Leader’s guide · 12 weeks

Leader’s guide: Pandita Ramabai (For Children)

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This guide helps you lead twelve weekly sessions on Pandita Ramabai (For Children), the true story of a girl from India who was carried down a mountain in a cane box, lost her family in a famine, walked four thousand miles, came to know Jesus, and made a home for thousands of widows and orphan girls. It is best for children aged 8 to 12, and younger children can join in with a grown-up sitting close by. It works for a Sunday school class, a homeschool group or a family around the table.

Each session takes about thirty minutes. Welcome the children and say the memory verse together (3 minutes). Read the week’s chapter aloud (5–7 minutes). Talk together using the chapter’s three questions (5–10 minutes). Do the activity (10 minutes). Close by praying the chapter’s short prayer, or one of your own (2 minutes).

To prepare, read the chapter yourself beforehand so nothing takes you by surprise, and have paper and crayons or pencils ready. Some chapters tell of famine, the deaths of Ramabai’s family and the unkind treatment of child widows, so read those parts calmly and simply, answer questions honestly without adding detail, never press anyone to share their own sad times in front of the group, and keep coming back to the book’s steady message that God held Ramabai in his hands all along. Ramabai grew up in a Hindu family who loved their holy books, so speak of India, its people and its faith with warmth and respect as you tell her story.

Week 1 — The Baby in the Cane Box

Ramabai’s father, Anant Shastri, believes girls can learn the holy Sanskrit books too, so he takes his young wife Lakshmibai up a forest mountain to teach her; there, in April 1858, Ramabai is born. When his money runs out, baby Ramabai is carried down the mountain in a cane box on a man’s head, and later her mother teaches her long Sanskrit poems by heart while she picks up languages on the road. The big idea: God gives us parents and teachers, and learning is a good gift for girls and boys alike.

“Teach my words to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road.” — from Deuteronomy 6

Memory verse

And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.

Deuteronomy 6:7

Talk together

  1. Why did Ramabai’s father take his wife up into the mountains?

    Because his family did not want him to teach her Sanskrit, and he wanted to teach her anyway, in a quiet place.

  2. How did baby Ramabai travel down the mountain?

    Her mother laid her in a big cane box, and a man carried it on his head down to the valley.

  3. Who are some of the people who teach you?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God gives us parents and teachers, and that learning is a good gift for every child.

Activity

Learn It by Heart

You will need: Nothing

  1. Remind the children that Ramabai learned long poems by heart just by listening and saying them back.
  2. Say the memory verse one short phrase at a time and have the group echo each phrase back to you.
  3. Add a simple action for each phrase, such as sitting, walking on the spot, lying down and standing up.
  4. Say the whole verse together with the actions, getting a little faster each time, then let a volunteer lead it once.

Pray

Dear God, thank you for the people who teach me. Help me to love learning, and most of all to learn about you. Amen.

Read chapter 1

Week 2 — No Golden City

Ramabai’s family travels for about fifteen years from one holy place to another, reading the old books aloud, and at Dwarka by the sea thousands wait to see a golden city that the story says will appear to people with no sin; Ramabai sees only ordinary clouds and knows it in her heart. She hears a young wife crying and first feels called to help girls and women, and her parents choose not to marry her as a little child so she can keep learning. The big idea: Jesus says the truth sets us free, and God gives us courage to be honest even when others keep quiet. Speak kindly of the people waiting on the shore; they were sincerely hoping, and the point is Ramabai’s honesty, not making fun of anyone.

“Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” — from John 8

Memory verse

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

John 8:32

Talk together

  1. What did people hope to see at Dwarka?

    A golden city that, the story said, had sunk under the sea and would be shown once in sixty years to people with no sin.

  2. What gift did Ramabai’s parents give her about getting married?

    They did not marry her as a little child, as most families did, so that she could keep learning.

  3. Can you think of a time when it was hard to tell the truth?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that the truth sets us free, and God gives us courage to be honest.

Activity

True or Not True?

