Hope for the Abandoned
When we arrived in India, David Samuel from the Orphans’ Faith Home shared his desire to build another orphanage specifically for HIV-positive children. He had seen three children waiting alone at a bus stop one day, and when he saw them there again three days later looking extremely hungry and disheveled, they told him that they had been left there by their parents. The children had been abandoned when their parents learned they were HIV-positive, and David took them in and began caring for them. We partnered with David and Pastor Babu and successfully raised enough money to construct the Jesus Children’s Home for HIV positive children.
There are currently 45 children and adults living at Jesus Children’s Home. It is staffed by one full-time pastor who lives at the home, and he is supported by several volunteers including David Samuel and his wife, Kempu. They receive the care and medical attention that they otherwise would not be able to get. Orphans’ Faith Home and Jesus Children’s Home share a farm with water buffalo, chickens, rabbits, birds and a flower bed that provide milk, eggs and meat for both orphanages, and the children have fun learning responsibility by caring for the animals and flowers. The excess milk that the buffalo produce is sold to the neighbours, and so provides a source of income for the homes.
The Work Continues
In 2017 we hope to take a medical team into the villages surrounding the orphanages to set up medical clinics. Those villages are in the lowest caste of society, and are in desperate need of medical care. We’re also looking into educational initiatives for the children at JCH. We’re partnering with teachers from YWAM Jamaica to set up a school for JCH and to provide training for regular volunteers at the home so that education can continue even after the team of teachers has left. We also want to provide a way for the adults at the home to make a living, so we’ll be taking two people to teach the adults how to sew on our newly-purchased sewing machines.
We encourage you to pray with us about the future of this ministry, and if the Lord so leads you, consider making a donation or sponsoring a child at the home.