05 Jun Saia and Melody
Name : Mr Saidingliana Sailo ( Saia) and Mrs Melody K Lalbuatsaihi
Sending Organizations : Synod Mission Board – Presbyterian Church of Mizoram ( SMB-APCM ) / AsiaCMS
Receiving Organisation : Padita Ramabai Mukti Mission
Family: two sons ( Abel and Jacob )
Location : Khedgaon , India
CoMP Since: 2008
Saia and his wife Melody, a trained staff nurse, have been with CMS since 2008 after completing their mission training in Mizoram. They serve with the Mukti Mission. Mukti is a Sanskrit word which means ‘freedom’
Mukti Mission was founded by Pandita Ramabai in 1889. She was born into a high caste Hindu family and educated at some of the best institutions of higher learning in both India and England at a time when women in India did not have access to even basic education. She encountered Jesus Christ during her time in England and came back to have an immense contribution both in India’s Christian heritage as well as social reform , most prominently, that related to women . She was a renowned Sanskrit scholar of her time and also translated the Bible into her native tongue, Marathi, from the original Hebrew and Greek texts.
Mukti Mission today continues to serve women and local communities, drawing on Pandita Ramabai’s values and with a strong Christian commitment and identity. Based in Khedgaon , a village an hour’s drive away from the city of Pune , the Mission runs orphanages , schools , a hospital and homes for the ‘unwanted’. All this work and infrastructure is literally centred on a historical church building which dates back to the establishment of the Mission.
Saia and Melody, with their background in nursing and education will be primarily involved with the schools and hospital, besides assisting with other aspects of the Mission’s work.
The couple has two sons Abel and Joseph.
Before their placement in Khedgon in 2012 , the family had served as co mission partners in Punjab in northern india