You will need: Nothing

  1. Have everyone stand in a space where they can crouch down.
  2. Call out sentences, some true and some not, such as “Ramabai was born on a mountain,” “Ramabai was born in a busy city,” “Grass is purple,” or “God loves every child.”
  3. Have the children stand tall for true and crouch down for not true.
  4. Finish by saying the memory verse together, and talk about how it takes courage to stand up for what is true.

Pray

Dear God, help me to love what is true. Give me courage to be honest, even when it is hard. Amen.

Read chapter 2

Week 3 — Sugar and Water

When Ramabai is about sixteen, a famine comes to southern India; the family lose everything, and her blind old father gives her “into the hands of our God” before he dies, followed by her mother and her big sister. In the middle of it a kind neighbour gives Ramabai bread when she is too shy and sad to ask. The big idea: God does not call sad things good, but even when the people we love are gone, God does not leave us and holds us in his hands. This is the saddest chapter: read it slowly and gently, be aware that some children may have lost someone, and do not add any detail about hunger or dying beyond what the book says.

“Even if my father and my mother leave me, the Lord will take care of me.” — from Psalm 27

Memory verse

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

Psalm 27:10

Talk together

  1. What did Ramabai’s father ask for when he fell ill?

    A little sugar and water. They gave him water, but they had no sugar.

  2. What happened when Ramabai went to ask for bread?

    She was too shy and sad to speak, and her tears came out of her nose, but the kind neighbour understood and gave her the bread.

  3. Who takes care of you when you are sad or afraid?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God never leaves us, even when the people we love are gone.

Activity

Held in God’s Hands

You will need: Paper and crayons or pencils

  1. Have each child lay one hand flat on a sheet of paper and trace around it with a crayon.
  2. Inside the hand, have them draw a small picture of themselves.
  3. Help them write across the top, “God holds me in his hands.”
  4. Let them keep their picture private, and pray together for children who are hungry or alone today.

Pray

Dear God, thank you that you never leave me. Please be close to children who are hungry or alone today, and take care of them. Amen.

Read chapter 3

Week 4 — Four Thousand Miles

Ramabai and her brother Srinivas walk more than four thousand miles across India with no shoes or blankets, once keeping warm by covering themselves with sand beside a freezing river; Ramabai later says the hardship made her heart hard like a stone. In Calcutta in 1878 the scholars honour her as Pandita, “the learned lady,” and Christians give her a Sanskrit Bible she cannot yet understand but keeps all her life. The big idea: hard times can harden our hearts, but God loves to give us soft hearts that care about others. When the chapter mentions the old law books’ teaching about women, keep it to what Ramabai felt and speak respectfully of her people.

“I will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart that can feel.” — from Ezekiel 36

Memory verse

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

Talk together

  1. How did Ramabai and her brother keep warm by the cold river?

    They dug two hollows in the sand, lay in them, and covered themselves with sand up to their necks.

  2. What gift did the Christians in Calcutta give her?

    A Bible in Sanskrit. She did not understand it then, but she kept it all her life.

  3. Why do you think we need God to give us kind hearts?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that hard times can make our hearts hard, but God can give us soft, loving hearts.

Activity

Stone Heart, Soft Heart

You will need: Paper and crayons

  1. Have each child fold a sheet of paper in half like a card.
  2. On the front, have them draw a grey stone in the shape of a heart.
  3. Inside, have them draw a big bright heart and fill it with small pictures or words of kind things a soft heart does, like sharing, helping or saying sorry.
  4. Hold the cards up and open them together while you say the memory verse.

Pray

Dear God, please take away any hardness in my heart. Give me a heart that is kind and loves other people. Amen.

Read chapter 4

Week 5 — Heart’s Joy

Ramabai’s brother dies saying, “If God cares for us, I am afraid of nothing,” and she marries Bipin, has a baby girl named Manorama, “heart’s joy,” and finds the Gospel of Luke mysteriously on her bookshelf. Early in 1882 Bipin dies of cholera, leaving her a widow with a baby, yet she says her sadness drew her nearer to God. The big idea: when we are most alone, God is close and draws us to himself. Mention the deaths briefly and gently, and linger instead on the brave words of Srinivas and the joy of baby Manorama.

