From the Inside Out

Ida Scudder, a senior at Northfield Seminary in Massachusetts, envisioned a future for herself in a small American town that included a charming home with a loving husband, fun times with good friends, adventure, and eventually several children.

Such a dream was the antithesis of her upbringing in Vallore, India—with its crowds, poverty, famine, and disease. Having lived in the States now for several years, Ida had no desire to return.

Her parents served as medical missionaries in Vallore, and her paternal grandparents before them. Ida wanted no part of that kind of life.

But when Mrs. Scudder became seriously ill in 1894, Ida felt compelled to return home to care for her mother and help run the clinic. Following graduation that year, she set sail, praying she’d arrive before the unthinkable occurred. Ida’s prayers were answered [1].

One evening during her visit, a Hindu man knocked at the door, desperate for Ida to come help his wife.

“She’s been struggling for hours to deliver our baby,” he cried. “Now she is growing weak. I’m afraid for her!”

“Let me get my father,” Ida suggested. “He’s the doctor.”

“Oh no,” the man replied. “It is against our beliefs for another man to see my wife. You must attend to her.”

Ida explained she could not help; she knew nothing about childbirth. And the grief-stricken man turned away.

Later that same night a Moslem came to the door with the same request. He too refused help for the same reason. And not long after, the scenario repeated itself a third time with another Hindu.

When Ida finally went to bed, no visions of idyllic living in America filled her mind. Instead she prayed, and a new dream began to form. God meant for her to become a doctor and help the suffering women of India. Even more startling: Ida found herself eager to follow his plan.   

In the morning, she learned that all three mothers and their infants had died. It broke her heart and solidified her resolve.

When Ida returned to the States, she was one of the first women to attend Cornell Medical College. And no sooner had she graduated in 1899, than Ida was on her way back to India, bolstered by a $10,000 grant from a Manhattan banker, in honor of his wife, Mary Taber Schell.

At first Ida treated women in a small medical office set up in her parents’ home. But patients often waited too long to see her, so she decided to go to them.

An ox-pulled cart full of medical supplies became her clinic. And as she tended the sick and injured, Ida spoke of Jesus and asked patients if they’d like to know more about the Great Physician.

In 1902, Ida was able to open the Mary Taber Schell Hospital in Vellore. But with only forty beds, the medical needs in the region far exceeded what Ida could provide.

She set about establishing a school for young women to train as nurses. Critics warned no one would come since the education of girls wasn’t part of Indian culture. But come they did—151 students that first year—and they performed well.

Funding from various denominations in the U.S. and Britain allowed for expansion of the hospital. By 1906, 40,000 patients were being treated annually.

Ida’s next venture, in 1918, was to establish a medical school to train women doctors. Naysayers claimed women would not be able to pass the final exams, but all fourteen of the first class succeeded.

More qualified staff meant more space needed for them to work. A second hospital was built in Vallore in 1923.

Expansion continued in 1928 with an endeavor even Ida could not have envisioned:  the construction of the Vellore Christian Medical College and Hospital, spread over 200 acres. Gandhi himself came to see Ida and the monumental project underway.

Ida seated on left.

Also during this time, Ida traveled back and forth to America to raise funds. Her passion for the work inspired people to give, and she raised millions of dollars.

Back in India, Ida spent less time with patients and more time preparing for the opening of the new college, “negotiating between various missionary agencies, and dealing with a turbulent Indian political scene as fierce demands for independence were growing”[2].

Today the Vallore Medical College and Hospital treat over 8,000 patients a day and are well known for excellence in the fields of research, patient care, and disease prevention. Chaplains pray with the patients, and Bible classes are offered in nine different languages [3].

The main building of Vallore Medical College and Hospital

Dr. Scudder and students

Ida Scudder (1870-1960) was once asked how she was able to accomplish so much. Her answer explains how to fulfill God’s individualized plan for each of us:

“I took only one step at a time; the step God showed me” [4].

[1] Mrs. Sophia Scudder passed to heaven in 1925.

[2] https://canonjjohn.com/2022/11/12/heroes-of-the-faith-ida-scudder/

[3]  https://scudder.org/family-history/ ; https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/church-history-for-kids/ida-scudder-reluctant-missionary-11635053.html  

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJIHIJpmVTs

Other Sources:

1. https://scudder.org/about/history/india-medical-missions/ida-scudder-story/

Photo credits: All photos of Dr. Ida Scudder courtesy of The Scudder Association Foundation at http://www.scudder.org. The Indian city street scene, http://www.picryl.com.