The Abound organisation was borne out of a simple request for help to the Whitfield family from the Program Manager of the Christian Endeavour Hostel (CEH) in Balangir, in the state of Odisha, India in June 2022. The request to seek funds for the operation of CEH came as a result of the cessation of funding from a long-term international donor organisation due to the changes in Indian Government regulations around international donors. Mahendra Bag had met three siblings of the Whitfield family, Joy, Iain and Peter in January 2020 when they visited Balangir on a tour of India, which included Peter’s wife, also called Joy(!).

Mahendra with Iain, Joy and Peter Whitfield, 2020

Following their return to the UK and as a consequence of the COVID pandemic, the Whitfield family sought to raise funds to support the hostel, the children and their families and others during the terrible lockdowns in India. As the hostel had to close, Mahendra undertook to distribute food parcels to many families in the Balangir area, securing police approval to leave Balangir for this humanitarian service. This work established a new bond between the Whitfield family and Balangir.

Balangir is in the poor rural region of western Odisha made up of primarily the Dalit people (previously known as the “Untouchable class” within the Hindu Caste system). Life is hard for the Dalit people, being sustained only by day labouring or piece work cottage industries, with minimal hope to break out of the poverty cycle for the next generation.

Balangir was the base for the Whitfield family’s parents, Ray and Margaret Whitfield, during their time in India from 1953 to 1966. Ray was teaching pastors theology and church leadership while Margaret used her nursing and midwifery skills to support the local population. In addition, from 1955-58, Ray was the headmaster of the boys’ middle school while the then headmaster studied for his Bachelor degree. This was the first local person of the Dalit people to achieve a degree. Ray was also responsible for overseeing the whole Mission Compound which included hostels for boys and girls from outlying villages to come to Balangir to attend the mission schools during term time.

Ray and Margaret circa 1953 prior to their departure to India.

For Joy, Iain, Peter and Joy the 2020 tour of India was not expected to establish a renewed ongoing relationship with the town where they spent so much of their childhood. Yet God’s plan appears to have been to activate the next generation of the family in continuing the legacy within western Odisha. Ray’s impact on the Middle School and the hostels (in addition to his main role teaching pastors) started this legacy. Mahendra and the current Bishop of Sambalpur, Pinuel Dip, testify to the significant legacy that Ray left in establishing a firm foundation for the operation of both schools and hostels. Indeed, their perspective is that without Ray and Margaret’s tenure in Balangir the current setup would not be in existence.

The Whitfield siblings with Joy (Peter’s wife) and Bishop Pinuel Dip in 2020

Yet the genesis of creating hostels and running schools stretches even further back than Ray and Margaret’s time in India – back to the 1920s. Margaret’s parents, Kate and Alexander Breeze, also worked in India in the Gujurat. Family archives have revealed that back in the 1920’s Kate started a boarding school for girls which included a hostel for the girls to live in during their stay at school. It seems that the family are destined to continue the tradition of hostels for children, including the fourth generation as Peter and Joy’s children, Amy and Ben are now fully engaged with supporting Abound.

Kate and Alexander Breeze

The hostel girls

Kate and the hostel girls