December 4, 2021

WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, reports: A “moo-ving” Christmas campaign aims to lift pandemic-affected families out of extreme poverty — with gifts of cows, goats, chickens and other farm animals. Texas-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) says a single farm animal can transform the fortunes of a family in dire poverty, providing food and sustainable income.

GFA World says a single farm animal can transform the fortunes of a family in dire poverty, providing food and sustainable income.
GFA WORLD LAUNCHES MOO-VING CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN TO TACKLE POVERTY: A “moo-ving” Christmas campaign aims to lift pandemic-affected families in Asia and Africa out of extreme poverty with gifts of cows, goats, chickens and other farm animals. Texas-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) shows how people in America can change the lives of the world’s poorest families this Christmas in its latest special report, A Surprising Antidote to World Poverty: Farm Animals (http://www.gfa.org/press/animals).

In a new report, the global organization cites that an estimated 711 million people worldwide — more than double the entire population of the U.S. — now survive on $1.90 per day or less. That’s an alarming 8.5% increase since the pandemic began.

“The hardest hit are always the poorest of the poor,” said Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founder K.P. Yohannan (also known as Metropolitan Yohan).

The organization’s latest special report, A Surprising Antidote to World Poverty: Farm Animals (http://www.gfa.org/press/animals), shows how people in America can change the lives of the world’s poorest families this Christmas — by donating a cow, goat, lamb, pig, or chickens.

Last Christmas, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) World supporters provided income-generating gifts for more than 260,000 needy families. To give a farm animal and other life-changing gifts this Christmas, people can go to GFA World’s online Christmas gift catalog at www.gfa.org/gift.

Expression of God’s Love

Helping defeat poverty by giving farm animals to a family that has nothing is a tangible expression of God’s love,” said Yohannan. “It’s not just a quick fix — long term it can help families out of poverty for good.”

Extreme poverty, Yohannan said, leads to “unmitigated desperation” — families sifting through stinking garbage piles for scraps of food, children trapped in forced labor, and girls selling their bodies just to survive.

Farm animals provide not only a source of food, but also a reliable income as they reproduce. This, in turn, means families can afford to eat better, buy medicines, and even enroll their children in school.

“The result is that an entire community can be transformed through these simple Christmas gifts that show people the love of God in action,” Yohannan said. “These gifts can spark a permanent change in even the most desperate places on earth.”


About Gospel for Asia – now GFA World

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching providing hope and encouragement available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.

Media interested in interviews with Gospel For Asia should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or gwooding@inchristcommuications.com


Learn more about how the simple gift of an income-generating animal can be the turning point for an impoverished family—one their family has likely been desiring for generations. Learn more about other solutions to poverty.

Read more blogs on Poverty, Christmas Gift Catalog, the COVID 19 Pandemic on Patheos from GFA World.

Read what 25 Christian Leaders are affirming about GFA World.


Source: GFA World Digital Media News Room, GFA World Launches ‘Moo-ving’ Christmas Campaign to Tackle Poverty

April 25, 2021

WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide: Millions around the world are still waiting to get a life-saving vaccine — and it’s not the COVID-19 shot.

Human trials of a new malaria vaccine are underway, with promising initial results, according to new report by humanitarian agency GFA World
THE ‘OTHER VACCINE SHOT THE WORLD’S WAITING FOR:’ Human trials of a new malaria vaccine are underway, with promising initial results, according to a new report by humanitarian agency GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia) that coincides with World Malaria Day, April 25.

Human trials of a new malaria vaccine are underway, with promising initial results, according to a new report by humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) that coincides with World Malaria Day, April 25, an annual event.

The quest to develop an effective malaria vaccine — a shot that could save millions of lives — has proved difficult and is still ongoing.

“Malaria is one of the most rampant child-killers in the world today,” said K.P. Yohannan, founder of Texas-based Gospel for Asia (GFA World), formerly Gospel for Asia. “For countless millions across Africa, Asia and other parts of the world, an effective vaccine against malaria would be like a dream.”

COVID ‘Stalls Malaria Fight’

But with the world laser-focused on the global COVID-19 pandemic, efforts to wipe out malaria have stalled, the report says.

Lockdowns and other restrictions have essentially halted malaria-fighting efforts in dozens of countries, leading to fears of a sharp increase in malaria deaths in 2021 — likely a death toll of hundreds of thousands in sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria — an often-fatal sickness spread by infected mosquitoes — claims nearly half a million lives around the world every year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and is “humanity’s most deadly infectious disease,” according to GFA World’s report.

A new experimental vaccine developed using mosquito spit has shown promise in early studies, says the just-released report, Malaria Makes Comeback Amid A Pandemic.

The vaccine — a possible breakthrough in the hunt for an effective malaria shot — has triggered a “strong immune response” in volunteers during trials so far, producing “only minor side effects,” the report says.

Until an effective vaccine comes out, the main weapon in the fight against malaria is the insecticide-treated mosquito net.

Recent studies suggest insecticide-treated nets may no longer be as effective in some parts of the world where a new breed of “super mosquito” has built up resistance.

But they’re still “critical” to curbing the spread of malaria globally, says Gospel for Asia (GFA World).

‘Such A Kind Of Love’

“Over the past decade, we’ve distributed more than 1.3 million nets — costing just $10 each — across Asia, and they’ve proved to be lifesavers,” said Yohannan, whose faith-based organization also stages free medical camps. “It’s one way of being the hands and feet of Christ — and showing God’s love — to those who suffer the most in our world.”

Father-of-three Baharupa couldn’t believe it when Gospel for Asia (GFA World) gave away mosquito nets in his malaria-prone village. “Who (would) give us mosquito nets without (asking for) money?” he said. “I’ve never seen such a kind of love.”


About GFA World

GFA World (formerly known as Gospel for Asia) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and teaching providing hope and encouragement available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. In the years ahead, GFA World expects to launch programs in numerous African nations, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.

Media interested in interviews with GFA World should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or gwooding@inchristcommuications.com


April 9, 2021

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this 2nd part of a Special Report update on the unspoken global crisis — Water Stress; where nations worldwide, are struggling for safe drinking water.

Mother with children at an area going through severe drought
These women in Asia typically have to walk for hours in search of water sources that are often just filthy ponds or dirty lakes, and typically contaminated with waterborne illnesses. As they are without options, they do this knowing the water could bring sickness or death to their families.

Other Global Water Stress Crisis Solutions

Cleaning up water is only part of the solution to the global water crisis. The main part will be finding additional water sources, which is where advancements in desalination (also known as desalinization) offer encouragement. According to one report, desalination capacity is expected to double between 2016 and 2030.

