ELM officer Ute Penzel brings back fresh impressions from her trip to south-east India. She is particularly optimistic about the development of the ELM partner church TELC.

From 23 February to 13 March 2024, the ELM's Secretary for ecumenical relations in India, Ute Penzel, visited institutions of the Indian partner churches to get an idea of their current situation and the situation in the country. Among other things, she visited the girls' homes supported by the ELM in Sengrayur and Porayar and met the bishop of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC), Dr Christian Samraj, and the newly elected church council in Tiruchirapalli for talks on different aspects of ELM cooperation with TELC.

"There is real hope, especially at the TELC, which has reorganised itself," reports Ute Penzel. Christian Samraj has been in office since January 2023 and a democratically elected church council has been in place since September 2023. All departments of the church administration are filled. From the ELM secretary's point of view the new appointments are particularly noticeable in transparent communication structures. "There are several strategically organised WhatsApp groups in which information is passed on immediately. This means that everyone now has equal access to information. The homepage has also been redesigned," says Ute Penzel.

The children's homes in Sengrayur and Porayar are also currently undergoing some changes. One of the organisations that was involved in the funding has withdrawn. "Despite many difficulties, there is hope here too," says Ute Penzel. The management of the homes, in which different numbers of girls live depending on their financial capacities, have set themselves ambitious goals. "The path to self-financing with fewer donations is not easy," says the ELM secretary.

According to TELC, it has 200,000 members with 125 pastorates. It runs numerous schools, children's and old people's homes and hospitals.

"It was a pleasure to visit the museum in Tharangambadi, named after the first Protestant German missionary to India, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg", reports the ELM employee. "The museum is well frequented and offers numerous guided tours."

In addition to getting to see first hand the results of the reforms on different levels of the partner church TELC, the visit was also used to address administrative challenges with regard to reporting and evaluating on those project, which receive financial support from ELM.