no-longer-a-slumdog

No Longer a Slumdog
centers also sponsor “community days” in which the staff goes
out and cleans the village gutters and bus stops.
We drill “Jesus Wells” that provide pure water for those who
would otherwise have to walk great distances or for people denied
access because of their caste. There are literacy programs,
vocational training and micro-financing, all to enable poor men
and women to escape the poverty and oppression in which they
have been trapped for several millennia.
The medical clinics we provide are often attended by the
entire village. There are so many who need help that sometimes
people stand in line all day just to be seen!
Gospel for Asia has a catalog we put out every Christmas with
various items like sewing machines, water filters, goats, chickens
and rickshaws that people with financial means can buy for people
in Asia. The social workers at the GFA Bridge of Hope centers
know the poor families in the community who would most
benefit from the free gift of a cow or a fishing net. These items
show Christ’s love in a tangible way, while they are also tools to
help break the cycle of poverty that is so prevalent in Dalit and
low-caste communities.
Within all of these programs, we have seen that helping kids is
the largest bridge to bring hope to a family, a village or a people.
The staff of the GFA Bridge of Hope centers are able to counsel
the parents, as was the case with the boy Ruhan, and give them
a new perspective on life. Health is improved as previously ignorant
villagers learn about sanitation, like with Deepan and Chitral.
The prayers of the children are answered by the Almighty
God, as He heard the cries of Rinvi, Balaji and Sagen. Children
like Padimni and Isar blossom into well-behaved students who
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