Columbia University
One Columbia University team achieved a zero-liquid discharge without boiling the water off—a major advance in modern desalination technology. Photo by Chenyu Guan

Last June, Columbia University announced engineering researchers have been refining desalination through a process known as temperature swing solvent extraction (TSSE). The school says TSSE is radically different from conventional methods because it does not use membranes to refine water. In a paper for Environmental Science & Technology, the team reported their method enabled them to attain energy-efficient, zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) of these brines.

“Zero-liquid discharge is the last frontier of desalination,” said Ngai Yin Yip, an assistant professor of earth and environmental engineering who led the study. While evaporating and condensing the water is the current practice for ZLD, it’s very energy intensive and prohibitively costly. The Columbia University team was able to achieve ZLD without boiling the water off—a major advance in desalination technology.

Among other advances is work by a research group at Spain’s University of Alicante, which has developed a stand-alone system for desalination that is powered by solar energy. A second solar-powered system developed by researchers in China and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was announced in February 2020.

Without clean water, youngsters worldwide are susceptible to many waterborne diseases, which prevent them from attending school and can thereby keep them trapped in a persistent cycle of poverty.

There is also commercial potential, as shown by 11 plants operating in California, with 10 more proposed. One in suburban San Diego turns 100 million gallons of seawater into 50 million gallons of fresh water daily, which it pipes to various municipalities. While it costs twice as much as other sources, the water resources manager for the San Diego County Water Authority says it’s worth it.

“Drought is a recurring condition here in California,” said Jeremy Crutchfield, Water Resources Manager at the San Diego County Water Authority. “We just came out of a five-year drought in 2017. The plant has reduced our reliance on imported supplies, which is challenging at times here in California. So it’s a component for reliability.”

Mother and child drinking clean drinking water from Jesus Wells
This mother and child are both enjoying a refreshing splash of the clean drinking water provided through a Jesus Well. Before these wells were built, women and children from the village walked miles back and forth to fetch water, which was most often contaminated. Now their villages enjoy the relief and love that these Jesus Well brings. The fresh, clean water is available to the villagers year-round, right in the middle of town, saving them time, and concerns about waterborne diseases.

Micro Solutions to the Global Water Stress Crisis

BioSand Water Filter
3.4 million people die every year from waterborne diseases caused by contaminated, dirty water. A simple BioSand water filter can change that, providing water that is 98% pure after filtration.

For every macro problem there are also micro solutions. In addition to the United Nations, there are numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charities fighting for clean water, like water.org, the nonprofit founded by actor Matt Damon and Gary White. Faith-based World Vision is one of the largest NGOs and provides clean water in addition to its child sponsorship and disaster relief work.

Another active NGO is Gospel for Asia (GFA World), which initiated water well drilling projects in 2000 after the Lord put a burden on a donor’s heart about the need for clean water. He contacted the ministry to ask if it would allow wells to be built near churches led by Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastors—and sponsored the first 10, known as Jesus Wells. Drilled 300 feet (91 meters) or deeper into the earth, these wells often provide clean water for 300 or more people per day.

Over two decades, the results have been phenomenal. GFA has drilled a cumulative total of more than 30,000 wells and today is completing around 4,000 each year throughout Asia. In addition to helping entire villages, Gospel for Asia (GFA) provides solutions for individuals and families through BioSand water filters, designed for home use. Capable of removing 98 percent of biological impurities, the filters can last for up to 20 years with proper care. By the fall of 2020, the ministry had distributed more than 58,000 filters.

Woman filtering water through BioSand Water Filter
BioSand water filters are bringing joy to families in South Asia! Many people in this area have to drink dirty water out of stagnant ponds, for lack of access to clean water sources, so after receiving a water filter like this one, their family can now drink clean, tasty water instead.

The blessings such help provides can be seen through a number of individual stories. In one of the first villages where a Jesus Well was installed, residents used to drink from a pond also used for bathing, irrigation and cooking. Summer droughts often eva

porated the dirty pond water; a well near the village went from providing clean water to a brownish substance in a matter of months and was later abandoned.

Now, the clean well has become part of the community’s fabric. Says a GFA pastor whose church is next to the well: “I feel very happy to know that this is one of the first Jesus Wells. It’s not easy to have a well maintained for this many years; because anybody can install a well, but maintaining it for almost [20] years, where it still gives clean and good drinking water, it is not easy. That makes me very proud and happy.”

Founder of Gospel for Asia (GFA), K.P. Yohannan, says the faith-based NGO is helping thousands of needy families, especially children. Without clean water, he says youngsters are susceptible to many diseases, which prevent them from attending school and can thereby keep them trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Dr. K.P. Yohannan, GFA Founder
Dr. K.P. Yohannan,
GFA World Founder

“We attack the water crisis globally by installation of wells in a village or BioSand filters in homes,” Yohannan says. “We did a study in our medical camps and found the No. 1 issue for children in South Asia was either diarrhea or upper respiratory infections. Our ultimate goal to give kids an education so they can get a better job is compromised if they’re sick.”

Waterborne diseases causing stress, sickness, and even death can be addressed and resolved with proper solutions, like BioSand water filters and fresh-water wells.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) BioSand Water Filter

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Jesus Wells

Jesus Wells

Or, consider giving toward the $1,400 average cost to install a Jesus Well for an entire community. Jesus Wells can serve 300 or more people with safe, clean drinking water for 10-20 years.

Either solution is a simple and effective way to take part in helping reduce water stress in this world and provide micro solutions to the global water crisis for people in need of clean, safe drinking water.


Give towards Clean Water Projects »

If this special report has touched your heart and you would like to help families and communities who are suffering through the water crisis, please share this article with your friends and consider making a generous gift to GFA World to help give clean water to a village through BioSand Water Filters and Jesus Wells.


Read the rest of this Gospel for Asia – Transforming Communities (GFA World) Special Report: Water Stress: The Unspoken Global Crisis  Part 1


About Gospel for Asia

GFA World (Gospel for Asia) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.


Read more blogs on Gospel for Asia, World Water Stress Crisis, and the COVID 19 Pandemic on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Learn more by reading these Special Reports from Gospel for Asia:

KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus


Learn more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | SourceWatch | Integrity | Lawsuit Update | 5 Distinctives | 6 Remarkable Facts | 10 Milestones | Media Room | Leprosy & COVID 19 | Endorsements | 40th Anniversary | Lawsuit Response | International Offices | Missionary and Child Sponsorship | Transforming Communities through God’s Love

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Read what 24 Christian Leaders are affirming about Gospel for Asia.