“God is a father to those who have no father, and he takes care of widows.” — from Psalm 68

Memory verse

A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

Psalm 68:5

Talk together

  1. What did Ramabai’s brother say when she told him God would care for them?

    He said, “Then if God cares for us, I am afraid of nothing.”

  2. What did Ramabai find on her bookshelf at Silchar?

    A little booklet of the Gospel of Luke, the story of Jesus, in the Bengali language.

  3. When do you feel lonely, and how can God help you then?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God is close to lonely people and draws them to himself.

Activity

Heart’s Joy Name Cards

You will need: Paper and crayons

  1. Remind the children that Manorama means “heart’s joy” and Pandita means “learned lady.”
  2. Have each child write their own name in big letters across a sheet of paper and decorate it.
  3. Help them write underneath, “God is near me,” and pass the cards round the circle.
  4. As each card arrives, have the child holding it say one kind word about its owner, such as “friendly” or “brave,” then hand it back.

Pray

Dear God, thank you that you are close to people who are lonely and sad. Please draw me close to you. Amen.

Read chapter 5

Week 6 — A Voice for the Girls

In Poona, Ramabai starts a women’s club to help girls go to school and to help widows, and in 1882 she stands before British government visitors to ask for women teachers and women doctors, something hardly any Indian woman had done. When a twelve-year-old widow is brought to her, Ramabai takes her home, and a plan for a home for widows begins; in 1883 she sails for England “as Abraham, not knowing whither I went.” The big idea: God wants us to speak up for people who are hurt or left out. Explain child widows simply, as the book does, and do not act out how they were treated; keep the focus on Ramabai’s courage and kindness.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” — from Proverbs 31

Memory verse

Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate.

Proverbs 31:8

Talk together

  1. What did Ramabai ask the government men for?

    She asked for women teachers to be trained, and for women doctors, because many women would not see a man doctor.

  2. What did Ramabai do for the little widow who was brought to her?

    She took her home to live with her, and it gave her the idea of making a home for widows.

  3. Is there someone you know who might need a friend to speak up for them?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God wants us to speak up for people who are hurt or left out.

Activity

Who Needs a Voice?

You will need: Nothing

  1. Sit in a circle and explain that you will describe some everyday moments where someone needs a friend to speak up.
  2. Describe a child who is always picked last, a new child who does not speak the language yet, and someone who is being laughed at.
  3. After each one, ask the group what kind and brave words they could say, and let a few children answer.
  4. Choose one idea together to try this week, and say the memory verse to finish.

Pray

Dear God, help me to see people who are left out. Give me courage to speak up for them, and to be their friend. Amen.

Read chapter 6

Week 7 — The Woman at the Well

In England the Sisters teach Ramabai English, but she learns she cannot train as a doctor because she is partly deaf. At a London home where Christians care for women others look down on, she asks why, and a Sister reads her John 4, where Jesus talks kindly with the woman at the well and offers living water; Ramabai becomes sure Jesus is the Saviour, and on 29 September 1883 she and Manorama are baptised. The big idea: Jesus never looks down on anyone and offers his living water to everyone. If children ask about the women in the London home, simply say their lives had gone wrong and people looked down on them, as the book does.

“Whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again.” — from John 4

Memory verse

But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.

John 4:14

Talk together

  1. What did Ramabai see at the home in London that surprised her?

    Christians being kind to women everyone else looked down on, and some of those women now caring for sick people.

  2. Which Bible story did the Sister read to her?

    The story in John chapter 4 of Jesus talking kindly with a woman at a well and offering her living water.

  3. How can you be kind to someone that others leave out?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that Jesus never looks down on anyone, and he helps us to be kind like him.

Activity

Pass the Living Water

You will need: Nothing

  1. Sit in a circle and pretend to hold a cup of cool water in your hands.
  2. Pass the pretend cup carefully to the child beside you and say one kind thing to them as you give it.
  3. Have each child do the same, passing the cup round the circle with a kind word, until everyone has been given one.
  4. Remind them that Jesus’ living water never runs out, then say the memory verse together.

