“Iris Paul”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Iris Grace Rajakumari Paul(born 1945) is an Indian physician, theologian, missionary, and community development worker. A devout Christian born into a highly religious family, Paul had a passion for helping others from a young age. She received her B.Sc. in zoology with outstanding marks from Women's Christian College in Madras and completed her MBBS with a Gold Medal in pediatrics from Kilpauk Medical College.

Paul was inspired to conduct missionary work after reading the biography of Albert Schweitzer and began her missionary career after marrying Dr. RAC Paul in 1972.^[1] The couple worked with the Indian Missionary Society in the villages of Malkangiri, India before joining the Indian Evangelical Mission to gain support for their work with the tribal Bondo people. While working with the Bondos, Paul helped treated various diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria, dysentery, and more. She conducted research particularly in tuberculosis and became a fellow of the India National College of Chest Physicians in 1986.^[2]

After the death of her husband, Paul continued her missionary work in Malkangiri, eventually founding the [https://www.gmp.org.au/what-we-do/associate-partners/reaching-hands Reaching Hand Society] in 1994.^[3] Paul's achievements in Malkangiri include the building of St. Stephen's Church, St. Luke's Hospital, programs in literacy, water access, nutrition, prison reform, and increased access to primary care. She was awarded the Yoke Fellow Award from the Direction Mission Aid Society for her development work among the Adivasis people, as well as the Robert Pierce Award by World Vision International for her Christian development work.

Background and education

Early life and family

Iris Paul was born as Iris Grace Rajakumari Walter in 1945 in Tamil Nadu, India. The oldest child of four, she and her siblings enjoyed a comfortable childhood in an affluent family. Her father was the Chief Engineer at the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department^[4] and moved his family around frequently, including to Tamil Nadu, Chennai, and Delhi, where Iris learned to speak Hindi. As a child, Paul was described as being rebellious, headstrong, and boisterous, despite the expectations imposed on her by her parents and the rest of society.^[2]

Religious influence

Paul grew up in a Christian family and was deeply influenced by her parent's commitment to their religion. Her mother Ida told Iris and her siblings stories about Jesus and prayed for them every day. Iris's personal devotion to Christianity began at the age of thirteen, influenced by one of her schoolteachers.

During her time at the Women's Christian College, Paul was involved in the Union of Evangelical Studies of India (ESI). She was an active advocate for Christianity and organized prayer groups, youth groups, and visited individual homes. While in medical college, she also was a member of Emmanuel Methodist church, participating in the choir and doing volunteer work in the slums.

Education

After completing her courses in junior college, Paul applied for medical colleges and B.Sc. courses in biology and zoology. Having not received acceptances from any of her medical colleges, she decided to join the B.Sc. course in zoology at Women's Christian College in Madras and graduated in 1964 with outstanding marks.^[2] Afterwards, she pursued her interest in medicine and completed the first year of her MB.BS course at Fatima College, Madurai. She then continued the next six months at Madurai Medical College and finished her degree at Kilpauk Medical College in Madras, receiving a Gold Medal in pediatrics.^[5]

A lifelong learner, Paul continued to take courses that were relevant to her work later in her life. In 1985, she attended the Indian Institute of Cross Cultural Communication in Nasik, IICCC, Manarasthra to learn about writing spoken language with the goal of write the New Testament in the Bondo Language. While working with the Bondos, she took a medical correspondence course from the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Paul also pursued advanced study in theology and received a Bachelor of Divinity from the Senate of Serampore University in 1990.

Early missionary work in Malkangiri

Call to missionary work

Paul worked as a house surgeon immediately after completing her MB.BS degree. She was initially inspired to conduct missionary work in Africa after reading the biography of Albert Schweitzer,^[2] but she later shifted her focus to medical and religious missionary work in India after recognizing the poverty of those living in the slums of India and how it contrasted with her life of privilege.