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

March 31, 2021

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this 1st part of a Special Report update on the unspoken global crisis — Water Stress; where nations worldwide, both rich and poor, are struggling to find safe drinking water for their populations.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World, founded by KP Yohannan) Report Part 1 - Unspoken Global Crisis, Water Stress - nations struggle for safe drinking water

Water problems are often big news, whether it’s ongoing crises in American locales like Flint, Michigan or Newark, New Jersey; in 11 cities across the world forecasting as most likely to run out of drinking water; or the widespread concern that two-thirds of the world will face shortages by 2025.

Andrew Steer, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute
Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the World Resources Institute
Photo by World Resources Institute

And yet, “water stress is the biggest crisis no one is talking about,” says Andrew Steer, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute. “Its consequences are in plain sight in the form of food insecurity, conflict and migration, and financial instability.”

One recent report from World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that 785 million people lack a basic drinking-water service. Globally, at least 2 billion people use a source contaminated with feces. Contaminated water can transmit diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and dysentery.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says an estimated 801,000 children younger than 5 perish from diarrhea annually, mostly in developing countries.

Not only is safe, readily available water important for public health, WHO says improved water supply, sanitation and better management of resources “can boost countries’ economic growth and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction.”

Still, nearly 50 years after the U.S. adopted the Clean Water Act (regulating surface water quality standards and discharge of pollutants into water) and close to 30 years after the United Nations started observing World Water Day (Mar. 22), getting clean water to everyone remains a monumental challenge.

That’s true even in developed nations. More than 2 million Americans lack access to running water and indoor plumbing; another 30 million live in areas lacking access to safe drinking water.

Last September, an investigation into a 6-year-old boy’s death led to detection of a brain-eating amoeba in the water supply of Lake Jackson, Texas, an hour south of Houston.

But it isn’t just the U.S. struggling to provide an adequate supply. Two years ago, BBC News chronicled 11 cities most likely to run out of drinking water. Topping the list was Cape Town, South Africa, which the BBC said was “in the unenviable situation of being the first major city in the modern era to face the threat of running out of drinking water.”

Cape Town has thus far avoided that fate by instituting usage restrictions, but that city and 10 others continue to face a water shortage:

Interestingly, only Mexico is listed by WHO and UNICEF among 10 countries with the worst drinking water. The other nine include Congo, Pakistan, Bhutan, Ghana, Nepal, Cambodia, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Uganda. Tales of woe in the report include 40 percent of Ugandans having to travel more than 30 minutes for safe drinking water.

In two previous special reports for Gospel for Asia entitled “Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis,” and “Solving the World Water Crisis … for Good,” we unpacked the global quest for access to safe, clean water, and how lasting solutions can defeat this age-old problem. This article highlights continuing water stress problems worldwide, and various solutions that are emerging to deal with a crisis issue that is too often underdiscussed.

Pandemic Problems to Make Global Water Crisis Worse

As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, the pandemic of 2020 exacerbated conditions. In a forecast just prior to last year’s World Water Day, the UN said, “A continuing shortfall in water infrastructure investments from national governments and the private sector has left billions exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Ensuing developments justified the warning. Soon after, grocery stores in central California took to rationing bottled water to deal with the pandemic’s effects that posed serious health risks for residents in rural farmworker communities, where tap water is often fouled by agricultural pollution.

Child drinking dirty water from puddle
Water stress presents formidable challenges to many people in Asia and Africa, like this young boy in Africa, needing to take a drink from this mirky pond. Photo by Frederick Dharshie, CIWEM, Environmental Photographer of the Year Gallery

In long-plagued Flint last summer, 55-year-old Cynthia Shepherd told The Detroit News that, coupled with the extended water crisis there, the pandemic was making it “tough.” “I’ve known a few people who have died, and it’s scary,” says Shepherd.

Soon after reopening for the 2020-21 school year, school officials in five Ohio towns announced they had found legionella—the bacteria that can cause a serious type of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease—in their water supplies. So did four districts in Pennsylvania. Ironically, precautions taken to prevent infection risks could have added to the problem.

“Stagnant water in unused drinking fountains or sink plumbing could be a good reservoir in which the bacteria could grow,” wrote New York Times reporter Max Horberry. “And shower heads like those found in locker rooms are common places for Legionella to proliferate.”

But it’s worse elsewhere. Countries in Africa and South Asia, where 85 percent of the world’s people live, face formidable challenges. One report said during the outbreak a lack of clean drinking water and hygiene practices became a major concern for cities in the developing world, especially in slums, urban fringes and refugee camps. Since COVID-19 has focused global attention on the need for frequent handwashing, drinking water and personal hygiene, The Conversation said political leaders will have to give attention to quality as well as access.

“It will be an even more daunting task, in both developed and developing countries, to regain the trust of their people that water they are receiving is safe to drink and for personal hygiene because of extensive past mismanagement in most areas of the world,” the publication observed.

Boy drinking dirty water from puddle
African child drinking polluted dirty water from a pond in his neighborhood.
Photo by Mzilikazi wa Afrika

In an article for GeoJournal, Professor Albert Boretti noted that technological improvements that helped deal with increased demand for water, food and energy since 1950 were not enough to avoid a water crisis. Not only have worldwide coronavirus cases (as of Aug. 4, 2020) surpassed 18.4 million and fatalities reached almost 700,000, containment measures aimed at limiting infections damaged the world economy, he said.

“This will limit social expenditures in general, and the expenditures for the water issue in particular,” Boretti said. “The water crisis will consequently become worse in the next months, with consequences still difficult to predict. This will be true especially for Africa, where the main problem has always been poverty. … More poverty will translate in a lack of food and water, potentially much more worrying than the virus spreading.”

Baseline Water Stress Map, 2019
Baseline water stress measures the ratio of total water withdrawals to available renewable surface and groundwater supplies. Higher values indicate more competition among users. Photo credit: World Resources Institute, Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas (CC BY 4.0) • Data Source: WRI Aqueduct 2019

Singapore Water Crisis Solutions

When it comes to cleaning up water, the Asian city-state of Singapore is a success story. For more than a century after the British settled there in 1819, the Singapore River was the focus of global and regional trade. That also brought pollution associated with commercial activity, such as industries, squatter colonies and food vendors dumping garbage, sewage and industrial waste into the river.

Singapore River
Ariel view of the clean Singapore river near Clark Quay in the central area of Singapore. Photo by Amos Lee

For more than a century, various commissions proposed alternatives for improving navigation and solving pollution, including a 1950s report suggesting improvements costing $30 million. For various reasons, it was never implemented, say the authors of an academic paper on the history of the clean-up.

