Ida Scudder

Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder (1870-1960) was an Indian-born American missionary who is recognized today for her contribution to medical education and public health in India. After living in Vellore, India for the first 5 years of her life; she and her family moved to the United States in concession to her father’s poor health. She began to despise her time in India after realizing the wonders that modern society had to offer. Later on in her life, however, she had learned to embrace her family’s status as missionaries and served the people of India unceasingly to the end of her days. Her life of devotion to the service of both God and man is an inspiration to all. Ida’s life was colored with the influence of much of the newly emerged ideas in her time. She had lived through the Reconstruction Era and the Gilded age, both of which were eras that transformed the way Americans understood and dealt with topics relating to racial and gender equality. The effect these eras had on Ida Scudder is heir apparent to anyone who realizes the intentions behind her efforts to establish hospitals exclusive to the service of women in India. During her time in America, she had grown accustomed to the treatment of women in modern society more than she had realized. Upon her return to India in 1890, it was these values so firmly instilled in her that convinced her to become the first female medical missionary in history. The rest of her life was devoted to the fulfillment of her desire to introduce modern practices to the seemingly “outdated” and “uncivilized” traditional Indian lifestyle. Having been born in India, Ida Scudder was equipped to serve in the ministry since her earliest years. For the first 5 years of her life, she witnessed the onslaught of countless epidemics and experienced the aftermath of droughts and famine. Ida had the opportunity to return to the States and experience living in a civilized environment. Ida adjusted to her new life in no time at all, and with each passing day she arrived upon the conclusion that America was a much better place than India. By the time she had lived in the States for three years, Ida had vowed that she would never again return to India. Little did she realize that quite soon, India would become a relevant part of her life once again. In 1883 twelve-year-old Ida Scudder learned that her father was to return to India alone to continue his mission work as a doctor. If all went well, her mother would also eventually join him in about a year or so. Everything happened as was planned, and Ida was again reminded of how much she loathed her family’s connection to India. She simply failed to grasp how a dreadful place like India could possibly be more important than staying together as a family. Through the course of Ida’s life, she had held a number of personal disciplines that influenced the way she grappled with the norms of traditional Indian society – the most important of which being her faith in God. Her convictions as a Christian were never limited by a caveat of any kind, regardless of the social pressure which she so often faced. Ida’s first encounters with Indian tradition were marked with exasperation and reproach, forming an obstacle between her western practice and the people. Yet as she gained experience in her craft as a medical missionary, she learned to be more liberal about her cultural differences and appropriately address the cultural shock through innovating solutions around these obstacles instead. Throughout the course of her life, Ida was faced with trials of many kinds. In spite of her struggles, Ida held fast to God’s word and realized the impact it had in her life. Her life is an age old example of our own will juxtaposed against the plans God has for us. As a child, Ida would have shuddered at the thought of returning to India; yet as an adult she couldn’t bear leave her mission field for more than a month -- except when she was raising funds for more projects in India. She fulfilled her God-given purpose to resolve the plight of Indian women and improve the quality of life for the Indian people as a whole. Through her, millions of lives were spared from the merciless bombardment of innumerable tropical diseases endemic to India. Yet amidst the many accomplishments she had achieved over the course of her life, she remained humble in all that she did to the very end of her days. As she was finally laid to rest, Ida was remembered by many as a woman with a purpose, but more importantly, a woman like no other who was after God’s own heart.