Freedom, Justice and Restoration – Rewriting the Tragedies of Girlhood | Part 3

September 27, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued this Special Report on the horrific realities girls face, child marriage, human trafficking, abuse & exploitation, and the restoration & redemption that God brings to their lives.

Photo of Daania with Bridge of Hope students — Because Daania was once a Bridge of Hope student herself, she has a special connection with the children under her care, like Priyasha (right), who is handicapped and was unresponsive when she first arrived. Daania spent extra time with her, showing her love and concern. Now Priyasha is responding to Daania and is learning in her studies. God is using Daania in tremendous ways as she helps ignite—through tender love, care and an education—hope for a bright future for at-risk children in Bridge of Hope. She is instilling wonderful lessons and morals into her students, just like her Bridge of Hope teachers once did for her.

Opening Doors of Opportunity

A recognition of girls’ inherent value will advance education for girls. Education helps girls learn basic skills like reading and writing, which are necessary to complete everyday tasks and conduct business in society. Education helps girls develop talents and interests. Education helps girls pursue the careers or paths that are right for them instead of being completely dependent on a husband. Ultimately, education helps girls unlock the freedom and knowledge to realize their potential.

At only 15 years old, Malala Yousafzai was nearly killed because she fought for education for girls in her region of Pakistan, where the Taliban had forbidden them from attending school. The teenager publicly spoke out about a girl’s right to attend school. Then, one day, a masked gunman boarded her school bus and shot her in the head.

“I woke up 10 days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England,” Malala remembers. “The doctors and nurses told me about the attack—and that people around the world were praying for my recovery.”

After her remarkable recovery, Malala became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. Now 23, she continues to advocate for girls worldwide: She and her father founded the Malala Fund to advance the mission of 12 years of free, safe, quality education for girls.

“Girls who complete secondary school become healthier, more prosperous adults,” writes the Malala Fund. “Girls who receive a secondary education are more able and likely to contribute fully in their families, communities and societies, as earners, informed mothers, and agents of change.”

Many impoverished families fail to educate their daughters because they are struggling just to put food on the table; they cannot afford school supplies or uniforms. However, GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program and other child sponsorship programs help make education a reality for girls in poverty. These programs often provide for school expenses, uniforms, food and tuition: the tools needed for a child to thrive academically and complete her education.

As child sponsorship programs remove a financial burden from the family, they make it more likely for parents to keep their other children in school, even if only one child can join the sponsorship program. This changes the situation for families that would be tempted to keep their daughters at home, send them to work as child laborers or marry them off at a young age.

Through child sponsorship programs, girls gain the chance to excel scholastically, develop artistic and athletic talents, eat nutritious meals and build positive relationships in a supportive, nurturing atmosphere. The gift of education also changes girls’ outlook for the future.

Salena knows her life could have been very different. “If I had not joined Bridge of Hope, I would have been looking after cows of a landlord, or I would have gotten married early and gone to my in-laws’ home, because my parents had no money to send me to school. Instead, I was given all my needs from BOH like other children in the program. I discovered my hidden talents, abilities and life’s purpose.”

Girls who once would have only looked forward to marrying young or doing menial labor jobs now dream of being teachers, police officers, nurses or engineers. They have a much greater chance of achieving higher education.

Since the inception of GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program in 2004, thousands have graduated, and many have gone on to pursue higher education or the career of their dreams.

Salena, a Bridge of Hope graduate, came from a poor background and watched her two older brothers labor in a hazardous factory. Until Bridge of Hope opened in her community, she didn’t have much to look forward to, as her parents struggled just to put food on the table for their six kids. But Bridge of Hope allowed Salena to excel in and complete her education.

“If I had not joined Bridge of Hope, I would have been looking after cows of a landlord, or I would have gotten married and gone to my in-laws’ home, because my parents had no money to send me to school,” Salena says.

“I clearly remember many nights we went to bed without food. … But then the Bridge of Hope project became … an agent of change and a stream of blessing in my life. Joy and peace came into my life as well as in my home. I was given all my needs from BOH like other children in the [program]. I discovered my hidden talents, abilities and life’s purpose.”

Girls that received sponsorship for education — This English medium school in Nepal (left) is meeting a desperate need for education, health, nutrition, moral and spiritual values in the lives of young girls and boys. In Nepal that is a huge advantage resulting in open doors and respectability in the community. Vanshika (right) in Uttar Pradesh knows that she is loved, and she has hope for her future, because this family in the photo chose to sponsor her monthly.

Resisting Child Marriage

Education can help girls avoid the trap of child marriage. At school, girls may learn about the dangers of child marriage, which can help them educate their own parents. Also, as girls acquire skills and knowledge at school, they and their families see the possibility of higher education and attractive career options.

At age 13, Krupa, a Bridge of Hope student, came home one afternoon to find a crowd of people at her house. Bewildered, she asked her mother what was happening, but she only told Krupa to follow instructions. As Krupa’s neighbor started telling her to do things, Krupa realized she was being roped into a pre-wedding ceremony. Her parents were marrying her off.

Thankfully, Krupa had learned at Bridge of Hope about the dangers of child marriage, and she had promised herself she would never marry before age 18. She wanted to attend university and become a teacher.

Desperate to stop the impending wedding, Krupa borrowed a cell phone and secretly called Bridge of Hope staff members.

“Within just half an hour, they arrived at our house like angels,” Krupa recalls. “They came directly to me without looking at anyone. All I could say to them was, ‘I am only 13. What would you do if I was your child?’ They needed nothing more to hear and understand the whole situation.”

The Bridge of Hope staff talked to Krupa’s parents and explained the laws against child marriage. Krupa’s father promised not to arrange her marriage before she turned 18.

“I thank the Bridge of Hope staff for saving me from becoming prey to the trap of child marriage,” Krupa says. “My friends and school teachers admire me for my courage, but I am just glad to be an inspiration for many young girls.”

With the help of the education she received and the support of the Bridge of Hope staff, Krupa kept her promise to herself. She finished her education, graduated from Bridge of Hope and became a teacher, just as she’d hoped. She did eventually marry at age 20, when she was old enough and educated enough to make decisions about her own life.

Family in poverty with a daughter who is a student at a local Bridge of Hope center — One of the daughters in this family in Maharashtra goes to a local Bridge of Hope center where she receives a daily meal, ongoing education and regular medical care under kind and loving teachers! GFA’s Bridge of Hope serves more than 70,000 at-risk girls and boys all across South Asia.

Bringing Freedom, Justice and Restoration to Victims of Child Labor, Trafficking, Child Marriage

Education makes girls less vulnerable to child labor, trafficking and child marriage, but justice demands the world not only protect girls from these evils but also rescue victims of trafficking and help them recover.

International Justice Mission (IJM) is one of the largest organizations working to free, defend and restore victims of trafficking. IJM and other organizations often work to track brothels where girls under age 18 are being forced to work. They work with law enforcement to remove girls from the brothels, see that perpetrators are appropriately prosecuted and help survivors to receive aftercare.

IJM 2020 Report Cover — IJM recently released a report highlighting the nature and scale of online sexual exploitation (OSEC) of children – typically younger Filipina women – in the Philippines. This study was led by IJM, in partnership with the Philippine Government and a variety of governmental stakeholders in the US and abroad. Photo by IJM.org

Earlier this year, IJM worked with police from two states in India to disrupt a cross-country sex trafficking ring. Police in one region noticed girls were being trafficked to a city on the other side of India. IJM supported the police in both states as they located a brothel where many of these girls were being held. Manisha, who had been rescued from the same brothel when she was a minor in 2018, played an instrumental role, sharing information that helped direct police to the brothel. On February 22, the teamwork of IJM, the police and Manisha led to the arrest of four suspected traffickers and the rescue of two girls who had been imprisoned in the brothel.

Many other organizations like IJM work to rescue girls from trafficking, prosecute traffickers or provide aftercare to survivors. Other organizations combat trafficking by holding businesses accountable to prevent forced labor. Through initiatives such as the Freedom Seal label, consumers can help end trafficking by supporting businesses that have taken the necessary steps to block slavery from their supply chains.

Rani Hong, the creator of the Freedom Seal initiative, fights against trafficking as someone who has survived it. Rani was trafficked when she was only 7 years old, forced to work 12 hours a day in a brick factory and kept in a cage at night. After she became physically unable to work, she was trafficked in an illegal adoption scheme.

Rani ended up in a loving home in the United States, grew up, got married, had children and eventually reconnected with her mother and siblings in India.

But Rani didn’t forget her childhood experience; she began working to prevent other children from facing the same fate. She spoke before the Washington State legislature to pass a law criminalizing human traffickers. She became a UN special adviser on the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, and she created the Freedom Seal label, mentioned above, to promote businesses free from child labor and trafficking.

