November 2018
DIFFERENT MINISTRY IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY
If walking in the slum opened my eyes to a different world, working with the children in the slum was a different story. Many people die in the slums of Delhi because of the sweltering heat in summer and the cold in winter. But despite the extreme poverty, the children are driven to live a full life. They have beautiful, happy smiles and their sparkling eyes are full of hope. This is where compassion meets hope. Your compassion is meeting their hope in the city of Delhi.
WALKING AN EXTRA MILE TO SAVE THE CHILDREN
The goal of the education program we started with a passionate group of people is to save the children from ignorance and poverty. Both the after-school program and the Sunday school program are antidotes to hopelessness and the "dark side" of the city. The children walk for up to thirty minutes in the 90- to 100-degree heat in summer, their feet covered with dust, and then covered in slushy mud during the monsoon season. These children are walking much more than an extra mile.
Half of Delhi’s population – about 9 million people – live in slums. Children living in slums don’t have access to basic needs, like safe drinking water and functional toilets. The living conditions in slums are easy to describe, but very difficult to witness: dirty and stagnant water, clogged drains, narrow lanes, cramped houses, heaps of garbage, and a strong stink almost everywhere. The "Save the Children" organization has reported that at least two million slum children die every year in India – even as its economy booms. Malnutrition, neonatal diseases, diarrhea and pneumonia are the major causes of death among the children.
CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD
No, the children we are helping to educate are not children of a lesser god. These children are created in the image of God. However, they are forgotten by the society and by the government. God’s Grace is global and I plead with Santa Clara First Baptist Church to remember these children and to shine God’s Grace on them so they will be free from the life they are now living in the dark pit of a vicious cycle of hopelessness.
UNLEASHING PEOPLE OF HOPE
Here’s what we are currently doing:
- We have launched a beta education program in a slum, and if this program is successful, we will replicate it in other slums.
- We are supporting people who are passionate, willing and trained to educate the many, many less fortunate children who are economically disadvantaged.
You can join us in saving the children who live in the slums of Delhi, by writing a check to the church, and indicating "Delhi Ministry" on your offering envelope.