However, in the 1960s, the prime minister set in motion a plan that included a call for water and drainage engineers in two departments to work together to resolve environmental problems. Polluters were told to move, families relocated to high-rise public housing, and a series of other steps were taken that cost $300 million.

“When the costs of the rivers cleaning programme are compared with the benefits, it is clear that it was an excellent investment,” said lead author Cecilia Tortajada. “The river cleaning programme had numerous direct and indirect benefits, since it unleashed many development- related activities which transformed the face of Singapore and enhanced its image as a model city in terms of urban planning and development. Most important, however, was that the population achieved better quality of life.”


Give towards Clean Water Projects »

If this special report has touched your heart and you would like to help families and communities who are suffering through the water crisis, please share this article with your friends and consider making a generous gift to GFA World to help give clean water to a village through BioSand Water Filters and Jesus Wells.


Read the rest of this Gospel for Asia – Transforming Communities (GFA World) Special Report: Water Stress: The Unspoken Global Crisis  Part 2


About Gospel for Asia

GFA World (Gospel for Asia) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.


Read more blogs on Gospel for Asia, World Water Crisis, and the COVID 19 Pandemic on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Learn more by reading these Special Reports from Gospel for Asia:

KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus


Learn more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | SourceWatch | Integrity | Lawsuit Update | 5 Distinctives | 6 Remarkable Facts | 10 Milestones | Media Room | Leprosy & COVID 19 | Endorsements | 40th Anniversary | Lawsuit Response | International Offices | Missionary and Child Sponsorship | Transforming Communities through God’s Love

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Read what 24 Christian Leaders are affirming about Gospel for Asia.

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

August 19, 2020

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. YohannanDiscussing the Gospel for Asia workers who care for the least of these amidst the threat of starvation and the COVID 19 pandemic.

Jarbai spent a typical day catching fish and crabs from the local river to sell at market. Her son worked as a daily laborer, supplementing the money from Jarbai’s daily catches. While meager, the earnings they pulled in were just enough to survive—at least until the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discussing the Gospel for Asia workers who care for the least of these amidst the threat of starvation and the COVID 19 pandemic.
Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers packed food items to give to people, such as Jarbai, to help them get through the pandemic.

Hunger, Starvation Amidst COVID 19 Crisis

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, many countries imposed a nationwide lockdown. Families already trapped in poverty, including Jarbai’s, could not work, and no work meant no food. Millions went to bed hungry, night after night.

The threat of starvation, mingled with the threat of COVID-19, left cities, villages and communities in fear. However, Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers across Asia did what they could to help combat this double threat of hunger and sickness.

After obtaining the necessary permission from local authorities, Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers in Jarbai’s area sought families particularly at risk of hunger and brought them packets of food. Over the course of several weeks, these faithful workers divided, packaged and distributed thousands of pounds of dry goods, such as rice, potatoes, onions, dal, oil and soap, to families in need.

“My son works as a daily laborer and I catch fish and crabs from the river to sell, but due to the lockdown we cannot do this.,” explained Jarbai. “The food items are a great help for me and my family. I am happy and thankful to [the church] from the bottom of my heart.”

The Grateful and Thankful

Other recipients joined their voices with Jarbai’s, adding their thanks.

“I am happy and thankful that [the church] stood beside me and provided food items for me and my family so we can be sustained during this lockdown,” says 52-year-old Meherbai.

One man, Gajinder, turned down the food package, despite coming from a poor background. He told the workers to give it to a family worse off than him.

“I am happy that my [church] will stand and always be there to help the helpless,” he said.

Read more stories of families blessed during the COVID-19 lockdown.


Learn more about how to help those in need amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, giving food and aid to Coronavirus victims.

Learn more about the need for Disaster Relief Work and how you can help our Compassion Services teams provide things like food, blankets, medicine and other emergency supplies to disaster-affected people and villages across Asia.

*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.


Source: Gospel for Asia Field Report, Caring for the Least of These

Learn more about the national workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.

Learn more by reading these Gospel for Asia Special Reports:

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Learn more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | SourceWatch | Integrity | Lawsuit Update | 5 Distinctives | 6 Remarkable Facts | 10 Milestones | Media Room | Scandal of Starvation | Endorsements | 40th Anniversary | Lawsuit Response |

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

July 29, 2020

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. YohannanDiscussing the starving families due to the COVID 19 pandemic, and the food distribution relief through Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Alik, his church and local volunteers.

The mask-wearing woman grasped the package of food, smiled and thanked the workers. As she moved on, another took her place in line. Dozens of men and women, keeping six feet apart, patiently waited their turn to receive a package of food.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World, Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing the starving families due to the COVID 19 pandemic, and the food distribution relief through GFA pastor Alik, his church and local volunteers.
Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers and volunteers prepare to hand out ration packs to struggling men and women.

Before this, Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Alik had seen families going to bed hungry. People were starving, and Pastor Alik knew how to help. After visiting the local authorities and obtaining their permission, the pastor immediately set about organizing and planning a food distribution.

Volunteers from the local church along with some civic workers carefully bundled together hundreds of pounds of rice, beans, biscuits, oil, soap and masks. Once ready, the team spent nearly five hours handing out the packages to those who had come from families in five nearby villages.

Pranjeeta, a 32-year-old widow with two sons under the age of 6, normally works as a maid. She thanked the team for the ration kit, saying,

“I am deeply happy and thankful to [the church] for providing us with the ration kits during this time of crisis.”

Learn more about how to Help those in need amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, giving food and aid to Coronavirus victims.

Learn more about the need for Disaster Relief Work and how you can help GFA-supported Compassion Services teams provide things like food, blankets, medicine and other emergency supplies to disaster-affected people and villages across Asia.

*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.


Learn more about the national workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.

Learn more by reading these Gospel for Asia Special Reports:

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January 26, 2023

WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued a Special Report on how the alarming increase of mosquito-blamed cases in U.S. may awaken Westerners to the “deadly scourge” of malaria that still claims thousands of lives worldwide.

GFA Special Report: Alarming increase of mosquito blamed cases in U.S. in 2019 may awaken Westerners to the deadly scourge of malaria.

Because the deaths came in ones and twos, the mid-summer and early fall 2019 headlines were more local than national in scope. They told of a 70-year-old man in Massachusetts—one of 10 people infected in the state—dying from Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE)s, a virus transmitted through a mosquito bite; two deaths in Connecticut, where officials identified EEE-carrying mosquitoes in a dozen municipalities; and a 68-year-old man in Ohio who died from mosquito-linked West Nile virus.