Ashmita, the girl forced to work as a domestic servant, also found freedom from child labor. After government authorities learned of her situation, they placed her in a home for girls run by Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers. There, Ashmita received care and encouragement from Sisters of Compassion and other Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionaries. She got to attend school. She played and made friends with the other girls at the home, who became like sisters to her.

“I like this place so much; I like all these didis [older sisters]. They work hard for me and for all of us,” Ashmita shared. “I like this place, and I don’t [want] to leave this place and go to any other place or orphanage because of the love and care that we get here.”

Now, as Ashmita flourishes in a stable home where she is receiving education and care, she can dream about the future.

Ashmita, a girl rescued from trafficking, can now smile in safety with friends. — After the local government learned of Ashmita’s situation, they placed her in a loving home for girls, where she received constant care and encouragement, got to attend school, play and make friends with the other girls at the home, who became like sisters to her.

Writing New Chapters

In Jane Eyre, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables and most other popular coming-of-age stories about girls, the heroine gets a satisfying ending—the ending the characters and the readers both long for. Jane Eyre, Jo March and Anne Shirley find contentment accomplishing their dreams and living in safe homes with the people they love.

Real life doesn’t always bring neat, happy resolution, but it does bring the same element of hope found in those fictional stories—in an even more powerful way. In the true stories of girls such as Ruth, Ridhima and Ashmita, redemption is dawning over years of devastation and pain. As God brings restoration to their lives, they are helping many more girls to overcome the antagonists of abuse, discrimination and exploitation and to embrace their identities as daughters of the King of kings.

Ruth understands the power of this transformation as she continues to help more girls, women and communities by training younger women to minister Christ’s love to people in need.

“Let many sisters come up,” she says, “and then we will make a new history for the world and for Christ.”

Be Part of Writing a New Story

You can help write a new story for girls around the world. There are several ways you can give girls the chance to know their value in God’s eyes and to embrace the future with confidence and strength. Here are just a few:

Sponsor a girl through a child sponsorship program

Many organizations, including GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program, Compassion International and World Vision, are working to provide children with education, nutritious food and opportunities in the name of Christ. By sponsoring a girl, you can help give her education in a nurturing environment, unlocking the door for her to overcome poverty and setbacks. Even if you choose to sponsor a boy, you will still be helping these organizations advance their mission of educating both boys and girls, and you will most likely be giving this boy the opportunity to learn respect for girls and women.

Choose a Child to Sponsor

Promote awareness, justice and accountability

Because of their vulnerable position in society, girls need advocates. They need adults to educate others about the importance of defending a girl’s life, dignity, health and education from many dangers. They need adults to fight for them when they face abuse, trafficking or forced marriage. They need adults to remove corruption from business supply chains and eliminate child labor from the marketplace. To promote awareness, justice and accountability, you can partner with organizations such as International Justice Mission to provide legal help and aftercare to girls who have been subjected to trafficking, sexual abuse or child labor. You can use information from Freedom Seal and other accountability initiatives to ensure that you are only supporting businesses that prevent girls from being exploited in child labor.

Partner with women missionaries

Women missionaries can effectively minister to girls’ and women’s emotional and spiritual needs. By supporting women missionaries like Ruth through prayer and finances, you can share hope with girls who need to know there is a God who loves and values them.

Sponsor a Woman Missionary

Pray

Sometimes the most effective way to help others is to seek God’s mercy and intervention. One individual can’t remove abuse or corruption from social structures, but when one individual joins with other individuals to intercede for girls who are neglected and abused, crying out for God’s justice, the Lord transforms hearts and lives—the first step toward social transformation.

Give to Help Girls at Risk »

If you want to help girls at risk in South Asia, consider a one-time donation to stand in the gap for children who have been rescued from desperate situations of neglect, abuse, abandonment, child marriage, and trafficking, into Bridge of Hope but still lack permanent sponsors to cover their monthly needs to remain in school.

About Gospel for Asia

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) 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’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored 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 the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Rewriting the Tragedies of Girlhood — Opening Doors for Girls Deprived of Opportunities — Part 1, Part 2

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

Ending Violence Against Women — Using Programs and Education to Prevent Discrimination
An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear — Think About Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read what Christian Leaders have to say about Gospel for Asia.

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

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

Traumatized and Exploited – Rewriting the Tragedies of Girlhood | Part 2

September 20, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

Admira, a victim of child marriage, with her step mother — Admira is one of the millions of girls in Mozambique who became victims of child marriage – a reality which often forces girls to drop out of school and begin families long before they are physically or psychologically ready. Nearly 50% of all girls are married before age 18 in Mozambique which ranks it 7th on the list of countries with the highest child marriage victims. Photo and Story by Plan International

In her article for The New York Times, Hannah Beech shares the stories of Nyo and Phyu, two teenagers from Myanmar who were trafficked to China at age 16. A neighbor promised to find them waitressing jobs, but after 10 days of traveling, the girls realized that was not their fate. They tried to run away twice, but they were caught and locked in a room.

“The girls were split up, each paired with a supposed husband, although no marriage paperwork was ever filled out, to their knowledge,” writes Beech.

After going home with their new “husbands,” both girls were locked in rooms. Nyo was often beaten and raped by her “husband.” Phyu’s “husband” repeatedly injected drugs into her arm before forcing her to have sex. Eventually, Phyu and Nyo both gained access to the internet. This allowed police to track the girls down, prosecute the traffickers and “husbands,” and send the girls back to Myanmar.

But the traumatic experience left both girls with painful life circumstances.

Nyo ended up giving birth in Myanmar to a daughter by her Chinese “husband.” Phyu suffered physical and psychological damage from the abuse she experienced.

“Before this happened, Phyu was so happy and active,” Phyu’s mother told Beech. “But they gave her something to make her forget and trigger her sexuality. They beat her. She doesn’t know she is ruined.”

Trafficked

Bride and child marriage trafficking makes up only a small percentage of the trafficking of girls, a trade that has grown rapidly in recent decades.

The United Nations reports:

72%

of trafficked girls are used for sexual exploitation.

21%

of trafficked girls are used for forced labor.

are used for other purposes (such as forced child marriage, exploitative begging or coerced criminal activities).

Girls make up a rising percentage of the total detected number of trafficking victims:

10%

of total victims in 2004 are comprised of girls.

23%

of total victims in 2016 are comprised of girls.

When many think of trafficking, they imagine a woman or teenage girl being forced to work in a brothel. While this does make up a large percentage of cases, the trafficking of girls can take a variety of forms. For some, like Ashmita, it means working as a domestic servant.

After Ashmita’s father died, she and her mother moved into someone’s home to earn a living doing housework. Later, Ashmita’s mother sent her to work in another family’s home. Ashmita, who wasn’t yet 10 years old, was forced to wash dishes and clothes, mop floors and massage the legs of her employer. When Ashmita grew physically tired from the labor the house owners demanded, she was beaten and slapped. One time, the woman of the house put chili powder in Ashmita’s eyes.

For other girls, human trafficking means forced labor in the internet pornography industry, massage parlors that function as fronts for sexual exploitation, or “beggar mafia” networks. Whatever the form of trafficking, it leaves a deep, long-lasting mark on a girl’s psychology.

“Trafficking victims often find it difficult to overcome the traumatic reality of their exploitation and share details with law enforcement authorities that could aid in prosecuting their traffickers,” states the U.S. Department of State.

Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls infographic — Photo by LiveYourDream.org

Traumatized and Exploited: Child Marriage, Human Trafficking

Girls in areas of political instability, conflict or oppression become especially vulnerable to forced child marriage and human trafficking.

“Trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation occurs within all conflict areas considered, including sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, South-East Asia and others,” reports the UN. “In some refugee camps in the Middle East, for example, it has been documented that girls and young women have been ‘married off’ without their consent and subjected to sexual exploitation in neighbouring countries. Abduction of women and girls for sexual slavery has been reported in many conflicts in Central and West Africa, as well as in the conflicts in the Middle East. It has also been reported that women and girls are trafficked for forced [child marriage] in the same areas.”

Reports of such conflict-related trafficking occasionally make international news. The world waited for the return of more than 200 girls kidnapped in 2014 by Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria. News outlets recounted how the Islamic State group forced Yazidi and Christian girls into sexual slavery. In some regions, however, political instability has made the trafficking of girls an everyday reality often overlooked by the rest of the world.

Girls in areas of political instability, conflict or oppression become especially vulnerable to forced child marriage and human trafficking.

North Korean girls attempting to flee government oppression may face the greatest risk for exploitation. In China, the only country they can directly cross into, they must try to be invisible. If they are caught, China’s government will send them back to North Korea, where they will likely face prison time for illegally exiting their homeland (which may involve starvation, sexual abuse or physical torture). As a result, North Korean women and girls easily become prey for traffickers.

