India KFA Booklet

India Transformed from within

Bringing hope for this life and the future

transforming lives and communities

Dear Friends, Thank you for your interest in our work in India.

As the scale and diversity of our involvement in God’s mission in India ies and challenges in this incredible country.

The focus of our ministry in India is the freedom and empowerment of the poor and oppressed, particularly the 300 million people called ‘untouchables’, often referred to as ‘Dalits’.

In response to the Dalit community’s cry for help, we are involved in education, social and economic empowerment, healthcare and advocacy. As we work hard to serve these needs, we have also witnessed a remarkable growth of the church as people have gladly received the Good News of the Christian message. There are now over 3200 Good Shepherd Community Churches located around India and still the GSCC movement continues to grow!

Here in the UK we are honoured to partner with these ministries and be involved in helping transform the lives of individuals, families and even entire communities half way around the world.

I hope that as you read the remarkable accounts in this booklet, you will be moved to join us in supporting this vital and life changing work.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Prentice OM UK Director of Development

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India

India’s broken people

One in three of the world’s poor is Indian.

Most vulnerable of all these are within the Dalit community. The name ‘Dalit’ is used by India’s ‘Untouchables’ and tribal people and means ‘crushed’ or ‘broken’.

In 2001, in an unprecedented move, they requested that we help educate their children. The request was for English medium education with a world view based on human worth, freedom and dignity.

They number around 300 million people (25% of the Indian population). Many feel completely worthless and are treated as subhuman just because they fall outside the rigid caste system.

We responded by promising to start 100 schools. We have now moved beyond that target!

The Dalits have little or no voice in Indian society. They are despised, largely uneducated and often denied even the most basic human rights.

The leaders of India’s Dalit community and gain their freedom is through education.

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Education The Good Shepherd Schools (GSS), a major part of the Good Shepherd/OM India (GS/OMI) ministries, are at the core of all we are doing amongst the Dalits in India. Poverty is a major barrier to receiving good education for people in India who are already labelled as ‘untouchable’ and ‘worthless’.

Good Shepherd Schools 107 schools 1,500 staff 26,000 students

MAP

With the majority working in low-paid jobs, their families, the widespread mind-set is that education is a distant dream that can never be attained. However, in recent years the Dalits structures and are insisting that the best way to change lives and achieve measurable goals in their community is through education.

ANCY AND ANJLI’S STORY Ancy and Anjli are sisters who are in Grade Two at their local GSS. Their mother was hospitalised, and after being discharged, she died at home. Devastated at their loss, the sisters wondered whether education was ‘for them’. Especially as their father was forced to quit his job due to health problems; their family needed to eat. The commitment and dedication of the GSS teachers encouraged Ancy and Anjli to keep going to school.

Attending classes, participating in extracurricular activities and having the support of their teachers and peers helped the girls get grateful for this opportunity to be educated.

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“Our aim”, says Jospeh D’Souza, CEO of OM India and President of Dalit Freedom Network International, “is to see Dalit children with the worst possible of beginnings in life realise their intrinsic value, grow to become and transform their own communities.” It is through GSS that the Dalit community are experiencing empowerment and change.

In many areas, the schools are a catalyst to further growth and development.

India • A survey of children attending the Good Shepherd Schools revealed that as many as 40% of them were undernourished.

• The Nutritional Supplement Programme is a GSS initiative that aims to improve the protein and vitamins in the children’s diet though providing milk, eggs and fruit three times a week.

• The students’ health is improving, concentration levels are increasing and overall development is

It is so often the case that our schools not only provide Dalit children with an education but they are the catalyst of holistic development and transformation within the wider community. an opportunity to work towards complete emancipation from slavery through education has resulted in growth economically, socially, spiritually and physically. That is why when a of their effective contribution to Indian society and symbolises the wider impact education has had, overall, in their community.

church at a time, one community at a time, one just law at a time and then the inevitable ‘tipping point’, which will bring massive changes and freedoms in a very short time.”

SPONSOR A CHILD Set a Dalit Child free from poverty through education – visit www.freeadalitchild.org to find out how.