Malaria test kits.
It is critical that patients everywhere have access to the regimens needed to combat this “deadly scourge.” (Photo by Nothing but Nets)

Before the year ended, more than a dozen fatalities had been recorded. As of mid-November, the Centers for Disease Control reported three dozen cases of EEE in 2019, the highest in 60 years.[1] The annual average for the previous decade: just seven.

Granted, a relative handful of tragic fatalities from EEE doesn’t compare to thousands of deaths attributed each year to malaria, which still vexes health officials centuries after its discovery. Still, this five-fold increase in EEE cases may have helped sensitize Americans to the scourge of mosquito-borne health dangers. Such an awakening was especially timely with the observance of World Malaria Day on April 25, which draws attention to the 400,000 lives per year lost to this deadly disease.

In fact, while the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide (on the date this report was first published) currently stands at 2.5 million and rising, each year there are more than 200 million reported cases of malaria, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

A previous special report on this topic, entitled “Fighting Malaria – A Chilling Disease,” details how mosquito netting and malaria prevention are being used to combat this parasitic genius. This update unfolds the ongoing efforts of the global community to combat mosquito-borne scourges, including malaria, even among developing nations.

Despite advances in recent years, malaria remains a leading cause of death globally.

The latest World Malaria Report, released December 2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO), said 405,000 people died from the disease in 2018.
While that is less than the 435,000 fatalities recorded the previous year, the number of cases rose from 220 million to 228 million, a 3.6 percent increase (since 2016, cases are up 5.6 percent). A staggering 93 percent occurred in the African region in 2018, followed by Southeast Asia (3.4 percent) and the eastern Mediterranean (2.1 percent).

There was a mixture of good and bad news in the report.

Globally, malaria’s incident rate declined from 2010 to 2018. Formerly at 71 cases per thousand in population, the rate slowed to 57 in 2014. Yet it remained at similar levels the next four years. The reductions were most encouraging in Southeast Asia, where 17 cases per thousand in 2010 declined to five cases in 2018, a 70 percent decrease. Also on the positive side, the WHO said more countries moved toward zero indigenous cases, with 49 countries reporting less than 10,000 in 2018.
However, between 2015 and 2018, only 31 countries where malaria is still endemic were on track to reduce this rate by 40 percent or more by this year.[2] Without major changes, the WHO’s long-term global strategy for 2015−30 may not reach milestones for morbidity in 2025 and 2030.

Despite advances in recent years, malaria remains a leading cause of death globally.

The latest World Malaria Report, released last December by the World Health Organization (WHO), said 405,000 people died from the disease in 2018.
While that is less than the 435,000 fatalities recorded the previous year, the number of cases rose from 220 million to 228 million, a 3.6 percent increase (since 2016, cases are up 5.6 percent). A staggering 93 percent occurred in the African region in 2018, followed by Southeast Asia (3.4 percent) and the eastern Mediterranean (2.1 percent).

There was a mixture of good and bad news in the report.

Globally, malaria’s incident rate declined from 2010 to 2018. Formerly at 71 cases per thousand in population, the rate slowed to 57 in 2014. Yet it remained at similar levels the next four years. The reductions were most encouraging in Southeast Asia, where 17 cases per thousand in 2010 declined to five cases in 2018, a 70 percent decrease. Also on the positive side, the WHO said more countries moved toward zero indigenous cases, with 49 countries reporting less than 10,000 in 2018.
However, between 2015 and 2018, only 31 countries where malaria is still endemic were on track to reduce this rate by 40 percent or more by this year.[2] Without major changes, the WHO’s long-term global strategy for 2015−30 may not reach milestones for morbidity in 2025 and 2030.

Advancements in the Fight

Thanks to a consortium of governments, foundations and non-governmental organizations, there have been advancements in treatment. In 2015 the WHO announced the global incidence of malaria had finally slowed: Between 2000 and 2015, mortality rates in Africa fell by 66 percent overall and 71 percent among children under 5, the most vulnerable victims.[3]

66% fewer mortalities overall and 71% among children under five in Africa between 2000 and 2015.“The last decade has seen a significant transition in the ways that countries are responding to malaria,” Dr. David Reddy, CEO of the partnership, Medicines for Malaria Venture, said in a 2015 interview. “Significant new international resources (including Global Fund and President’s Malaria Initiative) have been better mobilized in the last 10–15 years to support programmatic strengthening and introduce greatly improved tools to prevent and treat malaria.”[4]

In his foreword to the WHO’s 2019 report, Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus noted that at least 10 countries are on track to reach the 2020 elimination milestone set in its long-term global strategy. In 2015, he said all those countries were malaria endemic, but now have either achieved zero indigenous cases or are nearing that goal.

Community health worker, tests a child for malaria
In 2018, 259 million Rapid Diagnostic Tests for malaria were distributed by National Malaria Programs across the globe. Here Souleman Balde, a 32 year-old-community health worker, tests a child for malaria in a village in the Bafata region of eastern #GuineaBissau. (Photo by @UNDP Guinea Bissau / Gwenn Dubourthoumieu)

More resources are appearing too. Just before the release of the WHO report, the board of the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria approved increased funding for investments over a three-year period (starting in 2020) to fight these epidemics. The investments total more than $12.9 billion U.S. as of March 2020.

Medical advances are occurring as well. In September of 2019, a paper in Science Translation Medicine described how redesigning molecules first designed to treat a skin disease (psoriasis) could lead to an effective new drug. An international team of researchers described modifying a class of molecules called pantothenamides to increase their stability in humans. In brief, the new compounds stop the malaria parasite from replicating in infected people and are effective against parasites resistant to current drugs.[5]

One of the paper’s authors, Penn State University professor Manuel Llinás, said while pantothenamides are potent against parasites, they become unstable within biological fluids because an enzyme clips them apart before they can act. Changing a chemical bond prevents this from happening.

Significant new international resources … in the last 10–15 years … introduce greatly improved tools to prevent and treat malaria

“By also preventing the transmission of malaria parasites from infected people into mosquitoes, these pantothenamides can reduce the chances that mosquitoes will be infectious to others,” Llinás said. “It is currently widely accepted that next-generation antimalarial drugs must target the parasite at multiple stages to both cure the disease in an infected individual and prevent its spread to others.”

200 mortalities in Myanmar in 2017, dropping from 4,000 in 2010.This news came on the heels of a story by Joshua Carroll in The Guardian newspaper about Myanmar becoming an example in the fight against malaria. It chronicled how thousands of volunteers received training and supplies from donors after political reforms opened the door for a flood of aid.

These efforts helped save thousands of lives and turned Myanmar into a leader in the battle to eliminate the disease. Nationwide in 2010 nearly 4,000 people died from malaria, but in 2017 that number dropped to 200.