Work alongside RAC Paul

Before their marriage, Iris was drawn to RAC Paul's dedication to Christian medical missionary work, and she began her missionary career accompanying and working alongside him. The pair started out working for the Indian Missionary Society (IMS) in the villages of Malkangiri in Orissa state.^[3] Iris used her medical knowledge to treat common diseases among the Adivasis people such as Malaria, Tuberculosis, skin diseases, and dysentery, as well as helping to deliver babies.

After spending time with the Adivasis, the Pauls decided to work with the Bondo tribes, a relatively uncontacted group characterized by illiteracy, poverty, and high mortality. They set up a roadside clinic that Iris operated to treat Bondo villages visiting the local market. While treating medical issues, they developed relationships with the local people and taught them aspects of modern civilization and lessons from the gospel. Iris spent much time treating tuberculosis among the Bondos and providing women's health care. The Pauls wanted to devote their work to the Bondos, whereas the IMS wanted to focus on the Adivasis people, and as a result, they left the IMS in 1973 and began to work for the Indian Evangelical Mission, who agreed to support them.^[1]

Later missionary work in Malkangiri

Developmental work in Malkangiri

After the passing of RAC Paul, Iris returned to Malkangiri and began a new chapter of missionary work there. She focused on holistic community development that combined evangelism with medical care and community empowerment. Paul formed a partnership with the Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR) to support her efforts to provide educational programs and services for the villages. Paul sent villagers to take courses at EFICOR on evangelism and teaching literacy to implement in their own communities. She built the St. Stephen's Church in Malkangiri and established several congregations for the Indian Missionary Society.^[2]

Prison reform

Paul also conducted prison reform efforts for the Bondos. She installed a cultural program for Bondo inmates, which involved singing performances, recreational sports, television sets, Bible study groups, regular church service, and a literacy program. She also worked to improve the inmates’ diet and nutrition by setting up a garden for the prisoners to grow their own vegetables. Her staff at EFICOR taught practical skills to released inmates to increase their employment opportunities.

Water resource management

Beginning in 1995, Paul worked with EFICOR to drill a system of wells and pumps in Malkangiri; the team drilled a total of 300 wells within two years. As part of an effort to increase incomes and elevate the Bondos’ socioeconomic status, Paul helped set up an irrigation system and channel the water from the mountains to increase the Bondos' agricultural productivity. She and the EFICOR Water Resource Management team led the construction of a dam at Gottenpalli, a region 75 kilometers south of Malkangiri. The success of the dam allowed Paul to set up wells in more villages.^[2]

Primary health care

Paul reached a turning point in her missionary career when she shifted her focus to making her work sustainable by improving the living and health conditions of the population through advocating the acceptance of Jesus. As part of this plan, her medical goals shifted from curing to preventing disease. Paul set up a team of people at EFICOR to vaccinate children against whooping cough, polio, diphtheria, and tetanus. The team vaccinated 8,640 children within 2 years, dropping the rate of polio from 10 to 0 percent in three years and significantly decreasing the rate of whooping cough.^[4] Paul also established plant nurseries in villages to improve nutrition. At Gottenpalli, she installed a hut staffed by a primary health worker to distribute basic medicines and treat minor illnesses. During this time, Paul founded St. Luke's Hospital in Malkangiri.^[2]

Influence on international missionary community

Paul used her experience in Malkangiri to encourage young Indian Christian missionaries to reach out to their local populations and to other Indian tribes. In 1990, she was invited to speak at a conference of youth leaders held by the Evangelical Fellowship of India. From 1990 through 1992, she spoke at several other conferences for youth, helping to incite a growing interest in Indian Christian missionary work.^[2]

Personal life

Marriage and family

Iris Paul married Dr. RAC Paul on January 25, 1972 at Emanuel Methodist Church in Madras, Chennai after facing initial disapproval from her father for choosing a sickly man of low stature.^[6] During their marriage, Iris played the role of both wife and doctor, helping to take care of RAC Paul and nurse him throughout his ill health. The couple had two children of their own, Remo (the word for "man" in the Bondo language) and Mano, and also raised two Bondo children as their own, whom they named David Livingstone and Mary Smrutha.^[1]^[2]