According to a report from the Korea Future Initiative, the vast majority of North Korean trafficking victims are girls or women aged between 12 and 29, and many became ensnared in sexual slavery less than a year after fleeing North Korea.

Most of these girls and women end up in prostitution in brothels near the China/North Korea border, while others become entrapped in the growing cybersex trade.

“Girls aged as young as 9 are forced to perform graphic sex acts and are sexually assaulted in front of webcams which are live-streamed to a paying global audience,” explains the Korea Future Initiative.

Many advocates for the girl child were themselves once girls whose stories were defined by tragedy, child marriage and abuse. — Many advocates for the girl child were themselves once girls whose stories were defined by tragedy and abuse. Yet these women have risen above those obstacles, and are helping girls and women from across the world find similar freedom, like these from Rajasthan, China, West Bengal, North Korea, and Manipur. 4th Photo by Atlas of Beauty

Confronting Conflict

In every story, there is conflict that disrupts the protagonist’s life. And in the stories of many girls’ lives, antagonists like exploitation, abuse trafficking, forced child marriage or discrimination have brought so much conflict and destruction they have nearly destroyed hope. Without intervention, many girls will never have the chance for an education or a career. They may suffer from lasting health problems due to teenage pregnancy, forced prostitution, rape or physical abuse. They may live the rest of their lives believing they shouldn’t expect anything better.

There is, however, a God who created each girl and each woman. He hears the cry of the powerless and the needy and comes to their aid, and He gives them strength to overcome trauma and oppression. There are also many people working to combat trafficking, promote education and teach the value of girls. Many of these advocates were themselves once girls whose stories were defined by tragedy and abuse. Yet these women have risen above those obstacles, and they are helping other girls and women find similar freedom.

Changing Attitudes

Women Missionaries — These women’s missionaries with Gospel for Asia (GFA World) are going from house to house to share a piece of literature, an encouraging word, a smile, or pray with someone who is willing to listen—these are small things that can really impact a woman in Asia and lift up her spirits.

Ruth’s story shifted from tragedy to hope after she met some Christian women serving in her community. They befriended the teenager, encouraged her and invited her to church. There, Ruth heard a Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor share about the love of Christ—a love that was overwhelming to a girl whose own parents didn’t value her. Ruth decided to follow this God who actually loved her.

Later she moved to another city to receive training from the church about how to help other hurting people just like herself. Before she left, she went to seek her father’s blessing, which in her culture is requested by bending down and touching an elder’s feet. Instead of blessing her, her father kicked her in the face.

During her time in Bible college, Ruth grew closer to Christ. Around the time she graduated, her pastor from her village told her she needed to come back home. Ruth’s father had changed, he said.

When Ruth got off the bus in her village, her father was waiting for her, and something happened that had never occurred before: He hugged her.

What had caused such a dramatic change in his attitude?

He had become a follower of Jesus, like his daughter. After God transformed his life, Ruth’s father began to value and support Ruth, knowing she was a gift from the Lord and not a burden.

Lasting global change in the treatment of girls starts when people recognize the value of each girl as a human being created by God. Those who recognize this will protect girls’ lives and challenge attitudes demeaning girls as less valuable than boys.

In South Asia, where rates of gender-biased abortion are still high—despite it being illegal—Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers have the opportunity to show through their example and counsel that girls have dignity and value as image-bearers of God. These men and women are able to bring change not only to girls’ lives but also to entire families and communities. As the mindsets of parents and community members change, girls live in a safer, more supportive environment.

One day, GFA pastor Kanish heard some concerning news from Rajika, a woman who attended his church along with her four daughters. Rajika’s husband, Sushil, had already been addicted to drugs. Then, after Rajika gave birth to their fourth daughter, neighbors began to mock Sushil for having no sons and only daughters. The disappointment and humiliation pushed Sushil further into a pit of depression and substance abuse. He began abusing his wife and children.

As Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionaries throughout South Asia, like Pastor Kanish, encourage parents to treasure their daughters, they help fathers like Sushil to reject negative views of their daughters and count them as blessings instead.

Thankfully, Pastor Kanish was equipped to talk to Sushil: The pastor himself had three daughters and no sons. Unlike Sushil, Pastor Kanish cherished his daughters. When he visited Rajika and Sushil’s home, he challenged Sushil’s attitude toward his daughters. He explained to Sushil that his daughters were blessings from God, not burdens.

Through the pastor’s encouragement, Sushil decided to depend on Jesus instead of alcohol and drugs. He began to pray regularly, and he welcomed others to his home for prayer meetings. As Sushil’s mindset and lifestyle were transformed, he overcame his addictions and started loving his wife and children instead of abusing them. He thanked God for restoring his life.

As God transforms the attitudes of people like Ruth’s father and Sushil, a broad impact sweeps through entire families and communities. When just one person chooses to value and support his or her daughter, this changes not only her life but also the lives she will impact one day. Moreover, this support shows others an example of a healthy family dynamic.

Give to Help Girls at Risk »

If you want to help girls at risk in South Asia, consider a one-time donation to stand in the gap for children who have been rescued from desperate situations into Bridge of Hope but still lack permanent sponsors to cover their monthly needs to remain in school.

About Gospel for Asia

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Rewriting the Tragedies of Girlhood — Opening Doors for Girls Deprived of Opportunities — Part 1, Part 3

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

Ending Violence Against Women — Using Programs and Education to Prevent Discrimination
An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear — Think About Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read what Christian Leaders have to say about Gospel for Asia.

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

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

Gospel for Asia Calls on People to Pray, Fast Now for ‘Theater of Fear’ in Afghanistan

September 1, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX — One of the world’s largest mission organizations is calling on Christians around the world not to carry on “like normal” while people in Afghanistan face terror, rape, and execution. “I pray that no church in the world worships and prays like it’s just another normal day over the coming weeks while the innocent in Afghanistan await the Taliban’s knock on their door,” said K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), founder of GFA World, a Christian organization that helps millions of vulnerable people globally.

"We need to be on our knees in prayer now" for Afghanistan 'Theatre of Fear', says KP Yohannan, GFA World missions organization founder — **PRAY FOR AFGHANISTAN ‘THEATER OF FEAR:’** Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is calling on Christians in the West not to carry on “like normal” while people in Afghanistan face terror, rape, and execution. “We need to be on our knees in prayer now,” says K.P. Yohannan, the mission organization’s founder. Join GFA World’s prayer effort for Afghanistan: http://www.gfa.org/press/PrayNow

As U.S. and allied troops complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan, Yohannan pleaded with people to “pray and fast” for the desperate situation.

“I can tell you now that many innocent people, including Christians, are likely going to die very soon in Afghanistan — and in other countries — at the hands of emboldened terrorists,” he said.

“These precious men, women and children need our prayers more than ever before.”

‘Theater of Fear’

“All the Afghan people — not only Christians — are living in a theater of fear,” Yohannan said. “I just heard first-hand reports that many people — and entire families — have been wandering in the desert wilderness for over a week, desperate to escape the country.”

According to reports, the Taliban are going door-to-door, hunting for Christians as well as Afghans who’ve assisted the United States. Males face execution on the spot, while women are raped and girls taken and forced into sexual slavery.

“Many in Afghanistan genuinely fear they will not see tomorrow,” Yohannan said. “The knock on their door could be the last they hear.”

“None of us should be acting like life is ‘normal’ while our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan wait in dread for the Taliban to come to their door. God moves when we choose to enter into the suffering of others. We need to be on our knees in prayer now.”

For information about GFA World’s prayer effort for the suffering people of Afghanistan, please visit this website: http://www.gfa.org/press/PrayNow

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. Gospel for Asia 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

Join the GFA World Prayer Team as we lift up in prayer the people of Asia and their needs. Receive prayer requests for Asia with a special focus each month. You can have a part in ministering to those in need—through our most powerful tool: prayer.

Read more blogs on Afghanistan, Prayer and Christian Persecution on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Read what 25 Christian Leaders are affirming about GFA World.

Source: GFA World Digital Media News Room, Afghanistan: GFA World Calls on People to Pray, Fast Now for ‘Theater of Fear’

Love of God Comforts Young Girl’s Empty Heart

August 2, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

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 empty heart present in children and adults alike apart from Jesus, and the comfort and love of God discovered in Gospel for Asia Sunday School.

Dacia was known to be an obedient and joyful daughter, but now she had once again defied her parents’ explicit demands. Angered at their daughter’s out-of-the-ordinary actions, Dacia’s parents laid out harsh punishment for the 12-year-old. She was not to attend the meetings, not to mingle with her friends and she was certainly not to read that Book. But all Dacia wanted was to learn more about Jesus.