“Dr. Patricia Graves, a leading specialist on the transmission and control of malaria, is confident Myanmar is on track to be malaria-free by 2030,” Carroll wrote. “The country’s success with village-based health workers ‘is a huge thing that other countries can learn from,’ she says.”[6]


What can we do about mosquito-driven scourges?

One simple way to fight mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, is to consider giving a needy family a simple Mosquito Net. For only $10, Gospel for Asia’s field partners can distribute one of these effective nets to an at-risk family in Asia and provide them with safety from insects during the day and at night.


Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report on Mosquito-Driven Scourge Touches Even Developed Nations: Malaria Alone Claims 400,000 Lives Per Year — Part 2

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read another Special Report from Gospel for Asia (GFA) on Fighting Malaria – A Chilling Disease: Mosquito Netting and Malaria Prevention Combat a Parasitic Genius.

Learn more by reading this special report from Gospel for Asia: It Takes Only One Mosquito – to lead to remarkable truths about faith-based organizations and world health.


Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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December 19, 2022

WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this first part of a Special Report on Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty?

GFA World (Gospel for Asia, founded by K.P. Yohannan) - Part 1 Special Report on Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty?

In existence for many years, child sponsorship has been adapted by Christian ministries and NGOs alike as it provides education, sustenance and other benefits impoverished children might otherwise never have. But does it work? Does sponsoring children really help kids escape a life of poverty? This article is intended to get to the bottom of those questions, and more.

Many children face poverty, hardship and crippling crisis without a hope of anything better in their future. Child sponsorship organizations seek to come alongside them, let them know they are seen and loved and provide a helping hand so their future can be one where these children can not only dream, but see those dreams fulfilled. Photo by Compassion, Prayer for Children in Conflict
Many children face poverty, hardship and crippling crisis without a hope of anything better in their future. Child sponsorship organizations seek to come alongside them, let them know they are seen and loved and provide a helping hand so their future can be one where these children can not only dream, but see those dreams fulfilled. Photo by Compassion, Prayer for Children in Conflict

About two years ago, Compassion International joined the billion-dollar charity club. That put it alongside such noted names as United Way, Salvation Army, the Red Cross and the YMCA. Its 2020 fiscal year income topped that mark by $1.2 million, growing 4 percent over the previous year despite its major spring fundraising initiative getting canceled because of COVID-191.

A key element of this news is Compassion’s status as one of the best-known organizations built on child sponsorship, a valuable component of lifting children out of poverty worldwide. Sponsors help provide kids with such opportunities as education, medical care, protection against malnutrition, and clean water. That such purposes resonate with donors is demonstrated by the Colorado Springs-based ministry’s record of 21 years of consecutive growth2.

Our sustained growth is a testament to our faithful supporters who are committed to the work we are called to do in releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name,” Controller and Vice President of Finance Amanda Whitmire told the city’s Gazette newspaper. “[It is also] our ability to continue that work with increasing effectiveness and efficiency through our workforce and dedicated church partners.”3

Child Sponsorship: A popular model

While groups like Compassion offer one-on-one matches between a sponsor and a child, others put donations to work through community development. Some organizations utilize other methods, but no matter how the money is used, child sponsorship is purported to offer children a chance to escape the cycle of poverty that can trap people for a lifetime. (One recent estimate places the number of sponsored children worldwide at 10 million.4)

GFA World national missionary pastors help tutor children in this community
In Rajasthan this pastor and another pastor have taken it upon themselves to help tutor the children in the community each evening between 4:00-5:00 as the children have been having trouble learning in the local classroom.

According to the World Bank, 53 percent of children living in low- and middle-income nation are classified as “in-school non-learners,” meaning they are enrolled in school but do not retain the things they learn.5 The agency found that children in this group cannot read or comprehend a short, age-appropriate story by the time they finish grade school. In poorer countries, the agency says the number can range as high as 80 percent.6 What’s worse, those who fail to finish school can easily join the ranks of the world’s 160 million child laborers.7

This was the kind of bleak situation facing a boy in South Asia named Neale not too long ago. The eight-year-old lives in a rural mountain village with his parents, who are employed in the area’s fertile tea fields. Their meager earnings aren’t enough to cover necessities, meaning Neale sometimes doesn’t have bus fare to make it to school. Because of sporadic attendance, his grades were dropping. This was devastating for the boy as a good education would be instrumental for him to be able to one day get a good job and be able to fulfil his dream of helping his mother.8

That’s when one of Neale’s teachers, who had noticed his situation, showed up at his home to tell him about a way to receive tutoring. The solution: a child sponsorship program operated by Gospel for Asia (GFA World), a non-governmental organization that operates in Asia and Africa. It meant Neale could receive the attention and time he needed to thrive. The following week, Neale sat with dozens of children like him listening to their tutor. After school, child sponsorship staff helped reinforce the lessons and helped him complete assignments.

Children receiving guidance and encouragement from GFA World child sponsorship staff
Like these children, Neale (not pictured) sat with his peers, receiving guidance and encouragement from Gospel for Asia (GFA World) child sponsorship staff.

“Neale also received a nutritious meal, tips on proper hygiene and school supplies—greatly relieving his mother of additional financial expenses,” Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reported. “The staff saw to his every need, wanting to help Neale achieve his dream. They offered all sorts of guidance, instilling within him the discipline he needed to advance his education and grow as an individual. Little by little, as Neale’s grades rose, so did his hope. That good job he wanted didn’t seem so distant now; helping his mother didn’t seem so impossible now.”9

This is a key attraction for sponsors; such programs afford them the opportunity to help desperately needy children who otherwise face a bleak future. In its materials, Compassion International outlines a variety of benefits, beginning with holistic child development that blends physical, social, economic and spiritual care to help each child fully mature. Thousands of churches in low- and middle-income nations tailor this model to the contextualized needs of the children in their community.

