Imkongtoba and Alemchiba seen here with their restored WW-II medals by the England team as prayers are being offered by Reverend Lynda Hulcoop.
Dimapur, November 26 (MExN): A tiny village named Akumen (Lirmen-C village) situated at the foothills of Mangkolemba sub-division in Mokokchung is being helped by the Southwick Christian Community Church from England since 2005. A team of 15 members arrived at Akumen village last Monday to carry forward some of its community development works including a water project for the entire village.
Interestingly, Akumen is also proud in having two senior citizens who were employed by the then Royal British Army during World War-II. During those unfortunate times in the then Naga Hills in the 1950s, the Indian Army had burnt and destroyed houses in Lirmen village under operation Gouping. In the process, certificates and medals of these two heroes were also razed. Knowing these circumstances, the England team had contacted the British Legion of WW-II office at London and traced the records of Imkongtoba and Alemchiba of Akumen village. The two were restored their WW-II medals including the Burma Star medal through Reverend Lynda.
In a simple but emotional function held this morning at Akumen, the medals were given away to the living heroes by the visiting England team with elders from the Akumen Baptist Church and village council members and citizens in attendance.
It all started in the year 2005 when a women delegation from the Southwick Christian Community Church in UK led by a Naga lady Alemla Twiss and her family accompanied by Reverend Lynda Hulcoop visited this village. There, the humanitarian vision took shape. In the later years, the UK team in consultation with the Akumen Baptist Church and the village community undertook several community developmental works for the uplift of the village.
These included setting up and sponsoring a community dispensary with a visiting doctor and a midwife; repair works of the village’s approach road and a construction for two RCC small bridges; sponsorship for an additional teacher in the government-run LP School which is supervised by the VEC under the communitization programme; imparting various vocational trainings to the women folk of the community for self-employment; sponsorship for animal and chicken-rearing for as an economic means for every family in the village; Christian education and greeting card-making initiatives for children under the 5-10 age group; rain water harvesting and construction of a large craft and training centre hall and so on.
With the active participation and support of the Lirmen citizens living in different towns and cities, Akumen which is also a part of its parent Lirmen village, the community of this village is very much thankful to the English sponsors who are selflessly contributing to the community’s development. Located in a remote region, the village is almost “inaccessible from governmental aid”.
