In an effort to deepen the “twinning” relationship between the Wisconsin Province and the Kohima Region, scholastics, pictured right, Stephen Wolfe, SJ,R.J. Fichtinger, SJ, Luke Hansen, SJ, and Joseph Simmons, SJ lived and worked in Northeast India this summer. Fichtinger, Simmons and Wolfe served in Jesuit parishes and schools in the rural villages of Maweit, Chidimit, and Dawagre, respectively, while Hansen interned with the Jesuit-sponsored Legal Cell for Human Rights in Guwahati. Their immersion experience concluded with a 10-day tour of Nagaland, home to several Jesuit institutions near India’s eastern border with Myanmar. Read their stories below.
The four Wisconsin men in Phesema joined with tribal dancers from the state of Manipur.
Discovering Joy in Dawagre - by Stephen Wolfe, SJ
While in Dawagre, I loved playing with the student boarders. I taught them games from my childhood: Captain Sneak-Up, Spud, Kickball. I taught miniature golf, using a bamboo stick and some corn-on-the-cob (I didn’t win a single hole the entire month). They loved when I would “sneak up” during their meals, tap one on the shoulder and then dash out of sight or when I would conspicuously “sneak up” on them, using a handkerchief to ‘conceal’ myself. Their laughing and smiling made me laugh and smile. I learned just how much joy we can find in the joy of others. Read more
Joys and Sorrows - by R. J. Fichtinger, SJ During my time in Maweit, I often found myself staring at peoples’ feet and imaging where they may have been and what thoughts occupied their minds. In this remote village, children as young as four sometimes walked more than five miles to get to school; the trip could take two full hours. Being with these students for one month, I gained a sense for their daily experience – a bittersweet mixture of joy and anxiety as they travel some of the roughest terrain the surrounding countryside has to offer. Read more
Jesuits and Justice in Northeast India - by Luke Hansen, SJ
The Kohima Jesuits live and minister in a religious and social contact that differs significantly from our own.Christians are a distinct minority (2%) in the predominantly Hindu and Muslim state of Assam, where tea garden workers produce one-quarter of the world’s tea, but earn a daily minimum wage of only 52 Indian rupees (US $1.09). In the state’s Eastern hills, ethnic conflicts continue to plague the people’s hope for development and peace. Read more
Toward a Deeper Trust - by Joseph Simmons, SJ
“Do you trust in God?” my fellow scholastic Luke asks with a wry smile. We are snaking down the narrow mountain roads of Nagaland, returning from the remote town of Pfutsero which is perched at 7,200 ft. above sea level. Our driver dodges oncoming trucks as our SUV returns us to our Jesuit home base in the smaller city Jakhama, about 50 miles west of the border with Myanmar. Read more
Encountering the Northeast through Film - by Luke Hansen, SJ As we traveled around Northeast India, we often remarked, “It sure feels like we’re in a movie right now.” We were not in a movie at all, of course. What we experienced was very real: India’s natural landscape, its tribal people, and their joys and sorrows. Yet movies can serve as an access point into this reality. In relation to my time in India, three films stand out. Read more
