Meet the children of India
Serve the Children supports the Ankoor Children's Home in Lasina, India to give local children hope and a future.
The children we serve come from area villages. They live in small one or two room mud and dung houses with their families, and sometimes the extended family. They have no electricity, no running water, no sanitation, no medical care and no access to education. Many elementary school age children go to work along side their parents in the cotton fields, or at another job, just so the family can have enough eat and not starve. Temperatures in the summer reach 115 degrees and sometimes the local well dries up, so they have to go a long way by oxcart each day to get water. Children die each year from malnutrition, the heat and diseases like malaria or even simple diarrhea. Because these children are of the lowest Hindu caste or are tribal people, they have no opportunities and can only look forward to living this way for the rest of their lives. If they are Hindu, they only hope to be reincarnated to a better life next time.
Life for the children at the Ankoor Home is a total contrast. When they first arrive, many are malnourished and have intestinal parasites, lice and skin diseases. They receive three meals a day, medical care, all their school supplies and uniforms and extra clothing and toiletries, and training in sewing/ tailoring, cooking, gardening and other pursuits as they get older. The gospel of Jesus Christ gives them hope and loving Bible teaching prepares them for the rest of their lives. They are learning to be thankful for what they have, to serve one another and to pray for each other. And they have the all important chance to better their lives and futures through education. They live at the Ankoor Home during the school year and attend the local public schools. The teachers at the school in Lasina have told us that the children from the Ankoor Home are the best students and the most well behaved kids in the school.
The children return to their villages during school vacations and everyone is amazed at the change. They are healthy and hopeful and learning so many things. When we visit the villages, parents let us know how thankful they are for what is being done for their children. The children also tell their friends and families about Jesus and some of them are coming to the Lord and finding hope in Him for themselves.
The Home hosts seminars for the parents on hygiene, adult education and other topics to help them improve their lives as well. Some of the Ankoor Home children have graduated from school are now going on to study in computer school, engineering and nursing. A few of these have returned to help at the Home while they study, investing themselves in the lives of more children and helping to give them the hope and help they have received.
