition so the girls can also stay in the new dorm until theirs is complete. Church leadership is excited for the future because of Maranatha’s contributions; enrollment has already increased by 50 students at the start of the school year, even with sparse attendance due to concerns over the current coronavirus omicron variant. Officials expect another large increase when all of the students return, based on a waiting list of more than 100 students.
Maranatha has had a continuous presence in India since 1998, establishing an office while building places of worship and education throughout the country. In 2019, Maranatha started drilling water wells in areas in need of clean water. Maranatha has constructed more than 2,400 structures in India.