Pray

Dear Jesus, thank you that you never look down on anyone. Thank you for loving me. Help me to be kind like you. Amen.

Read chapter 7

Week 8 — The Home of Wisdom

Ramabai spends nearly three years in America, writes a book about the women of India, and on 11 March 1889 opens Sharada Sadan, “the Home of Wisdom,” a school for young widows that starts with just two pupils and grows. She promises not to make the girls Christians, but she reads the Bible and prays each morning with her door open, and one by one girls come in because they want to. The big idea: we need not be pushy about Jesus or hide him either; we can leave the door open by being kind and honest. Speak respectfully of the Hindu advisers and of the girls’ own faith, as Ramabai did.

“Learn to do good. Help those who are treated badly, and stand up for widows.” — from Isaiah 1

Memory verse

Learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Isaiah 1:17

Talk together

  1. What does Sharada Sadan mean, and who was it for?

    It means “the Home of Wisdom,” and it was a school for young widows.

  2. What happened when Ramabai left her door open in the mornings?

    Girls peeped in, then came closer, and many began listening to the Bible and praying with her, because they wanted to.

  3. How can you show others that you love Jesus, without being pushy?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that we can share our faith kindly and honestly, like an open door.

Activity

The Open Door

You will need: Paper and crayons

  1. Have each child fold the two sides of a sheet of paper in to meet in the middle, making two doors that open.
  2. On the front of the doors, have them draw a door handle and decorate the doors.
  3. Open the doors and, inside, have them draw a happy room where friends are welcome, perhaps with people singing together like Ramabai’s girls.
  4. Open the doors together and say the memory verse, then sing a song the group knows well.

Pray

Dear God, help me to be a good friend to everyone. Help me not to hide that I love you, and to share your love kindly. Amen.

Read chapter 8

Week 9 — The Heavy Load Rolls Away

Ramabai starts reading the Bible itself every day and sees that she needs “Christ, and not merely His religion”; about 1891 she gives herself completely to Jesus and feels a heavy load roll off her heart, rejoicing that God’s love is a free gift, “for me, a woman!” In 1893 helpers leave in anger, families take their daughters away and some people even threaten her, but she trusts God and comes through braver. The big idea: Jesus wants us not just to know about him but to know and trust him ourselves. Mention the threats only briefly and stress that God set her free from fear.

“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” — from Matthew 4

Memory verse

The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them did light spring up.

Matthew 4:16

Talk together

  1. What did Ramabai say she needed?

    She said she needed Christ himself, and not merely his religion.

  2. What happened at her school in 1893?

    Some of the important men who had helped her left in anger, many girls were taken away, and people wrote cruel things, but she trusted God.

  3. What is the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that Jesus wants us to trust him ourselves, and that his love is a free gift.

Activity

The Load Rolls Away

You will need: One sheet of scrap paper per child, pencils, and one large sheet with a cross drawn on it

  1. Lay the large sheet with the cross on the floor in the middle of the room.
  2. Give each child a scrap of paper and invite them, privately, to scribble or draw something heavy they would like to give to Jesus; no one will look at it.
  3. Have them crumple their paper into a ball, a little heavy load.
  4. One at a time, let them gently roll their ball onto the cross, then gather the balls up and throw them away unopened while you all say, “Thank you, Jesus!”

Pray

Dear Jesus, I don’t just want to know about you. I want to know you. Please take away my sin and fill me with your light. Amen.

Read chapter 9

Week 10 — The Girl by the River

When famine comes again in 1896, Ramabai hears God say, “Remember the days of old,” remembers her own hungry childhood, and goes to rescue girls with no food or family, trusting that “the Lord knows what I need.” On the way home she leaves behind a girl who had taken beans and run away, then stops the carts, remembers how God loved her while she was still a sinner, and waves Girija back. The big idea: God loves us first, before we are good, and helps us forgive and welcome others. The book mentions people who wanted to steal girls away and hurt them; read it as written and do not expand on it.

