After work was temporarily halted due to a nationwide coronavirus lockdown in India, Maranatha Volunteers International’s local crew at the Jingshai Mihngi Adventist School received permission last week to continue construction, on the condition of maintaining social distancing and precautionary measures.
The crew, which is sheltering-in-place in the classrooms, poured the foundation of the final school building on the new campus and began stucco work on others. Construction was again stopped temporarily over the weekend until Tuesday, April 7, when Maranatha was again allowed to continue the work.
Located in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, the Jingshai Mihngi school serves 477 students K-10, who currently learn in horrible conditions. Many classrooms are dark, leaky, and crowded. Worst of all, the school sits directly next to an open sewer line, subjecting students and teachers to a horrible smell all day. In late 2019, Maranatha began work on a new campus. The new site is located about five minutes away and sits on top of a hill, surrounded by a forest.
Maranatha has been working in India since 1998 to provide places of worship and education. In 2019, Maranatha started drilling water wells in areas in need of clean water. Maranatha has constructed more than 3,000 structures in India.