In India, April and May are the months that children have a school break. The new school year begins in June. This makes June an exciting time for children in our after-school programs. Every day we tutor approximately 150 children. Half our time is spent on schoolwork and the other half we learn about Jesus. Most of these children are enrolled in school and some are working to get into school. For many families, the cost of school, supplies, uniforms, books, and other educational resources is beyond their reach. Not only does Rahab’s Rope work to get children in school that have never been, but then to keep them in school. We buy school supplies and pay fees for many.
This year we also bought new umbrellas for the children. The beginning of the school year is also the beginning of monsoon rains. Not only is the rain a welcome relief from the heat but is essential to life. The monsoon accounts for nearly 80% of the rainfall in India. Indian agriculture (which accounts for 25% of the GDP and employs 70% of the population) is heavily dependent on the rains, for growing crops like cotton, rice, oilseeds, and grains.
I would like to end by combining the two above quotes with a true story.
When one of our National staff in India was finishing college, she had to write a report on human trafficking. She met with a group of women that were still being trafficked and a group that had been rescued and trained to work for a particular company. She said in her research she discovered that both groups of women were in bondage. The ones still being trafficked in physical bondage and the ones that had been rescued were in mental bondage, filled with shame from their life. The only time she saw a difference was when women had accepted Christ and His love into their lives, then they found true freedom. At the time she did her research Sarah was not a Christian which makes this story even more powerful. This research paper did become part of Sarah’s journey to becoming a Christian.
We all know that education and training go a long way to ending many ills of our world but without the heart being changed not much will really change. So, while we believe that our education programs in India are vital for a better future, we also realize that knowing Jesus brings the real change. Therefore, we spend our first hour of tutoring on schoolwork and the second hour learning about Jesus. Blessings to you and your family!