Other benefits the ministry lists include the opportunity to hear the gospel, better health, better nutrition, education and vocational support, safety and protection, and socio-emotional development.10 Plus, personal correspondence; in 2020, Compassion translated and sent 4.9 million letters from sponsored children to U.S. sponsors. Spokesperson Tim Glenn says the ministry’s growth is “a testimony of the power of relationship. The relationship between sponsor and child, the relationship between our ministry and our church partners, and of course, the relationship between God and his people.”11

 

Child reads a letter from her sponsors
The letters from their sponsors tell children they are loved, they are remembered, and they are important. These letters are often some of the most treasured possessions these children have. Photo by WorldVision.org

Approaches Vary When it Comes to Sponsoring a Child

Another sponsorship charity founded four decades ago by a group of five Catholic lay workers (four siblings and a friend) reached the $2 billion in total aid distributed last year. Based in Kansas City, Kansas, Unbound serves 300,000 people in 19 countries throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia.12

Estrella and her daughter Hannah who received sponsorship
Through Unbound, not only did Hannah receive sponsorship, but after their home was destroyed by a fire, the organization provided funds for Hannah and her mother, Estrella’s house to be rebuilt. Photo by Unbound, Coping in the Pandemic

Originally the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, the organization says most sponsored children have representation through small parent/guardian groups that direct how the funds are allocated. They commonly go toward food, education and skills training, health care, improved living conditions, and seed capital for a farm or small business.13

One 25-year-old woman, who is now a nurse in South Asia, said without sponsorship, it would have been impossible to achieve her goals. President and CEO Scott Wasserman said the number of lives Unbound has helped in its history is “humbling,” with the $2 billion marking a milestone in providing sponsorees with dignity and a path out of poverty.14

“The World Bank estimates 120 million more people will fall below the poverty line because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Wasserman said. “[That] just strengthens our resolve to continue helping marginalized people around the world emerge from poverty as happier, healthier, contributing members of their communities.”15

Unbound’s approach shows the difficulty of trying to place sponsorship in a neat box. This is further illustrated by one of the larger sponsorship organizations, World Vision. The Seattle ministry, which takes in more than $1 billion annually, tweaked its sponsorship model in 2019. World Vision’s “Chosen” program allows children to select their donors instead of donors choosing them.16

“The World Bank estimates 120 million more people will fall below the poverty line because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [That] just strengthens our resolve to continue helping marginalized people around the world emerge from poverty as happier, healthier, contributing members of their communities.”

Initially done through a pilot project with seven churches across the U.S., the following year World Vision expanded the system to 22 countries, potentially affecting 180,000 children. The move came partially in reaction to criticism that allowing sponsors to choose children gave them a sense of power while diminishing that of poor children.

Still, whether the child picks the sponsor or vice versa, Hillary Kaell—an associate professor at Montreal-based McGill University and the author of a book about child sponsorship in the U.S.—said that the ministry sees God at work in either direction.

Child choosing a sponsor
In a unique twist on the normal sponsorship process, World Vision began their Chosen program which allows the child to pick their own sponsor. Photo by World Vision, Chosen

“In promotional videos for its Chosen program, World Vision makes it clear that God is still the guiding force…” wrote Kaell. “Sponsors say, ‘There are so many things that are bigger than us. … Through God we’re intertwined.’ Or they marvel at how a child across the world is serving as God’s ‘mouthpiece’ by choosing them. [Sponsor] Nichole feels it, too. After watching a video of [child] Junayet choosing her, she told me, ‘I could see God in the moment. Junayet came up with all of the joy in the world. He literally ran to my photo. God’s hand is in all those moments.’”17

Not all child sponsors, or sponsorship programs, come from a religious perspective. One example is Children International, a secular nonprofit formed in 1936 to provide food baskets for women and children in two Israeli cities. Over the next two decades, it expanded to an orphanage, a medical clinic and an orthopedic hospital.18

In the 1970s the organization experienced expansion and growth, with the Kansas City-based charity making a gradual shift to a sponsorship model that helped children in Asia and Latin America. Today it maintains 67 community centers in 10 nations (including the U.S.) on five continents. According to the organization’s website, “As a secular organization, we respect and honor the religions, cultures and languages of all our children and families. Sponsored children and our staff work together to achieve our goal of ending poverty for good through programs that focus on health, education, empowerment and employment.”19


Sponsor a Child »

You can be part of the solution that is setting children free from a life of poverty. Simply visit the GFA World website: https://www.gfa.org/sponsorachild/. You can sponsor a child living in South Asia or Africa. You can also find a child who shares your birthday or pick a child to sponsor who has a specific age or gender. Your decision to sponsor can make a substantial difference in the life of an impoverished or underprivileged child.


About GFA World

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.


Read the rest of this GFA World Special Report: Child SponsorshipDoes it Lift the Young Out of Poverty?  Part 2, Part 3

Read more blogs on Child SponsorshipPoverty AlleviationChildren’s Education and GFA World Special Reports on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Learn more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | SourceWatch | Integrity | Lawsuit Update | 5 Distinctives | 6 Remarkable Facts | 10 Milestones | Media Room | Malaria Vaccine | Endorsements | 40th Anniversary | Lawsuit Response | International Offices | Missionary and Child Sponsorship | Transforming Communities through God’s Love

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Read what 30 Christian Leaders are affirming about Gospel for Asia.

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.


Footnotes:

  1. Rabey, Steve. “Compassion International crosses $1 billion milestone.” Colorado Springs Gazette. https://gazette.com/life/compassion-international-crosses-1-billion-milestone/article_4131990a-187b-11eb-9f03-5ff71a170a62.html. November 1, 2020.
  2. “Accountability Report.” Compassion International. https://www.compassion.com/multimedia/OCFO_AccountabilityReport2020.pdf.
  3. Rabey, Steve. “Compassion International crosses $1 billion milestone.” Colorado Springs Gazette. https://gazette.com/life/compassion-international-crosses-1-billion-milestone/article_4131990a-187b-11eb-9f03-5ff71a170a62.html. November 1, 2020.
  4. Kaell, Hillary. “When a child chooses a donor to sponsor them, it’s a new twist on a surprisingly old model of international charity.” The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/when-a-child-chooses-a-donor-to-sponsor-them-its-a-new-twist-on-a-surprisingly-old-model-of-international-charity-148209. November 12, 2020.
  5. “Ending Learning Poverty.” The World Bank. Last updated, https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/brief/ending-learning-poverty. October 20, 2021.
  6. Ibid.
  7. “Child labor: Facts, FAQs, and How to Help End It.” World Vision Inc. https://www.worldvision.org/child-protection-news-stories/child-labor-facts. July 7, 2022.
  8. “Keeping His Future Intact.” GFA World News. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/keeping-his-future-intact-wfr21-10/. October 2021.
  9. “Keeping His Future Intact.” GFA World News. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/keeping-his-future-intact-wfr21-10/. October 2021.
  10. “What the Benefits of our Child Sponsorship Program?” Compassion International. https://www.compassion.com/how-we-work/benefits-of-the-program.htm. Accessed May 19, 2020.
  11. “Compassion International crosses $1 billion milestone.” Colorado Springs Gazette. https://gazette.com/life/compassion-international-crosses-1-billion-milestone/article_4131990a-187b-11eb-9f03-5ff71a170a62.html. November 1, 2020.
  12. “Our History.” Unbound. https://www.unbound.org/OurImpact/WhoWeAre/OurHistory. Accessed August 29, 2022.
  13. “Our History.” Unbound. https://www.unbound.org/OurImpact/WhoWeAre/OurHistory. Accessed August 29, 2022.
  14. “Unbound Reaches Significant Milestone with $2 Billion in Aid.” Unbound. https://www.unbound.org/Media/2021/August/Celebrating2Billion. Accessed August 29, 2022.
  15. “International Nonprofit Unbound Disburses $2 Billion in Aid for Children and Elders Overcoming Poverty.” Globe Newswire. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/08/17/2282277/0/en/International-nonprofit-Unbound-disburses-2-billion-in-aid-for-children-and-elders-overcoming-poverty.html. August 17, 2021.
  16. “Chosen: The Power to Choose Is in the Child’s Hands” World Vision Inc. https://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child/chosen. Accessed August 29, 2022.
  17. Kaell, Hillary. “When a Child Chooses a Donor to Sponsor Them, It’s a New Twist on a Surprisingly Old Model of International Charity.” https://theconversation.com/when-a-child-chooses-a-donor-to-sponsor-them-its-a-new-twist-on-a-surprisingly-old-model-of-international-charity-148209. Accessed August 29, 2022.
  18. “Children International Is a Secular Nonprofit.” ChildrenInternational.com. https://www.children.org/learn-more/history/non-religious-charity. Accessed May 10, 2022.
  19. Ibid.
December 5, 2022

