Care for the Poor and Needy

The People to whom we are ministering are landless agricultural laborers who live by hand to mouth. The tribals mostly depend on the products of forest like wild honey, firewood, etc. for their livelihood. Though there is a minimum wage fixed by the Government, the unscrupulous landlords and contractors deny them their rightful wages. Many a time, they also become victims of money lenders and get attracted to anti-social elements. Due to malnutrition and hard work, they suffer from tuberculosis, anemia, etc. Also due to poor habitation they suffer from malaria, jaundice, typhoid and other communicable diseases. Most of the people are unhealthy and have a shorter life span. Child-mortality, premature deaths, post and pre-natal diseases are common among them.

The children are scrawny, listless and sick. If they survive they will grow up shorter, weaker and less smart than their better-fed peers. Almost as shocking as India's high prevalence of child malnutrition is the country's failure to reduce it, despite the economy tripling between 1990 and 2005 to become Asia's third largest and annual per capita income rising to $489 from $96. The statistic - which means 3,000 children dying daily due to illnesses related to poor diets - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted that malnutrition was "a national shame" and was putting the health of the nation in jeopardy.

Child nutrition is a marker of the many things that are not going right for the poor of India .India's efforts to reduce the number of undernourished kids have been largely hampered by blighting poverty where many cannot afford the amount and types of food they need. Poor hygiene, low public health spending and little education and awareness have not helped. Age-old customs discriminating against women such as child marriage have also contributed, but are far harder to tackle, "The situation becomes bad, and millions of children are dying due to a lack of food. Most of the children are from marginalized and poorest communities, such as tribals and lower castes where literacy is poor and poverty high. Their mothers are themselves often undernourished, forced into early marriage when they reach puberty, and give birth to underweight babies with weak immune systems. Illiteracy or lack of awareness takes its toll as well. These mothers do not breastfeed, offering buffalo milk and contaminated water instead and making their children prone to illnesses.

The poor living conditions have made them despondent. Addiction to country liquor is another evil of this society. Other issues are land disputes, naxal (extremists) menace and poverty. Their struggle for survival often ends up in defeat and despair. Though the Government has a lot of programs for their welfare and development, very often, they do not produce the desired result.

It is an endeavor of the Province to take care of these disadvantaged sections of people especially the poor, widows and physically challenged by providing basic facilities for livelihood like Shelter, Food, Water and Education.

Activities undertaken by the Province to enhance the life situation of the people in our mission stations are:

• Providing a small house for the homeless and the poor.
• Sinking a bore well for providing protected water supply for a village.
• Providing a sewing machine to the poor family or a poor widow to fend for themselves.
• Empowering Women and Self-help Groups.
• The creation of a subsidy for scholarship.
• To provide shelter, healthcare, education, food.
• To recommend the government on behalf of these poor people. For some help.

A tiny house for a needy family

It is very hard to imagine the struggle that people face without shelter, they have to find some place to sleep as night approaches, protect themselves from sunshine, rain, snow falls in the winter season, and all kinds of natural calamities too. So please help us in our initiative to provide permanent shelter for those who do not have shelter of their own and are living in slums.

To Construct a Small House for a Poor Family $ 6,000.00

It is to construct a small house with a living room, a kitchen and a lavatory. That people could have some place to live with dignity.

To Provide a Sewing machine to a Poor Family

A sewing machine can become a source of livelihood and a level of independence for widows and house wives. It can sustain a poor family by being a help to bring the income sufficient for day expenditure.

The Province is planning to run a training centre for imparting basic skills in tailoring, if we find kind donors who could help out for this project, after the initiation, the trainees could be provided with a sewing machine each if some generous hearts extend their helping hands thus they be the source livelihood.

Cost of an ordinary sewing machine $ 100.00

Support us to provide Protected Drinking Water

In the villages people most of the times drink water from lakes, streams, and canals and be affected by illness, so to avoid the struggle of the people and safeguard them we come forward to take this initiative which would benefit directly poor villagers who are not fortunate enough to have water supply for their basic needs.

To Sink a Bore well to Provide Protected Drinking Water for a Village $ 5,000.00

Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me (Mt 25:40) Quenching the thirst is equal to giving them a another life so keeping in mind the words of Jesus we help the villagers to sink a bore well and erect a compressor motor with a pump house, install pipelines and water tanks and provide them with protected drinking water.