Caring for orphaned and vulnerable children through family-based living environments, discipleship and education, empowering future leaders to build healthy communities.
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Saramma* has a younger brother and when her father suddenly died from a heart attack, the family was left in crisis. Both her parents were laborers who worked in the fields and this meant the responsibility to look after her younger brother fell on Saramma.
Caring for the family strained her from attending school. How was she to learn her way out of poverty in this dire situation? Saramma’s mother reached out to Restoring Hope through a village pastor she knew, and she asked for assistance to enroll Saramma in a good English-level college; a better education but farther from their village. The support of Restoring Hope’s swift action would provide more opportunities for Saramma’s whole family.
She will now be learning her way out of poverty and studying in what is called ‘junior college’ in South Asia (the equivalent of studying towards her associate’s level degree). “My teacher speaks very fast but this is a new school and I’m sure I will pick up my new subjects quickly,” Saramma says.
Her favorite food is biriyani rice with chicken curry. She enjoys playing carom board, a popular game in South Asia and she enjoys skipping. Saraamma wants to become a teacher to poor children in surrounding villages. In her words: “I want to become a government teacher and help my pastor and his wife. I hope to serve my village poor people, help our Restoring Hope summer camp and help my family. Everyday, I praise the Lord, God helps me a lot; He provided everything in my life. I thank God for providing Restoring Hope and I thank you all for giving me all of these things.”
Thampan’s* parents were both field laborers and sadly, his father took his own life, which left the family in a hard position to make ends meet. His mother left him to be raised by his grandmother and then she remarried another man (it’s stigmatized to bring a child into a new marriage in South Asia).
Though Thampan’s childhood loss was tragic, he was raised with his grandmother and is a delightful individual who enjoys playing cricket, a traditional sport in South Asia, as well as another contact team sport called Kabaddi.
Thampan is learning his way out of poverty. His favorite bible story is David and Goliath and he prays to God for his education and to gain wisdom. “Thampan wants to become a pastor to serve society and the poor children in the surrounding villages,” staff tell us. Thampan studies in junior college now and he recently helped to welcome the incoming freshmen as a leader for the orientation team, stepping up the management of food, celebrations and the greeting of students. “I enjoy science labs, chemistry and physics,” Thampan says, “but I want to become a pastor. I want to be settled in the society and stand up for poor people through the help of Restoring Hope.” When asked what his relationship with God has been like during his college years, and how he has seen God at work, Thampan says: “I praise the Lord God for providing so many things to give me a good college experience. I am very thankful for the Restoring Hope supporters to help me fulfill my dreams — thank you.”
Khajal* loves reading books, but she came from a family of field laborers who had not been educated past 5th grade. When her father died, she and her mother were left unprotected and unprovided for.
Her ambition to become a teacher and break through family and societal norms to complete college is possible by completing her college education and learning her way out of poverty. After her father’s sudden death due to liver failure, Khajal’s education was disrupted many times because her mother had problems caring for her, while also working in the fields and having other issues ongoing with the extended relatives.
Khajal’s mother attended a church service hosted in her village and approached the pastor afterwards about her hard situation. Now after receiving help from Restoring Hope, Khajal is completing her studies at a better English-intermediate school and wants to become a teacher. “Every Sunday Khajal eats white rice with dhal curry and fried fish,” church members said.
She enjoys science labs, dancing at the orientation for new students and helping to welcome new students. Khajal says she “wants to make her parents proud” (referring to even her deceased father). She is in fellowship with other believers in her college and they gather to pray to God regularly. She praises the Lord and shares: “I have many believing friends who also meditate on the word of God. I am very thankful to Restoring Hope for bringing me up and helping me to have a good life.”
**We are using pseudonyms for all names and villages out of security concerns for our staff and ministry participants on the ground in South Asia.