Clara Mridula Biswas

Clara Mridula Biswas is a missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church assigned as a community worker in Cambodia. She works to improve the lives of impoverished children in Phnom Penh, many of whom are homeless and live in the street.

Prior to her commissioning as a GBGM missionary, Clara worked in Bangladesh for the Food for the Hungry International (FHI) a Christian service group based in the United States. As the Community Development Area Manager, Clara served the poor, lower caste, and the oppressed by supervising, managing and monitoring education and development programs from 1983-98. The FHI child sponsorship program blossomed under Clara’s leadership as she worked with parents and community members to create better lives for children.

Clara describes her ministry with FHI as "showing Christian love and sharing the Gospel, working for peace and justice, carrying each others' burdens on our shoulders. Many of my students and community members became Christian through my work."

Once, when Clara considered quitting her mission work in Bangladesh for a better position, she remembers, "When I told my Hindu and Muslim students, they started to cry. It was shocking for me. I was looking for the answer about what to do. Then I found 1 Corinthians chapter 13 about love which changed my mind and continued my work with the poor for fifteen years."

Before accepting her current assignment, Clara served as the Program Director of the Christian student center at Sendai City in Japan. She organized courses, activities, newsletters and tours for students. She emphasized issues of justice, development, international understanding, worship and equality from a Christian perspective.

Clara has extensive experience as a volunteer in the Student Christian Movement. Her training in international, cross-cultural and women's empowerment meetings is vast. She speaks English, Bengali, Hindi and Japanese.

Born in Barisal, Bangladesh, Clara holds a BA degree in Social Science and a diploma in Rural Leadership and Development from the Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi-Ken, Japan. She is a member of the Church of Bangladesh.

Missionary code:  13952Z

E-Mail:  clarabiswas@hotmail.com