Personal hardships

RAC Paul's physical weakness and failing health were a constant burden for the Paul family and their missionary goals. The couple had to leave their work behind to travel to the United States to seek a kidney transplant for RAC Paul. During their time away, they lost the support of the Indian Evangelical Mission for their work with the Bondos. Despite these setbacks, the Pauls decided to return to Malkangiri independently with support from their families and through their personal efforts.

After numerous hospitalizations and treatments over the next several years, RAC Paul died of kidney failure on September 30, 1986.^[3]^[1]^[6] Even after his death, Iris stayed committed to her and her husband's missionary purpose. Iris returned to Malkangiri, ignoring traditional Indian customs for widows and the advice of her friends and family for her to move back into her parents’ home.^[4]

Current work

Reaching Hand Society

In 1993, Iris Paul founded [https://www.gmp.org.au/what-we-do/associate-partners/reaching-hands Reaching Hand Society], which stands for “Jesus’s hand uplifting people both spiritually and physically,” as an organization dedicated to reaching the villages of Malkangiri with the spirit of Christianity.^[3] Reaching Hand Society works to provide medical care, immunizations, health education, literacy programs, water resource management, and prisoner rehabilitation programs in its target villages. Along with providing these services, the organization seeks to empower the local people through women's empowerment programs, legislative defense, and political education.^[5] Reaching Hand Society has since contacted over 700 out of the 926 villages in Malkangiri, increased the literacy rate in 120 villages from 0.4% to 40%, and established worship centers in over fifty villages and local prisons. It is currently run by Iris's son Remo Paul, Executive Director, and her daughter-in-law Dr. Susan Paul, Medical Superintendent.^[3]

Awards and recognition

Paul became a Fellow of the College of Chest Physicians at Delhi University in 1986 for her research on tuberculosis. In 1988, she was presented with the Yoke Fellow Award from the Direct Mission Aid Society for her “evangelic and holistic development work among the Adivasis.” In 1996, she was given the Robert Pierce International Award for Christian development work by World Vision International.^[3] Paul has said of her work, “Medicine is my life. It doesn’t feel like work. I can’t think of anything else I would rather do. It does not bother me when people call at odd hours. I just stay 'til I finish the job”.^[1]

References

1. ^¹²³⁴{{Cite journal|last=Arackal|first=Sam|date=Oct-Dec 2004|title=From Malkangiri, With Love|url=http://imaindia.org/magazines/indianmissions/oct-dec04.pdf|journal=India Missions|volume=|pages=49|via=}}
2. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸{{Cite book|title=Pioneering on the Pinda|last=Wood|first=Beulah|last2=Chellappa|first2=Lalitha|publisher=Evangelical Literature Service|year=1998|isbn=|location=Chennai|pages=}}
3. ^¹²³⁴⁵{{Cite web|url=https://www.gmp.org.au/what-we-do/associate-partners/reaching-hands|title=Reaching Hands|last=|first=|date=2017|website=Global Mission Partners|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}
4. ^¹²{{Cite book|title=The Plum Tree in the Desert|last=Reed|first=Naomi|publisher=Authentic Media Limited|year=2015|isbn=|location=|pages=}}
5. ^¹{{Cite journal|last=Samuel|first=Selina|date=2012|title=God's Chosen Woman - Dr. Iris Paul|url=http://www.eficor.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Download-pdf-file-4.04MB.pdf|journal=Drishtikone|volume=|pages=|via=}}
6. ^¹{{Cite book|title=Another Grain of Wheat: a Life of Dr. R A C Paul|last=Jebaraj|first=Sasi|publisher=UESI Publication Trust|year=1996|isbn=|location=|pages=}}