Free a Dalit Child

Education Sponsorship for life

� sponsorship@freeadalitchild.org � 01691 776745

this vision to impact 300 million Dalits was going to happen, Joseph answered: “One child at a time, one woman at a time, one

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Health Dalits are vulnerable to many preventable health issues. Common ailments are sight impairment, chronic back pains, malaria, cholera, typhoid, parasitic diseases, various skin infections and many illnesses associated with malnutrition.

The Good Shepherd Healthcare Initiative (GSHI) is impacting Dalit communities across many states in India in order to meet this need on a number of different levels. This includes placing Community Health Workers (CHWs) in schools; establishing permanent clinics; running health camps and Mobile Medical Units (MMU) in remote places.

The role of the CHW in Good Shepherd Schools is to deliver school health plans with the children and serve the wider community with basic health care. Their role within the Dalit community is critical. Providing good quality healthcare and acting as advocates for the Dalit community, the CHWs treat every patient with equality and dignity. Through their visible and active presence in the community, they provide assistance, education, and expertise in all health related issues such as hygiene and sanitation, family planning, nutrition, HIV and AIDS, sexual health, substance abuse, and diseases common to the local community.

In cooperation with the Health Workers, the GSHI has been expanding its medical reach with MMUs. Residents living deep inside rural villages with no personal means of transportation are often too poor or too sick to go to towns and cities for healthcare. As a

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result of this, three MMUs take affordable and accessible healthcare to these people in Hyderabad and Dharmapuri. CHWs working in these remote areas support the MMUs, and often their existing work makes the mobile team’s access into villages easy and effective.

India

“I get to see people experiencing a lot of suffering, and it hurts my heart. The CHW training has helped me to see the needs of people, empowering me with skills and knowledge to help them.”

Permanent clinics are in operation in a number of locations throughout India. An example of this is the Logos Bhavan Clinic in Hyderabad which started in the mid-1990s.

Patients go to the clinic where they are treated by the three to four doctors who are available every day, along with two paediatricians, a GP, a gynaecologist and a part-time dentist. Our aim is to expand the Logos Bhavan clinic into a larger 24-hour, 40-bed care facility and nurse training centre.

GO Use your medical skills to help us heal the sick in India. Go on a short term mission trip � development.uk@om.org � 0141 552 7716

Another growing initiative is the crucial work among HIV patients in South India, which offers counselling to patients and their families, and also basic medical care and prevention advice. One of our centres is in the city of Belgaum, Karnataka where forced temple prostitution, drug abuse and ignorance have led to a spread of the dreaded virus. The GSHI therefore opened a new work among temple prostitutes, focusing on patients with HIV.

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Economic Empowerment The rigid caste-system marginalises Dalits to such an extent that they are deemed worthy only to work in backbreaking and degrading jobs.

From birth they are enslaved to the dirtiest jobs in society like handling dead bodies, removing human waste, and manual labour such as brick making and stone breaking.

GS/OMI established its economic development work to lift Dalits out of poverty by empowering them to provide for their families and contribute to the long-term development of their communities.

Microfinance small low-interest loans and vocational training. This enables some people to have regular daily income to ensure their families

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survive. For others a small loan can help them start a small business that may even provide employment for others in the community.

Many Dalits use their loan to buy a buffalo which provides milk for butter, curd/yogurt and ghee (boiled butter used for cooking).

Vineela to a community whose job is to clean human waste from dry toilets every day.

Her husband was forced to stop work due to health issues which left the family Vineela received a loan of ÂŁ158 she was empowered to start a small self-sustaining business selling bracelets, nail polish and other items for women. She is now earning great satisfaction in her new job.

India

With little or no assets, Dalits are not considered credit-worthy by Indian banks and financial institutions.

Consequently many are forced to take high-interest loans with unscrupulous money lenders, subjecting them to a life of debt.

This means that whole families and their future generations become trapped in modern day slavery.

Lallan, a young man at 24 years old, is a LAMP Group member. After participating in the group and contributing to the collective fund for six months, he took a loan of ÂŁ200 to start a hair salon in the village. It is his goal to move his shop to a bigger town where it can expand.