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, discussing the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015, the devastation and tragedy it dealt, and the Gospel for Asia (GFA World) workers that brought relief, help and hope to the victims.

On April 25, 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, taking around 9,000 lives, injuring more than 23,000 people, and damaging or destroying more than 700,000 homes.[1] The disaster caused widespread devastation.

One village hit hard by this tragedy was in desperate need of food and supplies. Nearly all the houses had been destroyed. The residents’ belongings, food, clothes and livestock—all essential to their livelihood—were buried, destroyed or damaged. To make matters worse, the road into the village was blocked by a landslide, making it nearly impossible for the villagers to access outside food or materials. They were in dire need of help and hope.

Delivering Hope, Supplies

Discussing the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015, and the GFA World workers that brought relief and hope to the victims.
Through the compassion showed to them by the relief team, the earthquake victims were able to experience God’s love and care.

Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Manja knew the desperate needs of his fellow villagers and yearned to help them in their time of need. He organized a relief distribution in cooperation with the local church. The distribution workers distributed 11,352 pounds of rice and 378 pounds of salt to the disaster victims, which they received with gratitude and joy.

“Thank you for your support to us in our need,” said 54-year-old recipient Radamés. “We are very happy to see you. Though we are not familiar with one another, you remembered us and helped us. Thank you again.”

Balandis, another recipient, also expressed his gratitude to the relief team.

“Many, many thanks to you,” Balandis said. “This is the best work. To help the needy people is holier work than any other work. I am [grateful] to you all.”

The relief team also assisted Gaerwn, the oldest surviving villager, and their kindness touched his heart.

“Thank you so much for supporting us,” Gaerwn said. “[Others] forgot us; you remembered us. May God bless you in each of your steps in life!”

Through the work and ministry of Pastor Manja and the local church, these village residents were able to experience God’s love and care for them in their time of need. Though they felt forgotten after the tragedy of the earthquake, they were encouraged and uplifted by the support of the relief team, which brought both the help and the hope they so greatly needed.


Partner with GFA World and continue to help bring relief in the face of disasters like flooding and COVID-19.

Read how a flood’s devastation led to a village’s celebration.

[1] “M7.8 Nepal Earthquake, 2015 – A Small Push to Mt. Everest.” USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/science/m78-nepal-earthquake-2015-a-small-push-mt-everest?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects. October 1, 2016.

*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia World stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.


Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Youth Fellowship Gives Dying Man Hope in Christ

Learn more about the need for Disaster Relief Work, Gospel for Asia’s “Compassion Services” with relief teams who love the Lord who are focused to help victims of natural disasters find a firm foundation.

Read more on National Missions and Disaster Relief on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

November 23, 2022

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, discussing the impoverished communities that Gospel for Asia (GFA World) national missionaries reach, helping protect lives through hand-washing and sanitation.

“Clean hands save lives.” It’s a slogan that sounds like a simple solution to an enormous problem, but according to the Center for Disease Control, clean hands do indeed save lives by helping prevent the spread of disease and infection.[1] For impoverished communities, prevention may be better than seeking treatment when infections or diseases do come, especially because treatment may not be affordable or available.

Discussing the impoverished communities that GFA World national missionaries reach, helping protect lives through hand washing & sanitation.

In Defense of Health

Annually, on October 15, organizations around the world celebrate Global Hand-washing Day to highlight the importance of hand-washing in preventing the spread of disease. Gospel for Asia (GFA World) missionaries, pastors and workers also organize programs that aim to inform and teach the communities they serve how to protect themselves from sicknesses that are spread through unclean hands, knowledge that is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The area where Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Reinhard serves is particularly rife with diseases, including typhoid. Because the village is devoid of proper medical facilities, the villagers must either make a long and expensive trip or let infections take their toll. Many villagers, a field correspondent reported, were losing their lives to these sicknesses at a young age.

Seeing the great need in his area to help people stay healthy, Pastor Reinhard and other volunteers organized a Global Handwashing Day program to teach people how they can protect themselves from disease by washing their hands. At the program, the workers demonstrated handwashing techniques and shared about the increased risk of becoming sick when people do not properly wash their hands.

Bringing Help Where It’s Needed

Like Pastor Reinhard, hundreds of other Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers serving in impoverished areas brought the same message to those who need it most. In one region, more than 400 men, women and children across dozens of villages were taught how to protect themselves from disease through proper handwashing.

Addressing the gathered families in his village, Pastor Reinhard summed up the message he and thousands of workers like him brought to many:

“Wash your hands properly … and it will help you to keep yourself physically sound and healthy, by washing away germs that can cause preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and [typhoid]. On the occasion of Global Hand-washing Day, we should help others by teaching them about [how] ‘clean hands save lives.’”


Read more about GFA workers protecting impoverished communities from sickness and infection.

*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia World stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.

[1] “Show Me the Science – Why Wash your Hands?” CDC. September 10, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html


Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Protecting Lives Through Clean Hands

Learn more about the need for medical ministry — Prevention is better than cure. But what if you can’t access either? GFA World medical ministry is helping thousands who are in need of medical attention, all while displaying the love of Christ.

Read more on Medical Ministry and Medical Camps on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.


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