Literacy: A Great Miracle Cure for the Human Spirit (Illiteracy Post 1 by Gospel for Asia)

Last updated on: August 17, 2022 at 2:56 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on illiteracy, the dominant disabler to flourishing for millions around the world, and the miraculous potential of literacy that is able to change the lives of men, women and children for generations.

Resolving the Limitations Illiteracy Places on the Human Spirit

Few of us who have read all our lives understand the nearly miraculous potential of being able to read and write when illiteracy has been the dominant disabler to flourishing. Illiteracy is more dominant than poverty, more dominant than a chronic physical disability, and more dominant than even an oppressive social system.

We readers have long lost the joy of discovering that the squiggly marks on a page of paper can be interpreted or that the same kinds of marks can be learned and replicated with chalk, ink, pen or pencil. We don’t understand because we read and write and often take for granted the treacherous limitations illiteracy places on the human spirit as well as on human potential.

Perhaps one story from Gospel for Asia (GFA) will help us again remember the wonder of our own unrecognized reading and writing capacities. This is about Mandeepa.

This is Mandeepa. Her widowed mother was too poor to send her to school when she was younger, so she grew up illiterate. After she learned of God’s love as a teenager, she deeply desired to read God’s Word, but she couldn’t read or write.

Due to the early death of her father, Mandeepa and her five other siblings were raised by a struggling mother. None of these six children were able to attend school, and at the age of 13, Mandeepa started to work as a household maid to support her single parent. Eventually, as is frequently the case, a marriage was arranged for Mandeepa, which quickly produced a son and a daughter.

At the age of 16, Mandeepa started attending a local church where the young woman received a Bible of her own—but having never learned to read and write, she, of course, only saw strange markings on the page. Her heart was filled with a longing to read the words and to learn more about the Heavenly Father the book taught about, but this was impossible, and the young woman was disconsolate.

Mandeepa’s husband was also illiterate. Their daughter was fortunate to attend school, but her growing ability to read only pointed out the lack in her mother’s education. How Mandeepa wished she could help her daughter with her schoolwork. This parental lack only increased the woman’s desire to read and write like her children.

Then the Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Women’s Fellowship at her church-initiated literacy learning classes.

Mandeepa was now 32 years old, and after a year of study, she could finally read the Bible she had received 16 long years before. One of the first things she did when this “great miracle cure” began to have effect on her, banishing the shame and frustration of ignorance caused by lack of education, was to memorize John 14:15: “If you love Me, keep my commandments.”

Gospel for Asia points out that there are more than 250 million women in Asia today who are illiterate. It’s impossible for them to help their children with schoolwork. In addition, the instructions on medicine bottles, road signs, notices from the government and legal papers are all indecipherable— and this in a society that is increasingly dependent upon the written word. Those who desire to read God’s Word can’t do so. Technology can’t be accessed unless a user is highly literate. One must be able to spell, to read commands, to type letters that form words if the digital world is to be accessed.

Illiteracy is more dominant than poverty,
more dominant than a chronic physical disability,
and more dominant than even an oppressive social system.

Illiteracy is a kind of intellectual limbo, and no matter how naturally intelligent a person might be, the very descriptor “illiterate” indicates inferior mental capability.

Worldwide, entire villages with increasing levels of literacy are making social and economic gains when even just a small percentage of the villagers learn to read and write. Much data (a preponderance of which is examined under the general category of education) gives good cause to make the assumption that learning to read and write is one of the “great miracle cures.”

UNESCO does a thorough job of establishing the difficulty of conducting evidence- based data gathering as to the specific impact of literacy on individuals and communities, but it makes a broad generalization by stating in one article, “The ‘multiplier effect’ of literacy empowers people, enables them to participate fully in society and contributes to improve livelihoods. Literacy is also a driver for sustainable development in that it enables greater participation in the labour market; improved child and family health and nutrition; reduces poverty and expands life opportunities.”

Asia: Manju is teaching several women how to read and write in a literacy class hosted in the women’s house in 2011. Illiteracy is often cured by an army of tutors like this. Opportunities to volunteer and serve to erase illiteracy, and spread the miracle of reading and writing, are numerous.

Why Is Literacy a Great Miracle Cure?

Hopefully, this article will inspire the reader about participating in some way in the joy of giving the gifts of reading and writing to other humans. The outcomes of such literacy initiatives are far beyond the investment of a few hours on the part of a tutor or of a volunteer week or some summer months overseas dedicated to literacy training and teaching. It is well worth considering teaching others how to read and write, or attending discussion groups at the local library where ESL (English as Second Language) learners are expanding their conversational skills, or volunteering with any of a multitude of organizations that welcome short-term teachers who are able to travel overseas. The opportunities for working literacy miracles are many and far-reaching.

Volunteering with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) overseas is, indeed, not only beneficial to individual learners who with literacy skills can obtain higher-paying jobs above menial labor and have the means to educate their own children, but also to whole villages and countries where the literacy aggregate continues to grow, or what has been referred to above as “the multiplier effect.”