An Empty Feeling Within

Discussing the empty heart present in children & adults alike apart from Jesus, & the comfort & love of God discovered through Gospel for Asia Sunday School — Children all around the world attend Sunday school just like Dacia (not pictured) was able to do thanks to Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers and others serving in this way.

Dacia grew up in a household that revolved around tradition. She and her three siblings learned to follow in their parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps, holding to the rituals passed down from generation to generation. Life for the family was good. Thanks to her hardworking father, Dacia was able to attend school, where she excelled in all her subjects. Respectful and obedient to her parents, she heeded all their teachings. But Dacia still felt as though she were missing something; an empty feeling in her spirit grew and grew.

Dacia often listened to her friends talk about songs, dances and stories that were unfamiliar to her. Curious, the young girl would ask her classmates where they had learned these things.

At the Sunday school, they replied. Her schoolmates explained that every Sunday, children met at the local church led by Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Marek. There, they were taught songs and stories related to events in God’s Word. Hearing her friends’ constant enthusiasm, Dacia wanted to attend and, the stories and songs stirred a desire to know more.

Some days passed, and still, Dacia thought about Sunday school. Then one of her classmates said something about a week-long event filled with games, stories, songs and other activities open to all children. Dacia asked her classmates if she could also go to this event. They happily invited her, but there was a problem: Dacia needed her parents’ permission to attend.

Finding Love and Joy through Gospel for Asia Sunday School

At first, Dacia’s parents would not let her go, but Dacia begged them. After near-constant imploring, Dacia’s parents relented to their daughter’s desire.

The week-long church event was full of excitement for Dacia. The days sped by, each one full of fun games, songs and dances that taught children about Jesus. Here, Dacia finally found what she had been missing: the loving arms of God.

After the event, Dacia’s heart burned to know more. She began attending the Sunday school and eventually bought her own copy of God’s Word so she could read and meditate on it every day. Months passed, and Dacia continued to grow in her love for Jesus, but when the young girl shared her newfound faith with her parents, they responded in anger. They did not think her trips to the church or her time spent in God’s Word would leave a permanent mark on their child, yet they had. And now Dacia’s mom and dad needed to put an end to it. They forbade Dacia to attend church or read the Holy Scriptures.

Faith in the Midst of Fire

Dacia could not get rid of her cherished copy of God’s Word, so she hid it at a friend’s house, where she could still go and read it. She also found a way to secretly attend church services whenever she could, but it didn’t stay a secret for long. When her parents found out Dacia had ignored their demands, they were furious and punished her severely. The emotional and physical pain Dacia endured because of her faith drove her to tears on multiple occasions.

Despite the ire and disapproval of her parents, Dacia could not separate her heart from Jesus. She found strength in reading the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit inspiring and molding the young girl’s faith. Dacia had come to truly understand just how much Jesus loves her.

Pastor Marek and her friends also encouraged her and stood with her in prayer. In the midst of strong opposition and discouragement, Dacia was able to keep her eyes fixed on Jesus. Today, she prays for her family hoping they, too, will one day find what she did: God’s unfailing love.

Please pray for Dacia, that God will give her the strength and grace she needs to not lose heart and that she will grow deeper in her relationship with Jesus. Pray her parents will recognize God’s love for them.

Read how Sunday school inspired a fearful girl to be brave.

*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, Love of God Comforts Young Girl’s Empty Heart

Learn more about the GFA World 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 about the Sunday School Ministry that can pioneer ministry work in a village, where sometimes when missionaries go into a village, the only ones willing to listen to the Good News are the children.

Read more on Sunday School on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

Fight Against Open Defecation Continues: Using Outdoor Toilets to Improve Sanitation – Part 1

May 19, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by KP Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this Special Report on the ongoing fight against open defecation, and how using outdoor toilets helps to improve sanitation.

Since I first wrote about open defecation a few years ago, efforts to combat the problem have gathered momentum. A report compiled by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in June shows the percentage of people practicing open defecation declined from 21 percent (1.3 billion) in 2000 to 9 percent (673 million) by 2017.

While this is encouraging news, there is much more to be done. The United Nations (UN) says “some 2.2 billion people around the world do not have safely-managed drinking water, while 4.2 billion go without safe sanitation services and three billion lack basic handwashing facilities.”

“Mere access is not enough,” said Kelly Ann Naylor, UNICEF’s associate director of water, sanitation and hygiene. “If the water isn’t clean, isn’t safe to drink or is far away, and if toilet access is unsafe or limited, then we’re not delivering for the world’s children.”

In addition to the UN, this multi-faceted effort includes governments, non-governmental organizations and various Christian and non-Christian charities. All have launched initiatives that include long-term goals for ending this threat to the world’s health. The UN’s global sustainable development goals include ensuring that everyone has a safe toilet and that open defecation ends by 2030.

Children investigate new toilet — Children in Cote d’Ivoire investigate their community’s newly improved toilets, one of the UNOCI’s “quick impact projects” (QIPS) which supported the rehabilitation of schools and toilets in Abidjan. UN Photo/Patricia Esteve

People using the bathroom outdoors with no toilet nearby nor sanitary treatment of their discharge has fueled disease, created serious health problems and endangered female safety by exposing them to possible rape or other abuse. Then there is the particularly stomach-turning incident from July 2018, when a 3-year-old South African boy drowned in a pit latrine—a type of crude toilet that collects feces in a hole in the ground. Four years earlier in the same province, a 5-year-old boy drowned in a school toilet.

Such horror stories help explain the need for “World Toilet Day,” which falls every year on November 19. Inaugurated in 2013, the UN-sponsored observance urges member states to encourage behavioral changes and implement policies to increase access to sanitation among the poor. Despite progress in recent years, the situation is serious, as shown by the June UN report.

Among key sanitation facts from WHO:

In 2017, only 45 percent of the global population used a safely managed sanitation service.
Two billion people do not have basic sanitation facilities, such as a toilet or latrine.
At least 10 percent of the world’s population is thought to consume food irrigated by wastewater.
Poor sanitation is linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.

In short, open defecation is a worldwide health crisis, one that demands a caring response from the world—especially those who profess to follow Christ.

GFA World supporters visit outdoor toilet installed by Believers Eastern Church in South Asia — GFA World supporters get the opportunity to visit an outdoor toilet installed by Believers Eastern Church for the benefit of multiple families in this neighborhood around Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. During 2019, 5,428 toilets like these were installed by GFA across South Asia to help improve the sanitation challenges in many developing communities.

Hanging Out with “Renegades”

For much of my adult life, I have hung out with the “renegades” of Christian missions. Namely, the relief-and-development crowd that rushes to help during natural disasters, struggles to alleviate the suffering and abasement of refugee displacement, and pays concerted attention to the struggles of people in developing nations. My first trip around the world came at the invitation of Food for the Hungry; I traveled with Larry Ward, the executive director at the time, and his wife, Lorraine.

The purpose of the trip was an international field survey with an emphasis on the world’s refugee crisis, which in the l980s was the largest since World War II. We started in Hong Kong and ended seven weeks later in Kenya, Africa. My assignment was to observe with fresh eyes and write about what I had seen. I wrote my book, The Fragile Curtain, with the help of daily briefings from the U.S. State Department and the excellent international reporting of The Christian Science Monitor (and some generous coaching from a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporter). It won a Christopher Award, a national prize for works that represent “the highest values of the human spirit.”

“I never realized,” he said, “that I would eventually measure the impact of the Gospel by how many toilets had been built in a village.”

Eventually, I brought the accumulated exposure of my world travels—some 55 countries in all—and the learning I had gathered through research and dragging through camps and slums to the board of Medical Ambassadors International (MAI), a global faith-based health organization.

Villagers from the village that received outdoor toilets — Women and girls are often at risk when open defecation is the only option for relieving themselves. Thankfully, these precious faces can smile because a toilet facility was recently built in their village.

GFA’s Story, Helping to Improve Sanitation in Asia

As I mentioned earlier, Christianity has a vital role in ending these problems. One of the organizations involved is Gospel for Asia (GFA), long close to my heart and that of my husband, David Mains. We met K.P. Yohannan, GFA’s founder, when the ministry was a mere vision in the heart of a young Indian man. It was a divine nudge that would not let up. Since then, David has traveled to Asia at the invitation of Gospel for Asia (GFA) eight times; I have visited once. We’ve watched as K.P.’s vision grew from a dream to reality, with numbers beyond anything we could have considered possible.

GFA’s website tells its vast story: In 2018 the ministry fed, clothed and schooled some 70,000 impoverished children, operated 1,128 free medical camps and constructed 6,431 toilets with dual-tank sanitation systems.

A family stands in front of a India toilet - a GFA-installed latrine or squatty potty. — This family stands in front of a latrine or “squatty potty” that was installed by GFA-supported national workers.