At the moment, he is repaying his loan on schedule. He is so thankful for the opportunity to develop vocational skills that are having a long-term impact in his life and for his family.

We believe that economic development

There are currently over 1,700 LAMP Groups generating loans and providing financial accountability for over 22,500 individuals.

will provide the Dalits with the support they so desperately need to break free from the cycle of poverty. Community based savings and loan groups called vision. These groups offer rural villagers and the urban poor the opportunity to save money, take loans, receive sound

their own community.

PRAY Ask for provision for their daily needs and for employment to GIVE Free a Dalit Childopportunities Today.

To Dalit child visit lift sponsor them outa of poverty.

Contact us for www.freeadalitchild.org prayer resources to use personally and with your church. ďż˝ development.uk@om.org ďż˝ 0141 552 7716

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Partnership “Throughout Scripture, partnership is one

of the main ways in which God fulfils His purposes. Here in OM we are passionate to build, develop and sustain partnerships in order to further the Kingdom of God. One of the most exciting aspects of my work with OM has been to see churches, individuals and organisations working in partnership with us to fulfil visions which ultimately see God’s Kingdom advanced.”

Andrew Prentice OM UK Director of Development

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In 2009 we received a call from the pastor of Sheddocksley Baptist Church in Aberdeen, Stephen Hibbard, to say he would like to explore the possibility of partnering with us to support our work in India. Initial discussions Some time later I visited Sheddocksley Baptist with Moses Parmar, the leader of OM’s work in North India. During a service at the church, Moses explained how OM had responded to the oppressed Dalit community’s cry for help and how God was working amongst them in mighty ways. God touched the hearts of many who were there that day and it was evident that there was a real desire to work together.

India also helped to build additional classrooms needed by the school in Lalganj and individuals from the church sponsor the education of many of the students there.

Recently, Sheddocksley Baptist helped to build a new assembly hall for the school, which also doubles as a meeting place for the growing number of people attending the Good Shepherd Church. Teams from Sheddocksley now visit Lalganj regularly and use their gifts to support the work there.

An example of this is a medical camp run by the team in partnership with local medics.

Since then our partnership has developed and focusses largely on the work in Lalganj in Uttar Pradesh, India. This has included visits by Pastor Stephen to minister in the church there and also to train pastors in North India. The church in Aberdeen has

PARTNER GIVE Free a Dalit Childyour Today.

Explore with us how church or To sponsor a Dalit visit organisation couldchild work with us in www.freeadalitchild.org advancing God’s Kingdom in India. � andrew.prentice@om.org � 0141 552 7716

STEPHEN HIBBARD “The personal connection of so many of our people with the work in Lalganj has been tremendous! To date around 20 people from the church have visited Lalganj and over 60 people in the church sponsor the education of a child at the school. It’s also been another way for us to demonstrate to our local community that our faith impacts our daily life. Some local schools have now joined with us to support the school in Lalganj!”

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Good Shepherd Community Churches Through our involvement with the Dalit people since 2001, we have witnessed and experienced an amazing move of God in drawing large numbers of Dalits to Christ. Thousands have experienced the Holy Spirit move powerfully and miraculously in their lives.

Every day a growing number of Dalits are coming to realise that true spiritual freedom is only found in Jesus.

Often, when new fellowships are formed, they can grow rapidly in the space of weeks and months to become an established Good Shepherd Community Church (GSCC) with a called pastor; meeting regularly for worship, fellowship and teaching. people’s spiritual needs, and also participate in other activities such as prison ministry, feeding programmes, literacy classes and economic development initiatives. For such a varied

and responsible role, the pastors require high quality training, which is provided through regionally based GSCC pastors’ training seminars, lay-leaders training programmes, as well as a four-year course which is provided on GSSC church planting ministry and community development. New pastors are trained through our Holistic Training Centres (HTCs). On this three-month programme the trainees are taught in ministry and community development skills and effective discipleship.

PRAY Join us in giving thanks to the God of the Harvest for the remarkable wave of Dalits finding new and eternal life in Christ. Ask for resources to help pray for growth and the strengthening of the church in India. � development.uk@om.org � 0141 552 7716

GSCC has more than 3,000 churches led by 1,250 pastors, each with a minimum of 25 or more members. In addition to this there are thousands of other smaller fellowships.

