First Unitarian Church is honored to Share the Plate in March with the Annie Margaret Barr Higher Secondary School in the village of Kharang in the Khasi Hills of northeast India.

As part of a global Unitarian Universalist Association initiative, First Unitarian Church has been partners with our Unitarian friends in the Khasi Hills since 2003. This mountainous, rural region is home to the 3rd largest population of Unitarians in the world. The school – founded by a Unitarian minister – is open to boys and girls of all backgrounds. With your generous support, First UU Pittsburgh raises $9,600 each year to pay the salaries of two of the high school teachers.

The first Unitarian church in the Khasi Hills was founded in 1897 by a Khasi man, Hajom Kissor Singh. British Unitarian minister Annie Margaret Barr (1899-1973) lived and worked in the Khasi Hills for 40 years. Inspired by her life and work, beginning in the 1970s, Unitarians began founding schools in Khasi villages. There are now 34 Unitarian schools in the region, open to all children. The school we sponsor was founded by and named for Rev. Barr.

In 2016 our support helped the school achieve Higher Secondary School status by adding two classrooms to house Grades 11 and 12. This enabled students to graduate without having to move to the state capital, Shillong (two hours away on winding mountain roads). Since then we have funded the salaries of the two teachers who teach Grades 11 and 12. Just $9,600 a year supports the two teachers and their dependents.

Follow the school’s updates on their Facebook page.