Gospel for Asia (GFA) started building latrines in 2012, setting a goal of constructing some 15,000 concrete outhouses by 2016. It long ago surpassed that mark. Figures for 2016 alone: 10,512 toilets installed, with another 6,364 following in 2017, and another 6,431 in 2018. Potable water, of course, travels hand in hand with sanitation. In 2018, the ministry’s field partners constructed 4,712 Jesus Wells and distributed 11,451 BioSand water filters to purify drinking water. Touching vignettes on GFA’s website make the statistics personal.

“Our family is blessed both physically and spiritually,” said one villager in Asia. “We are free from problems and sickness.…It is because of the people who have spent their money to drill a Jesus Well in my place.”

“This saved the lives of people from illness,” said another—and indeed, toilets, when and if they are used, do just that.

There, indeed, is a thread that runs through Gospel for Asia’s stories of toilets: The pastor of the church in this village or that hamlet seems to be the catalyst for health improvements.

Organizations Tackling the Sanitation Crisis

Matt Damon, founder of Water.org — Matt Damon, the founder of Water.org (photo credit Water.org)

Much of the world is in a war against the perils caused by inadequate or non-existent sanitation. People as diverse as Matt Damon, a Hollywood celebrity, award-winning actor and producer/screenwriter, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi are battling uphill against open defecation (in the sewers, in running streams, by the roadsides, in the fields and the forests, on garbage dumps, etc.).

Damon, driven by a desire to make a difference in solving extreme poverty, discovered that water and sanitation were the two basic foundations beneath much of what ails the world. Through his charity, Water.org, he and his business partner, Gary White, use microfinance loans to help underserved people connect to a service utility or build a home latrine. By 2020, more than 30 million people in 17 countries have been affected by this approach.

Prime Minister Modi campaigned to end open defecation and build latrines for India.
Photo by narendramodiofficial on Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

During his campaign for office in 2014, Modi spoke of “Toilets Before Temples.” His party’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) campaign has undoubtedly made progress, thanks in part to the $28 billion (U.S.) originally allocated, plus World Bank loans totaling another $1.5 billion.

After a Reuters News Service story last May portrayed the government as using overly optimistic results about the initiative, India’s Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation issued a release, saying its program had “succeeded in lifting more than 550 million people out of open defecation in a short period of less than 5 years.” His re-election last year may be partly due to the progress of the initiative he organized to curtail the practice.

Talking Openly About Open Defecation

Another key dilemma in this discussion—open defecation, hardly a dinner-table topic or a missions committee agenda item—is that accessibility to toilets does not always indicate usage. Changing habits is mostly a matter of changing mindsets in the face of deeply entrenched beliefs.

Some 1.5 million people die globally each year from polluted water diseases alone.

Elizabeth Royte, in a comprehensive August 2017 National Geographic magazine article, reported visiting Parameswaran Iyer, India’s secretary of drinking water and sanitation, in 2016. A hand-numbered sign on his wall tracked progress.

“You see that?” he asked. “One hundred thousand is the number of villages that are ODF today.” (ODF is the acronym for open defecation free.)

Royte, a sanitation expert traveling widely and reporting extensively, noted that Modi aimed to build more than 100 million new toilets in rural areas alone by 2019. But she added that “deep-seated attitudes may present an even bigger barrier to improving sanitation than a lack of pipes and pits.”

Echoing that observation, on World Toilet Day in 2018, The Washington Post reported: “Although increasing the number of toilets and improving their quality is important, the larger challenge is how to ensure that they actually will be used. … In our survey of 810 households in Delhi’s slums, where private toilet ownership is rare, we found that many people do not regularly use nearby public toilets, known as community toilet complexes, built specifically for slum dwellers.”

Facing the Facts about India Toilets

That being said, let’s look at data regarding the state of toilets and open defecation in Asia. Then let’s examine what development organizations, sanitation technologies and mission groups, namely Gospel for Asia, are attempting to help Asia become ODF.

Although Modi has emphasized improved sanitation, it’s worthwhile to note that India struggled with these issues even before winning independence from Great Britain in 1947. In fact, Gandhi insisted, “Sanitation is more important than temples.” Now, due to population growth, a conundrum exists: While the percentage practicing open defecation has dropped substantively, birth rates are creating an environment where more people live in geographic locations where fecal exposure is increasing, not decreasing.

37%

of the urban population—some 157 million urban dwellers—lacked a safe and private toilet, according to UK-based charity WaterAid in November 2016.

Even sewers are no guarantors of healthiness: In the capital city of Delhi, pipes are corroded; they ooze waste; and nearly a third of the booming city isn’t connected to underground lines. Many latrines flush into open drains.

700,000

—4 percent—of this urban population still defecated outdoors.

56%

only of the sewers are safely managed.

Just 1 gram of feces can contain:

100 million viruses

1 million bacteria

1 thousand parasitic cysts

These can be absorbed through cuts in the flesh, the porous nature of skin itself, or by drinking unsafe water and eating contaminated foods. Flies carry disease from roadsides and open fields.

Health figures are consequently staggering.

2,195 children

worldwide die from diarrhea each day, with the disease the second-leading cause of death for children under 5, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The chronically distressed digestive system doesn’t absorb nutrients or medicines well. Underweight mothers give birth to underweight babies.

149 million

children worldwide under the age of 5 are affected by stunting, according to the World Health Organization in 2018. And all of the above and much, much more could be cured and eliminated by the installation and use of proper sanitation systems in slums, hamlets, rural villages and large cities across India.

Photo by Kristian Bertel

Donate to Sanitation Projects

For only $540, you will help reduce the risk of common diseases by providing a family with an outdoor toilet.

About Gospel for Asia

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Fight Against Open Defecation Continues – Using Outdoor Toilets to Improve Sanitation — Part 2

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

Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas — Uprooting poverty requires education that transmits values
Winning the Ancient Conflict Between Man and Mosquito — Know Your Enemy or Succumb to Vector-borne Diseases

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read what Christian Leaders have to say about Gospel for Asia.

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

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

Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas — Part 2 by Gospel for Asia (GFA World)

May 13, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued this Special Report on the massive challenge of reducing extreme poverty worldwide, mainly through providing education, transmitting values.

Chain Reaction

One individual whose values have enabled him to rise from poverty and whose children are benefiting from his foundation can make an impact that expands his society.

Integrity is one of the qualities employers look for most. Billionaire Warren Buffett explains,

“Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.”

The workplace quickly turns dark when negative ideologies are present. But on the flipside, business benefits mankind in beautiful ways when positive values define the scene.

A business owner’s upright values will dictate the way he treats his employees. He will not stop exploiting any of the world’s 24.9 million forced laborers

or 152 million child laborers.

On the other hand, an employee with positive values will not take advantage of his boss. His honesty will strengthen the company, which in turn will strengthen their local economy.

Values also determine whether a person will be marked by crime. Education alone helps people to respect justice, and their values will only solidify that position.

A report examining the correlation of education rates and crime reduction in the U.S. revealed that increasing the male high school graduation rate by just five percent would:

decrease overall annual incidences of assault by

nearly 60,000

decrease of larceny by

more than 37,000

decrease of motor vehicle theft by

more than 31,000

decrease of burglaries by

more than 17,000

It would also prevent nearly

1,300 murders

prevent occurrences of more than

3,800 rape crimes

prevent and more than

1,500 robberies.

When an individual has the unique experience of rising out of poverty himself, he knows what others in poverty around him need. When he has the chance to be a help to others or a voice for poverty alleviation, his firsthand experience will serve him well.

Kanal with his family — “By selling the piglets, we have bought a goat and chickens, which will be another source of income for our family. We do not have any problems now paying the school fees for our children. We also purchased roofing sheets to construct our house. I thank God for all the blessings this pig has brought.” —Kanal from Arunachal Pradesh

Kanal, a father in Asia, experienced this very thing.

After years of desperately struggling with poverty, he received a piglet at a Gospel for Asia (GFA) gift distribution organized by the local church. Later, the pig had a litter of eight piglets. He sold seven of them for a sizable profit and finally had the financial breakthrough he needed to start rising out of poverty.

Over the following months, Kanal’s pig bore another 10 piglets. Each one propelled the family farther out of poverty.

Kanal’s children saw how one person’s generosity changed their family—and then they saw their father do the same thing. Even though his family had many needs, Kanal’s gratitude for his amazing gift led him to donate one piglet back to the church so another family could receive a life-changing gift. Then Kanal approached one of his neighbors who also struggled with poverty and gave them a piglet as well. His neighbor would raise the piglet, and when it was ready to go to market, they would share the profits. Kanal is on his way out of poverty, and he plans to bring others out with him, too.

Ashima, a young girl in Asia, received help much as Kanal did. Her help, however, came in the form of tutoring, moral lessons, food and school supplies through GFA World’s Bridge of Hope Program.