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India

From two to three believers meeting under a tree to read God’s word to fellowships of several hundred gathering to worship, the Holy Spirit is bringing rapid spiritual growth in many communities in India. It is not long before the need for a permanent place of worship becomes a priority.

Across India, GSCCs are making huge efforts to raise money from their own congregations in order to build simple yet adequate buildings for worship. Believers are learning about tithing and stewardship, and are making the most of what God has given them, with the ultimate goal of selfsustainability for the long term.

One of our GSCCs in South India was planted as a result of the catastrophic 2004 tsunami. The current pastor was led to minister to this needy area in 2006, and planted a GSCC. Since that time he has seen wonderful growth in this area. The GSCC now has over 100 members who regularly attend the services and actively participate in

various ministries such as holiday Bible clubs, the weekly women’s Bible study and home visitations. The congregation celebrated when they were able to purchase land and start the construction work of their own building in February 2011. Today, the church meets every week in a permanent place of worship that has become a life-line for this community.

PARTNER Find out how your church could partner with a growing fellowship in India. � development.uk@om.org � 0141 552 7716

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GSCC Slums Ministry

SANJAY’S STORY

It is often the case in India for people to flock to the city to escape drought, poverty and persecution. Instead of finding a better life for their family, they end up facing rejection, exploitation, sickness and destitution. The place they call home is a hot, crowded slum settlement, without clean water, sewage facilities or electricity.

The Good Shepherd Urban Slum Ministry operates in some of India’s largest urban areas including: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Lucknow, Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal and Kanpur. It is an integral ministry within the GSCC movement throughout India. Pastors and their teams are involved with educating children, teaching literacy and vocational skills to adults, providing basic medical care and health education, feeding the hungry, healing the sick in prayer and giving people of all ages the opportunity to know Jesus and grow in their relationship with Him.

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Sanjay is a faithful GSCC member in one of the slum churches planted by the Good Shepherd Urban slum team. From a nonChristian background he came to know Jesus as his Saviour through the GSCC slum pastor. Sanjay lives in a small hut-like home with his parents and two sisters. As one would imagine, they are often subject to hunger and illness. The GS church in the slum is a life-line for this family. Now that Sanjay is a believer, he wants to serve this community. In spite of church and on one occasion shared his food with the children who attended the Vacation Bible School run by the church in the slum.

GO Experience God at work among the Dalits first hand by visiting a Good Shepherd Slum Ministry in India.

Enquire about going on a 1 week Vision Trip to India. � development.uk@om.org � 0141 552 7716

India

Justice and Advocacy Deep rooted within India’s society is the mind-set that all human beings are not equal. This inequality directly affects the way Dalits live by way of keeping them on the margins of society where they continually face a multitude of social, economic and religious injustices.

This is evident in many ways, such as being denied access to public parks, wells and places of worship; being restricted to poor and menial jobs at the bottom rung of society; and in some areas are not allowed to walk down streets near the upper-castes.

Justice, mercy and reconciliation ministries remain the hallmark of OMs justice and advocacy work throughout India. The work primarily helps Dalits and other minorities in India by way of providing protection against injustices, thereby defending their basic human rights, and acting as an advocate in order to raise awareness of the Dalit’s plight locally and internationally. The All India Christian Council (AICC) plays an important role in this work.

They serve the interests of many in the Dalit community; women forced into the sex trade, persecuted Christians and people living with HIV by way of providing relief and rehabilitation and advocating their cause to governing authorities.

ANITA’S STORY Only 16 years old, and Anita had already experienced horrendous things as a result of being lured, without her parent’s in Delhi. After months of desperate searching, Anita’s parents eventually learned about the AICC and appealed to them for help to rescue their daughter.

against the perpetrators to bring justice to this young girl and her family. Anita was sent to live in a GSHI shelter home to recover from her ordeal where she received literacy and tailoring training.

She now looks to a better future.

VOLUNTEER Be a voice for the Dalits in the UK by becoming a Dalit Freedom Champion. � development.uk@om.org � 0141 552 7716

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ANTI India has been deemed a source, destination and transit country for trafficking. Prostitution itself is not illegal, but the surrounding activities – operating brothels and soliciting sex are illegal.

