March 2009: EMPHASIS ON CHILDREN

Articles contained in the March 2009 newsletter:

"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6.

HAITI - Mission Evangelique Du Nord d'Haiti Schools (MENH)  - Touching Lives Physically, Mentally and Spiritually

INDIA - Jehovah Shammah Children's Home (JSCH)

EWI OBJECTIVES"Serving Those Who Serve" Children; Observable Results

EWI PRAYER CONCERNS

LETTERS FROM THE FIELD - Edited letter of gratitude from Pastor Frank following 21-day prayer campaign

HAITI

Mission Evangelique Du Nord d'Haiti Schools (MENH) Touching Lives
Physically, Mentally and Spiritually

MENH schools in Plaine du Nord represent 2 of 14 schools run by the mission. These schools were launched when the leader realized education was vital for improving the lives of the people and at a time when few options existed for the children of his community. In addition, Pastor Thony felt strongly that if students learned biblical truths they would ultimately reject pagan practices that permeated Haitian society. That belief has been validated over time as significant church growth can be attributed to the influence of the Christian schools. The Plaine du Nord schools were the first established by MENH and are the largest with a current enrollment of 516 students. This represents a loss of about 350 students from the previous year - a situation that occurred because another school, well endowed from the US, offered full scholarships to all those who applied. The MENH schools do not have the support needed to grant full scholarships.

The current report provided by the mission includes budget, income and shortfall. They are able to raise all but about US$500 per month of the amount needed in order to function effectively. With your help, East West InterKnit is providing about $1500 per month, leaving the schools either unable to pay all teachers or unable to purchase vital teaching materials.

Our desire is to increase support not only to bridge the funding gap, but also to enable them to increase enrollment and to give them time to work on changes that will lead to greater self-support.

Tuition and fees for elementary students are about US$100 per student per year, and for high school students about US $180 per student per year. We invite you to sponsor a student at the average rate of $15 per month (or any amount that is comfortable). We are not able to link donors with specific students at this time, but will update our readers as often as possible with information about how the sponsorship funds are being used and with testimonials from students and staff as they come to us. We would also be willing to assist with arrangements for visits to the schools. Contact us for further information on our sponsorship program.

INDIA

Jehovah Shammah Children's Home (JSCH)

Moved by the plight of orphans and destitute children whose families were unable to provide even the basics necessary to sustain life, Mr. B. Azariah, a retired school principal, established the Jehovah Shammah Children's Home (JSCH) in 1972. The home has housed, clothed, fed, sent to school, and loved hundreds of children over the years. The current president and manager of the home is Mr. David Sudhakar, a son of the founder. He and his wife, board members, and helpers, continue to provide the excellent and loving care originally provided by his father and mother.

The home houses approximately forty residents, both boys and girls, who usually range in age from 6 to 19, including some in college. The children participate in daily morning and evening prayer and Bible study and attend weekly Sunday school in addition to church youth and children's activities. They learn the importance of hard work, honesty, integrity, love, and service to others who are in need. Older children often participate in programs put on in village churches and may sing, perform dramas or share testimonies. The seven evangelists now serving under the umbrella of the JSCH and assisted by EWI are former residents of the home.

The children participate in activities that would occur in ordinary family life. They have chores to perform such as cleaning the yard, helping with laundry or assisting in the kitchen. In addition to receiving formal education they may learn keyboarding, handicrafts or other skills that will be useful. They enjoy singing, putting on performances, and playing games. They receive regular medical exams and care when necessary. They love to have guests with whom they can practice their English, plying them with questions of all kinds.

Because of our partnership with JSCH, they have been able to assist Tsunami victims, support the evangelists, purchase beds for the children, provide for building maintenance, put security bars on windows following a break-in and attempted attack, and take care of emergency medical expenses.

EWI  OBJECTIVES

"Serving Those Who Serve" Children

We provide tools and resources that enable national workers to more effectively meet the spiritual and physical needs of people. Another objective is to lead these workers to achieve greater self-support. EWI partners who care for children are helping us meet these objectives every day.

Our partners are caring for children rescued from the streets, accepted from desperate poverty-stricken relatives, or received following the loss of parents during some disaster. They are educating and training the children, making it possible for them to hear the gospel message, demonstrating the love of Christ through word and action, and meeting the physical needs of the children to the best of their ability.

Child Facts To Consider: INDIA* 40 million Indian children work or live on the street, including 9.5 million in Delhi and Mumbai alone; 46% of children in India are malnourished; 1/3 of all Indian children under the age of 3 are stunted in growth; 2 of every 5 children in India are underweight; 3/4 of all infants (6-35 months old) are anemic in 19 of the 28 states in India; 1/4 of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are married; 30% of the girls who enter school do not complete primary-level education; More than 1/5 of all Indians still live below the official proverty line (subsisting on roughly $1.00 a day); 1 in 6 city dwellers in India lives on less than 25¢ a day and cannot adequately care for their children.

* Hindustan Times of February 24, 2009

Observable Results

What results do we see?  Those who go out from the Haiti schools or the India children's homes as young adults have the skills needed to become productive and self-supporting members of the community. Many young men and women are now working as pastors, evangelists, youth leaders, social workers, nurses, educators, police, town leaders and Christian business people.

EWI PRAYER CONCERNS

• Pray for wisdom as we evaluate our work and make decisions about the future direction of the ministry.
• Pray for God's leading and provision for a communications assistant at MENH in Haiti. In addition to other tasks, (s)he will handle communications with all of their American partners.
• Pray for provision of resources to allow MENH schools to stay current financially and to meet both the educational and spiritual needs of the school children.
• Pray for the ten evangelists working under JSCH. Despite opposition to their work and an increasing number of restrictions on what they can do, the work has been fruitful and new churches are growing. Three of the ten evangelists still need support to meet daily needs. (EWI is currently able to aid seven at about $20/month.)
• Pray for Pastor Frank, for those who attended the prayer campaign, and for provision for unmet expenses related to his ministry.

LETTERS  FROM  THE  FIELD

India

We received the following letter from Pastor Frank following the final day of a 21-day prayer campaign. [excerpts]