Bridge of Hope Teacher — Bridge of Hope teachers, like this gentleman in West Bengal, typically serve children from impoverished situations, including those kids whose parents are affected by leprosy. They provide their students with a quality education, a daily nutritious meal, loving care and practical supplies like soap, schoolbags, and school uniforms.

“Before coming to the Bridge of Hope,” Ashima said, “I was not able to study seriously because of the problem and inconvenience at home, and the financial problem that we are going through.”

Ashima’s problematic home life and lack of guidance led her to skip school and waste her educational opportunities. Sadly, Ashima’s instructor scolded and punished her instead of teaching her the values she needed to succeed.

But then through Bridge of Hope, Ashima received the guidance she needed to develop positive character traits and values, which enabled her to excel in her studies—and in life. Less than a year later, Ashima’s story was quite different.

“My future ambition is that I want to become a medical doctor,” she shared. “Especially I want to serve the poor from our society because … once we were very poor, and because we were poor, we were not able to buy so many things. It affected us very badly. And now, because Bridge of Hope is here, this is helping poor and the needy people like us. I also want to help and serve all the poor children and poor people who are suffering.”

Ashima is one more person being lifted out of poverty because of empowering values—one more life being equipped to help others escape extreme poverty.

Girl receiving school supplies from Bridge of Hope center — Most parents of Bridge of Hope children are unable to afford their child’s school fees let alone other essentials, such as stationery and other school supplies, uniforms, and toiletries, so Bridge of Hope provides all these essentials through sponsors from America and Canada, relieving the parents of a great financial burden. Here, Ashima receives a few supplies that will help her and meet some of her family’s needs.

What Can We Do?

Children studying in Bridge of Hope Center — These children are being tutored at a GFA Bridge of Hope center in Nepal. Each child is given the education and opportunity to have the courage they need to transform their generation and the ones after them.

As astonishing as it may be, one person can make a significant impact on global poverty. Jesus changed countless cultural and societal norms when He came to earth and taught profound new ways of thinking. Notably, the values Christ embodied have a life-altering impact, and even today, where the Church serves, lives improve. As far back as Apostle Paul’s time, values led the early church to share among each other to the extent that “nor was there any among them who lacked” (Acts 4:34). Uprooting extreme poverty community by community is not impossible, but it requires determination and positive foundational values.

A person looking for ways to fight extreme poverty will find countless organizations to partner with through donations. That is the easy part.

But each person must, in addition, consider the following: What values are they promoting? What are their children and co-workers learning from them? Do their daily activities uplift others? Or are they reinforcing negative values, even if those values are a few steps removed?

In recent years, more people have become aware of the human rights issues present throughout many supply chains. And because people are choosing to live in accordance with positive values, they are supporting the companies that reflect those same values, such as treating employees well and paying them an honest wage. Taking steps as simple as supporting companies with ethical supply chain practices can diminish the world’s poverty.

Another critical step toward poverty eradication is equipping and supporting excellent teachers. Educational workers play a vital role in children’s development, for obvious reasons. Their influence, knowledge and teaching skills have the potential to transform a child’s life—or to destroy it.

Zaid Adil Sultan, a manager at a refugee camp in Iraq, relates a sobering example. When a militant group gained control of the region, its leaders inserted new teachers and programs into schools. The ideologies held by the group infiltrated curriculums, teaching children as young as 6 or 7 to use weapons.

“They gave them ‘courses’ that encouraged violence,” Sultan said. “In math, instead of teaching them that one plus one equals two, they taught them that one bullet plus one bullet equals two bullets.”

Bridge of Hope teacher with student — Education transmits values. As individuals and nations, we bear the responsibility to teach the next generation the ideas and values that will promote upward movement, not deeper poverty. This Bride of Hope teacher in Karnataka is assisting this student to improve in his studies and in building his character.

He went on to explain how children have been severely scared by indoctrination. Specialized workshops have opened to help children recover, but removing the damaging ideologies from young minds has proved difficult.

“The hardest age to treat is boys from 14 years old to 17,” Sultan said. “People have told me that before their sons went to those schools, they were okay, but after they went, they were coming home hitting their siblings and threatening to kill them.”

Education transmits values. As individuals and nations, we bear the responsibility to teach the next generation the ideas and values that will promote upward movement, not deeper poverty. Amazing teachers and professors around the world are helping children learn the skills and values necessary to thrive in life—and we thank them for their dedication. Yet many children live in places where negative values dominate ways of thinking, even among educational staff, and where poverty abounds.

Every culture is susceptible to damaging ideologies and to the poverty those ideas can generate. But great change is possible as individuals examine what values they are reinforcing and partner with educators who promote the positive values every child, family and community needs to rise out of extreme poverty.

A closing word from Dr. King:

“Education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals…
The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”

Provide a Values-centric Education to Children at Risk in Asia

If you want to help children at risk in South Asia, consider a one-time donation to stand in the gap for boys and girls who need to be freed from hopeless situations into Bridge of Hope, where they can receive an education that transmits positive values, and provides a hope-filled future.

Provide Values-centric Education to Children at Risk in Asia »

About Gospel for Asia

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas — Uprooting poverty requires education that transmits values — Part 1

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

The Scandal of Starvation in a World of Plenty — World Hunger’s Ugly Truths Revealed
Poverty: Public Enemy #1 — Eliminating Extreme Poverty Worldwide is Possible, But Not Inevitable

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read what Christian Leaders have to say about Gospel for Asia.

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

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

Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas — Part 1 by Gospel for Asia (GFA World)

May 12, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

In my original special report for Gospel for Asia titled Solutions to Poverty-line Problems of the Poor and Impoverished, I explored education’s impact on extreme poverty eradication. This update explores the idea that uprooting poverty requires education that transmits positive values.

Reducing extreme poverty is a massive challenge. Groups around the globe approach the issue in a variety of ways, the most common of which is by providing education. A strong, multifaceted link bonds poverty and lack of education, so experts around the globe are attempting to bring education into poverty-stricken areas.

E.F. Schumacher
Photo by The Schumacher Institute

But even with academic lessons and increased school attendance among low-income families, children will be short-changed if in the end they don’t gain the ultimate endowment: ideas and values that empower them to thrive.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” According to Aristotle, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

E.F. Schumacher writes in his influential economics book Small Is Beautiful, “The task of education would be, first and foremost, the transmission of ideas of value, of what to do with our lives. There is no doubt also the need to transmit know-how, but this must take second place, for it is obviously somewhat foolhardy to put great powers into the hands of people without making sure that they have a reasonable idea of what to do with them.”

“When people ask for education,” Schumacher continues, “they normally mean something more than mere training. … I think what they are really looking for is ideas that would make the world, and their own lives, intelligible to them.”

Why do ideas and values matter so much? Because they have the power to transform the world—to uproot global poverty.

Concepts like honesty, diligence, respect, compassion and valuing human life are widely acknowledged as good—yet in many communities around the world these values are not being demonstrated or taught to children. When one individual has a foundation of beneficial values like these, he or she can impact other lives, from their own family to the entire world. For the sake of simplicity, our individual will be referred to as “he,” although both males and females are able to make incredible changes to the world around them.

Children listening intently in Bridge of Hope center class — The staff at this Bridge of Hope Project Center in West Bengal provide their children with an ongoing education and transmit positive values with utmost care and responsibility.

Personal Impact of Ideas, Education

Schumacher defined education’s primary purpose as being the transmission of values. Positive values and ideas make a significant impact on one individual, and global change is impossible without changed individuals. The story of a young boy in Asia exemplifies the life-changing power of education plus ideas.

Children in Bridge of Hope center posing together with teachers — Where this GFA Bridge of Hope center is located, around 40-50 percent of children drop out of school after fifth or sixth grade. Thankfully, these children pictured will have a higher success rate because of the help and encouragement that Bridge of Hope is to them and their families.

Six-year-old Bir helped his farming family by scavenging for plastic bags they could use to take their produce to market. His community held fast to time-honored traditions, which ensured stability but also locked families into generations of poverty.

Even though Bir’s family lived in poverty, the young boy still had the gift of attending school. But he floundered in the classroom. His books were filled with valuable information, and his teachers taught lessons that had the potential to change Bir’s life, but Bir lacked the discipline of listening and didn’t know how to get the knowledge from his books into his mind. The shame from his terrible grades stamped out the little boy’s motivation. Education was in his hands, but it wasn’t enough.

Then a GFA World Bridge of Hope center opened in his village. Bir and dozens of other kids in the village enrolled, eager to receive free tutoring and supplemental education.

Most of the children attending Bridge of Hope live in deep poverty. Many reside in places where impoverished children grow up hearing they aren’t important, they can’t ever amount to much, and they don’t deserve anything better. But at Bridge of Hope, they hear something very different.