Current laws of India allow prostitution to thrive, however, and the Human Rights Watch report puts the number of sex workers in India to be around 15 million; the largest sex industry in Asia. The number of women and child prostitutes has doubled in the last decade, with 35% entering the sex trade before the age of 18 years.

Undeniably, poverty is a crucial factor contributing to the increase in human children in India. With this in mind, OMs Tarika Centre in Bangalore was set-up to serve the poverty-stricken needs of this state.

The Centre provides training in incomegenerating skills for women as a preventive measure against poverty, thereby addressing the social and economic factors which drive women, out of desperation, into jobs which

is also a shelter for women who are victims of abuse or fleeing life-threatening situations.

In Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, another project, Pratigya Bhavan, which means ‘House of Promise’, was established to combat and prevent they are known and numbering 100,000. Unable to lead normal lives, or establish permanent relationships, they are sexually exploited by wealthy men of the community, and then left to deal with the devastating consequences without support. Through education, rescue, relief, rehabilitation and restoration the project aims to put an end to the generational cycle of girls entering the Jogini system.

PRAY Pray for an end to the cultural and religious practice of ritual prostitution in India. For resources to help you and your church pray, please contact us. � development.uk@om.org � 0141 552 7716

“They use us like machines and then blame us. Is this how our life is going to be? We speak out because we have been betrayed.

If we say anything, they remind us as to why we are made as Jogini, and that tears us apart.”

– The words of a Jogini

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India BANGARAVA’S STORY Thirty years old and the second of four daughters, Bangarava lived the majority of her life as a Jogini. Her parents sold Bangarava at the age of seven to be a temple prostitute when their dreams of having a son seemed impossible.

This lifestyle caused Bangarava to contract HIV. Her two children, whom she had as a result of being a sex worker, tragically died at the ages of full of despair. When the Pratigya Bhavan staff met Bangarava they gave her the support she needed to walk away from this enslaving ‘work’.

The staff team from Pratigya Bhavan continue to support Bangarava through counselling and with nutritional supplements. She is moving forward slowly with strength and a sense of self-worth.

SHYLA’S STORY Born with a disability, Shyla’s parents kept her at home until they realised she was depressed. Fearful that she a vulnerable state often are) they sent her to the Tarika Centre. Shyla flourished there as a result of the care of the staff, and the skills she gained in tailoring. When she was presented with an award on the day of graduation, her parents were overjoyed and proud of their daughter’s achievement. Through

individual and earns an income through stitching and embroidery.

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Ravin Royer worked as a church planter among the urban poor in North India and later led the schools in that area. He now lives in the UK with his family, and as Development Manager for India, facilitates partnerships with churches, individuals and organisations.

Throughout this booklet, you have read about the various ministries in India, but don’t you want to see it, experience it and become partners with what God is doing in this amazing nation?

For many people, visiting India on a vision trip has been the beginning of their love for India and sparked a great desire to play a part in what God is doing among the Dalit people. It has been quite literally a life changing experience that has transformed their understanding of and relationship with God, broadened their mission outlook service. If you, your church or organisation are interested in visiting India please get in touch, my contact details are below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ravin Royer, Development Manager for India

�

ravin.royer@om.org � 0141 552 7716

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Get Involved “Just go! Just go and listen! Listen to what God wants to say to you.”

This was the wise advice that gave me the the bubbling, vivacious characters of the Dalit children, their teachers, families and churches in the schools and villages of Lucknow, North India. After hearing Ravin speak so warmly and deeply of the Dalit people I was very blessed to have the opportunity to go with a team from my church. From the moment we arrived at the airport, and listened to those working at the OM base in Lucknow, we knew that God was using these people as instruments of eternal change. I cannot possibly encapsulate in words the real sense of joy I felt in meeting the people in North India.

Every day I look forward to going back to be more involved with OM’s work out there.

–Iley Wainwright, Above Bar Church, Southampton

Resourcing Keeping in touch with all that God is doing through the ministry of OM in India and worldwide www.uk.om.org

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