BM College
Bishop Moore College is a small Christian college established in 1964 and owned by the Church of South India. It was named after the late Rev. Edward Alfred Livingstone Moore, the fourth Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Travancore-Cochin. It now houses approximately 2,450 students, offering nine graduate and three post-graduate courses.
Located just outside the town of Mavelikkara, Bishop Moore College is nestled in a small village community surrounded by lush paddy fields, towering coconut trees and smiling faces of welcoming people who undoubtedly embrace hospitality. The college shares a campus with the Kallumalla CSI church, Bishop Moore Vidyapith (a private grade school) and Kallumalla Lower Primary School (a primary school for children who cannot afford to attend the private school).
Volunteers in the past have taught at the college and the lower primary school, and will see familiar faces of their students as they take daily walks to the market, stop in at the local bakery, attend church, and make themselves a presence in the village.
Female students at Bishop Moore College have the opportunity to stay at Sister Rachel Joseph Hostel, located only a five minutes walk from the college.
The YAV will find the hostel their home for the year as well. The hostel provides an additional opportunity for the volunteer to build friendships and community during their year as they eat all of their meals from here, attend daily prayer services, and engage in other student functions with the girls. (Be prepared to play some killer badminton with the students and on-going board games with the staff!)
The most rewarding piece about my experience was allowing myself to simply be with the community. Though I taught conversational English to college students who may not have had the educational opportunities I have had as an American, I learned so much from them about their values of family, community, and faith – as Christians and Hindus. My primary school students showered me with love and taught me how to dance and sing; to love life whether you have shoes to wear, rice to eat, or not! For any volunteer who is willing to take the challenge, be prepared to have your perspectives transformed!
– by Heather Oleson