Alongside their schoolwork, Bridge of Hope children learn lessons on values such as diligence, honesty, kindness, respect and more. They learn their lives matter—no matter how poor their families are or how behind they are in their studies. Students thrive under the enriched education they receive from their Bridge of Hope teachers, and they gain courage and motivation to make the best of their lives.

Through these foundational teachings at his Bridge of Hope center, Bir changed. He saw his potential and diligently applied himself to his studies—and to his chores at home. He learned to honor his parents, and he worked hard. By the time Bir completed 10th grade, he stood at the top of his class. Armed with impressive grades and strong values undergirding his choices and habits, Bir could pursue a college education with every reason to hope for continued success in life.

Education changed Bir’s life, but it wasn’t through academics alone. The right values enabled Bir—and thousands of other children like him—to succeed in schooling and find a better way of life. For the rest of their lives, Bridge of Hope children like Bir will know they, along with every other person, have worth and purpose. They will have the know-how to pursue their goals and to help those around them. They will become promising citizens any nation would be proud to claim as their own.

Bridge of Hope teachers and students — At the center, Bridge of Hope teachers have fun with the children to compliment their studies. In addition, BOH staff periodically visit their children and their families at their homes, which helps strengthen their relationship further. The children enjoy talking and interacting with BOH teachers whenever they visit, and the values of love and kindness get transmitted beyond their school life into their home life as well.

Ideas’ Impact on the Family

Thanks to quality, value-centered education, children become well-rounded, capable, confident adults. They know how to implement knowledge to better themselves and others, and they have a sense of participation in the world around them.

How will they impact their future families?

Parents play an undeniably important role in children’s lives. According to an article on parenting skills from Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development, “Many of the skills children acquire during the early years are fundamentally dependent on the quality of their interactions with their parents. For instance, parents play an important role in fostering children’s early learning (e.g., language and problem-solving abilities) and in shaping their social-emotional skills (e.g., emotion regulation, reactivity to stress and self-esteem).”

The article goes on to state how the parents’ involvement with their child heavily influences the future success of the child’s cognitive potential, social skills and behavioral functioning.

Anna J. Egalite, assistant professor of education at North Carolina State University, reaffirms the impact of parents’ education on a child’s success. She writes, “In most studies, parental education has been identified as the single strongest correlate of children’s success in school, the number of years they attend school, and their success later in life.”

Values are always passed along from one generation to the next—but they can be beneficial or detrimental. A parent who values the rights and dignity of others will teach their children to do likewise, even if they live in poverty and their society mistreats them because of their low status. A parent whose diligence and integrity enabled them to overcome financial and societal obstacles will encourage their child to press on in the same way. Their message to their children will be, “You can do it!” Conversely, a parent who doubts their worth and that of others, or who was discouraged from rising above “their station” will likely pass a dooming message to their children, squelching aspirations for a better life.

Poverty is a heritage millions of children receive—and wrestle to be free of. UNICEF estimates 375 million children are living in poverty. But when parents or teachers pass an education, filled with empowering ideas, into those young hands, the horizon holds incredible opportunity. The foundation of global poverty quivers, just one generation later.

GFA Pastor teaching children by the street — In this village in Meghalaya where not one person was literate, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor is teaching these little children how to read and write, and showing the love of God in the process.

Ideas’ Impact on Society

History provides ample examples, some inspiring and some horrifying, of how ideas and values impact society and poverty.

A widow with her children — Assam: In many parts of Asia, when a mother is widowed, she is often shunned by her community, friends and family, leaving her and her children in a pressing state of survival, with often no hope for a better future.

Some values led to the formation of the slave trade, while other values led to its abolition. Some ideologies spurred violence, while others prompted the construction of relief camps and orphanages. The ideas propelling men like Stalin and Hitler left behind a wake of death and poverty. These examples reveal the importance of having positive guiding values.

The plight of the world’s 258 million widows, and hundreds of thousands of people with leprosy, reveals how harmful ideas actively reinforce poverty in our time.

Widows and leprosy patients in Asia typically live in positions of great need. Misfortune has made their lives very challenging, yet very few people around them consider them worthy of generosity.

Despite living where honor is a key fiber of the culture, widows of any age may be cast out of the home, abandoned to fend for themselves or easily taken advantage of. Many cultures hold the idea that a husband’s death is the fault of the wife; thus, when the husband dies, the widow “deserves” to be shunned. Over the decades, that idea has irreparably harmed the lives of countless widows and their young children, who also suffer the consequences of their mother’s rejection and subsequent poverty.

Similarly, leprosy patients are commonly expelled from their homes, disowned by their family members and even divorced on the grounds of their diagnosis. Poverty quickly fills the void created by retreating family members.

Neither a husband’s death nor a disfiguring disease justifies neglecting a human being. But in many societies in Asia and other parts of the world, this neglect is the norm and is even supported through legislation.

When individuals have the unique experience of rising out of poverty, they know what others in poverty around them need. When they have the chance to be a help to others or a voice for poverty alleviation, their firsthand experience will serve them well.

But look at what happens when positive values enter a widow’s life and replace damaging ones.

Last year, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) shared the story of a woman in Asia named Prina. When her two sons had grown, she discovered she had leprosy. Not long after her diagnosis, her husband was murdered during a land dispute. Prina now bore the double burden of leprosy and widowhood, both of which brought great ostracism from her community.

Prina was not forced to make her own way in the world, as many others have been, nor did she fall into extreme poverty as a result. But her son’s family, with whom she lived, banished her to one room in the house. None dared enter it. They brought her food once a day but only stood at the door. Prina was alone.

Then one day, some women from a local GFA Women’s Fellowship came to Prina’s home. Unlike most others in their culture, they did not fear Prina’s status as a widow or her disease. The women treated Prina with respect and love—something Prina had not experienced for many years.

The Women’s Fellowship team explained that Jesus loved her. Hearing this, Prina’s heart lifted. She mustered her courage and ventured out of her home to attend a worship service with her new friends. There, she received love and acceptance. And soon, after much prayer, Prina received healing from the physical pain her disease caused.

Prina’s son and the entire community witnessed a better way to treat widows and leprosy patients, and it left an impression. The values of unconditional love and compassion, lived out by a few women in the name of Christ, transformed Prina’s situation. And these values can transform so many more.

Provide Values-centric Education to Children at Risk in Asia »

About Gospel for Asia

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas — Uprooting poverty requires education that transmits values — Part 2

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

The Scandal of Starvation in a World of Plenty — World Hunger’s Ugly Truths Revealed
Poverty: Public Enemy #1 — Eliminating Extreme Poverty Worldwide is Possible, But Not Inevitable

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read what Christian Leaders have to say about Gospel for Asia.

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

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

Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope Provides Bright Future for Young Girl

May 3, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide – Discussing Acenath, her widow mother and their impoverished family, the struggles of poverty and malnutrition, and Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope that provides a bright future for the young girl and many like her.

Acenath’s life changed drastically at the young age of 3 when her father died of a heart attack. Her mother—grieving the loss of her husband—spiraled into a mental illness that kept her from caring for her family, which left Acenath and her older sister, Eilise, dependent on their aging grandmother and the kindness of their uncle and aunt for survival.

Barely Surviving

Discussing Acenath, her widow mother, their impoverished family, the poverty, malnutrition, & Gospel for Asia's Bridge of Hope that provides a bright future — Like this young girl, Acenath is grateful for every blessing she’s received since she began attending GFA’s Bridge of Hope program, and she takes great care of her belongings.

Before his death, Acenath’s father worked the family’s farmland to provide for his family’s needs. With his passing and the incapacity of Acenath’s mother, Acenath’s uncle and aunt took over the farm. While they gave a portion of the farm’s produce to Acenath’s family, they kept much of the food for themselves in payment for their work. The small portion left over was not enough for Acenath’s family’s survival. The girl’s grandmother, Taran, worked long hours in neighboring fields to help provide for her granddaughters’ needs. Acenath and her sister were surviving, but barely.

Besides her nutritional needs, Acenath desperately needed the love of her parents. Unfortunately, her mother was emotionally and physically unavailable. She often kept to herself and did not speak. At times, the distressed mother couldn’t even recognize her daughters, and when she did speak, she treated them harshly. Acenath could no longer remember her father’s face.

Disheveled and malnourished, the two sisters trudged to school each day, wearing proof of their family’s destitution on their young shoulders and gaunt faces. Recognizing their impoverished situation, Acenath and Eilise painstakingly cared for their scant belongings—a single school uniform, which they washed every day, and two dresses apiece. The few school supplies they did own came from their uncle and aunt in response to the pleas of their grandmother. Tears often stained the girls’ cheeks as they mourned their lack of life’s basic necessities.