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That is how God showed his love.” — from Romans 5

Memory verse

But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

Talk together

  1. Why did Ramabai decide to go and help the famine children?

    God reminded her to “remember the days of old,” and she remembered that she had once been a hungry child herself.

  2. What made Ramabai stop the cart and call Girija back?

    She remembered how often she had run away from God, and how God had loved her and called her back while she was still a sinner.

  3. Is there someone you find it hard to forgive?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God loves us first, before we are good, and helps us to love and forgive others.

Activity

Waved Back Home

You will need: Paper and crayons

  1. Have each child draw a line of bullock carts by a river, with Ramabai standing up in the front cart waving.
  2. Have them draw Girija running towards the carts as fast as she can, with a big smile.
  3. Help them write across the top, “God loves me first.”
  4. Hold up the pictures, everyone give a big wave like Ramabai, and say the memory verse together.

Pray

Dear God, thank you that you loved me before I was good. Help me to forgive others and to welcome them back, the way you welcome me. Amen.

Read chapter 10

Week 11 — The Sweeper

Moved out of Poona by the plague in 1897, Ramabai takes her girls to a farm at Kedgaon and names it Mukti, “being set free”; like George Müller she trusts God for everything with no bank account, and by 1901 about two thousand women and girls live there, learning to read, farm, weave and print. Though honoured as a learned lady, she calls herself a sweeper: “I sweep into this compound as many as I can get.” The big idea: we can trust God with our needs and welcome people others leave out.

“Test me and see, says the Lord, if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing for you.” — from Malachi 3

Memory verse

My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

Talk together

  1. What does the name Mukti mean?

    It means salvation, or being set free.

  2. Why did Ramabai call herself a sweeper?

    Because she gathered up, or “swept in,” girls and women that no one else wanted, and gave them a home.

  3. What is something you can trust God to help you with?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God takes care of us, and that we can trust him with our needs.

Activity

Sweep Everyone In

You will need: Nothing

  1. Have the children spread out around the room and choose one child to be Ramabai the sweeper.
  2. The sweeper walks to any child, takes their hand and says, “Come in, you are welcome!”
  3. Now both walk together to gather another child, and the line keeps growing, always walking and never running.
  4. When everyone has been swept in, stand in one big circle and say the memory verse together.

Pray

Dear God, thank you that you take care of me every day. Help me to trust you, and to welcome people who need a friend. Amen.

Read chapter 11

Week 12 — A Bible for Everyone

In 1905 hundreds of girls at Mukti pray, and God answers with sorrow for wrongdoing, joy and love, which Ramabai calls the most important sign of God’s Spirit. She learns Hebrew and Greek to give her people a Bible in simple everyday Marathi, printed by the girls and never sold; her daughter Manorama dies in 1921, and Ramabai dies quietly in her sleep in 1922, with a thousand girls following her coffin and Mukti still caring for women and children today. The big idea: Ramabai was given God’s love freely, so she gave it freely; mention the two deaths gently, and this is a good week to look back over the whole story.

“You have been given freely, so give freely.” — from Matthew 10

Memory verse

Freely you received, so freely give.

Matthew 10:8

Talk together

  1. Why did Ramabai make a new Bible in Marathi?

    Because the old one used long, hard words, and she wanted village women to understand it in simple everyday language.

  2. What did Ramabai teach was the most important sign of God’s Spirit?

    Love.

  3. What is one way you could share God’s love with someone this week?

    Any honest answer is good here. The chapter’s point is that God gives to us freely, so we can give his love freely to others.

Activity

A Verse to Give Away

You will need: Paper and crayons or pencils

  1. Have each child fold a sheet of paper in half and then in half again to make a little booklet.
  2. On the cover, help them write “Given freely” and draw a picture from Ramabai’s story they remember.
  3. Inside, have them copy their favourite memory verse from these twelve weeks in their own simple words, just as Ramabai made the Bible easy to understand.
  4. Invite them to give the booklet away this week to someone, and pray for that person together.

Pray

Dear God, thank you for the Bible, and for people like Ramabai who shared it. Help me to share your love freely with others. Amen.

Read chapter 12