A Passionate Plea for Help

When Acenath was in fourth grade, staff members from GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program came to visit their students in her neighborhood. Upon seeing the staff members, Taran hurried out to meet them, begging for an opportunity for her granddaughters to attend Bridge of Hope, which she knew could provide the help she needed to take care of Acenath and Eilise. The tears streaming down her cheeks reinforced the desperation of her cries.

Moved by Taran’s passionate request and the family’s long-time struggle, the staff members offered to enroll Acenath. The day Acenath began attending Bridge of Hope was an unforgettable moment. Though she approached the door timidly, Acenath was grateful for the opportunity and knew her life was about to change for the better.

The center provided her with a school uniform, shoes and school supplies. Acenath also received toiletries for proper hygiene, medical checkups and nutritious meals. Her health, studies and hope for a better life all improved rapidly. The bright look on her face, the high grades in her studies and the evidence of her budding personality all bore testimony to the positive impact of Bridge of Hope on Acenath’s life.

Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope Brings Hope for the Future

Acenath wasn’t the only one who benefited from Bridge of Hope. She shared the resources she received from the center with her older sister, Eilise. Together, they began to cook and care for their grandmother as she grew older. Sometimes, the three attended the local church together and welcomed the continued prayers of the pastor for their family.

“Even if Eilise did not get admission, she gets some help through Acenath, which is very much enough for me,” Taran said. “My grandchild’s life is settled. I [don’t have enough words] to express my thanks for the love and kind hearts of the staff here. … My children will always be grateful to this institution.”

While Acenath is still concerned for her mother and saddened by the passing of her father, she is grateful for the love she’s received from her family, her tutors at Bridge of Hope and God.

Acenath now looks to the future with hope. She dreams of becoming a teacher and providing children with the education she has been blessed to receive.

Read how Bridge of Hope helped another grandmother care for her two granddaughters.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, GFA’s Bridge of Hope Provides Bright Future for Young Girl

Learn more about the GFA World Bridge of Hope program and how you can make an incredible difference in the lives of children, bringing hope to their lives and their families, transforming communities.

Read more on Poverty and Bridge of Hope on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

Family Finds Hope and Healing Through Gospel for Asia’s Helping Hands

April 12, 2021 By GFA Staff Writer

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 Sezia and her family, desperate for helping hands – physically, financially and emotionally – and the life transforming hope and healing used by God through Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope Center.

Discussing a family desperate for helping hands - physically, financially & emotionally - & hope & healing from God through Gospel for Asia bridge of hope — Sezia (pictured) is grateful for the Bridge of Hope center’s impact on her life.

Sezia and her sister returned to their small tea-estate house tired, hungry and soaking wet. After their father had walked out on the family, they were left with only their mother’s meager income from working in the tea fields. Unable to afford bus fare, the girls walked two-and-a-half miles to their school, often fighting rain and cold winds.

After drying herself and checking on her sickly younger sister Kachina, who was born with a hole in her heart, 10-year-old Sezia went to the kitchen to reheat the small amount of food their mother left for them on the clay stove and to boil some water for tea, as there was no money to buy powdered milk. Sezia wiped her tired eyes as she sat down to her dinner, knowing the meager fare would not stop the hunger pangs from following her to school the next morning.

Her young heart was heavy with the burdens of her family: from her father’s reckless, cruel, adulterous behavior to her sister’s worrisome health condition. Sezia and her family were desperate for help and support—physically, financially and emotionally.

Gospel for Asia Helping Hands, a Listening Ear

One Saturday, Gospel for Asia (GFA) worker Adahy visited Sezia, her sisters, and her mother, who was home sick that day. Adahy shared words of hope and encouragement with the family and told them about the love of Jesus. He listened intently to the family’s sad story as Sezia’s mother, Riko, poured out her heart’s pain. Touched by Riko’s obvious agony, Adahy prayed for God’s blessing and protection for the family, and that God would heal Kachina of her heart problem.

Before leaving, Brother Adahy told Riko about the Bridge of Hope center near their home, which would provide free tuition for school and would help tremendously to ease the financial burdens of the family.

Hopeful New Beginnings

The next day, Sezia eagerly went with her mother to the Bridge of Hope center, where staff welcomed them and enrolled Sezia immediately. Sezia began her studies the next day, with all her materials provided free of charge by the center. Though at first she struggled, Sezia picked up on her lessons quickly and improved in her studies, thanks to the excellent care provided by the Bridge of Hope teachers.

Sezia also joined Brother Adaya in praying for her young sister’s complete healing. Two months later, Kachina began eating more and showing signs of improved health; her breathing difficulty had ceased, and she was growing! Sezia was overjoyed to see this improvement in her younger sister and was encouraged to know God had heard her innocent prayers.

Sezia is filled with gratitude for Bridge of Hope, and to God, for providing for her family’s needs.

“I was sad before going to the Bridge of Hope center that I could not study well, and that my mother could not afford to pay for our education,” Sezia said. “I am now studying in grade 6 and have gotten good results for my grade 5 exam, which is because of God’s help and the guidance of the Bridge of Hope center teachers. … I thank Jesus and the Bridge of Hope center teachers for loving me and giving me a good education.”

Read how Bridge of Hope helped Bhagya in both school and life.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Family Finds Hope, Healing Through Helping Hands

Learn more about the Sisters of Compassion – those who are specially trained woman missionary with a deep burden for showing Christ’s love by physically serving the needy, underprivileged and poor.

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

COVID-19 ‘Feeds Growing Evil’ of Human Trafficking, Says Gospel for Asia

December 21, 2020 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Discussing new report stating how COVID 19 pandemic has “cemented human trafficking as the 3rd biggest illicit trade on the planet.”

COVID-19 is feeding the “growing evil” of human trafficking, pulling more of the world’s children into slavery and sexual exploitation, a new report reveals. The pandemic has “cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind illegal arms sales and drugs,” says the report by Texas-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World).

“The global pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk and deepened the cunning of the traffickers,” says the report, (https://www.gfa.org/press/human-trafficking/), citing worsening poverty and hunger as key drivers of the $150 billion a year global slave trade.

“The horrific exploitation of children and young adults for sex and forced labor is the most vile crime,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan. “We must act now to cut off this growing evil.”

Travel and border restrictions — intended to slow the spread of the virus — have driven traffickers underground and made victims more difficult to identify, the report says. Of the estimated 20-30 million slaves in the world today, four out of every five are women or girls.

The COVID 19 pandemic has "cemented human trafficking as the 3rd biggest illicit trade on the planet," says Gospel for Asia (GFA World) — **COVID-19 ‘FEEDS GROWING EVIL’ OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING:** COVID-19 is feeding the “growing evil” of human trafficking, pulling more of the world’s children into slavery and sexual exploitation, a new report by humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reveals.

A Wider Net

The surge in online activity due to lockdowns is giving traffickers a wider net to entrap potential victims, including children. Police in Canada warn that “chatter in dark web forums” shows predators view the pandemic as an opportunity to lure children into the sex industry.

In some parts of Asia, traffickers enlist or coerce parents and other relatives to sell their children to “placement agencies” — fronts for domestic slavery.

Predators are even “masquerading as helpers” to find new victims. “Forced prostitution and chosen sex work are going to acquire a new momentum in the post-COVID-19 world,” the report says.

Interpol, the international police agency, says the pandemic “has not blunted the determination of organized crime groups to prey on the vulnerable.”

Traffickers are taking even greater risks, too often resulting in the tragic deaths of their victims. In March, 64 African migrants suffocated in a shipping container; in May, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in England; and in June, a former official in Arkansas pleaded guilty to smuggling women into the U.S. to put their babies up for adoption.

In Europe’s lucrative soccer industry, it’s estimated there are 15,000 trafficking victims every year.

Emergency Interceptors

Faith-based humanitarian groups like GFA World and International Justice Mission are on the frontlines in the fight against slavery — with GFA World’s indigenous workers acting as “emergency interceptors” in city slums and remote villages where millions are easy prey for predators.

“Through vocational training for women, protecting girls by providing safe water access, and our Bridge of Hope children’s program, we’re saving tens of thousands from falling victim to traffickers,” said Yohannan, author of Never Give Up. “This is how we confront the evil of human trafficking head-on, and show people the love of God.”

Read another story on how the Lord is using Gospel for Asia to bring relief to those in need during COVID 19.

Those interested in supporting GFA World’s COVID 19 relief efforts in Asia, should go to: http://www.gfa.org/press/covid-19.

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

About Gospel for Asia

Learn more by reading these Special Reports:

Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten — Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others
Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights — Wherever Poverty and Oppression Exist

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

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

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

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

Source: GFA World Press Room, COVID-19 ‘Feeds Slave Trade, Sexual Exploitation’ Says Gospel for Asia (GFA World)