250 million

women in Asia today are illiterate

All statistical evidence shows that one individual who is given reading and writing skills greatly improves his/her chances of success. Increasing literacy of individuals also greatly enhances the society in which those people live. A study conducted in Charleston, North Carolina, determined that “illiteracy is a multifaceted social equity and justice problem that results in less job opportunities and low income, often poverty.”

The reporting continues to explain that employers are often careful not to allow low-skilled workers to work more than 30 hours at minimum wage, because hours accrued above this level must provide workers with benefits and paid time off. This limit means poverty or near-poverty for a certain demographic of workers, which then sets in motion the need for community government to provide welfare assistance. The Trident Literary Association of Charleston, South Carolina, notes that food and medical assistance are often necessary when someone lives below the poverty line, especially if children are present:

“Letting our people live in poverty can cost the Charleston community over $15,000 for ONE adult for only ONE year. This does not count the cost of any children each adult may have. When over 86,000 adults in the tri-county area don’t have a high school diploma or a GED, the community could incur costs of up to $1.3 BILLION in public assistance to help those people survive.”

If this is true in a mostly literate community, how does illiteracy impact countries with large demographics of people who can neither read or write? The consensus across the data is that illiteracy interferes with the flourishing of citizens within a community.

The Literacy Foundation, located in Quebec, lists:

Specific negative incomes of illiteracy on both individuals and society. For individuals, the impacts include:

“A limited ability to obtain and understand essential information;
“An unemployment rate two to four times higher among those with little schooling compared to those with bachelor’s degrees;
“Lower income;
“Lower-quality jobs;
“Precarious financial position;
“Little value given to education and reading within the family, often leading to intergenerational transmission of illiteracy;
“Low self-esteem, which can lead to isolation;
“More workplace accidents, longer recovery times and more misuse of medications due to not understanding health care resources and procedures.”

And for a community whose citizens have a high illiteracy rate, societal impacts include:

“Since literacy is essential for individuals and states to be competitive in the new global knowledge economy, many positions remain vacant for lack of adequately trained personnel;
“The higher the proportion of adults with low literacy proficiency, the slower the overall long-term GDP growth rate is;
“Difficulty understanding societal issues lowers the level of community involvement and civic participation.”

Defining Literacy

Like many topics, the meaning of literacy has nuances: Someone might say they are illiterate about opera, meaning they are uninformed, uninterested or unexposed to this art form. The same implications could be attributed to a person who is “illiterate” about immigration. At its most elemental level, however, to be illiterate means that a person cannot read or write or can only decipher words in a minimal way. Literacy Advance says the definition is even more complex:

“Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen, and use numeracy and technology, at a level that enables people to express and understand ideas and opinions, to make decisions and solve problems, to achieve their goals, and to participate fully in their community and in wider society.”

Illiteracy is most prevalent in developing countries. South Asian, Arab and Sub- Saharan African countries are regions with the highest illiteracy rates at about 40 to 50 percent. East Asia and Latin America have illiteracy rates in the 10–15 percent region, while developed countries have illiteracy rates of a few percent.

Within ethnically homogenous regions, literacy rates can vary widely from country or region to region. This often coincides with the region’s wealth or urbanization, though many factors play a role.

Odisha, India: Thirty-five ladies gather for a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported women’s literacy class three days a week. The class takes place Monday through Wednesday. Once they achieve their goal in teaching these ladies how to read and write, the Sisters of Compassion will begin another Adult Literacy Class elsewhere in the neighborhood.

Literacy — One of the Great Miracle Cures: Part 2 | Part 3

This Special Report article originally appeared on GFA.org.

Learn more about the Women’s Literacy Program, and how you can help over 250 million women in Asia who are illiterate.

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

Child Labor Today: Not Gone, But Forgotten (Part 3 by Gospel for Asia)

Last updated on: November 26, 2022 at 6:52 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report on forced child labor today: Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others

New Developments to End Forced Child Labor

Supply Chain Enforcement

If this special report accomplishes nothing else, even though it is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, it should make readers aware that every effort to eradicate child labor has failed. That is substantially the reason for the title being “Child Labor: Not Gone but Forgotten.”

Despite consistent failures, new proposals continue to be set forth. The two most recent propose supply chain management solutions.

A number of countries that are major importers, including the United States, have launched campaigns that place the onus on prohibiting the importation of products that have been produced using child labor and all forms of forced labor or debt bondage. The U.S. program is operated under the auspices of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Forced Labor Program.

The results of the program thus far indicate that in FY 2017, ICE:

Spent $12,682,597 investigating cases of international forced child labor.
Spent $16,660,000 investigating cases of domestic forced child labor.
Made 150 domestic and 66 international arrests related to forced child labor.
Obtained 120 domestic and two international indictments related to forced child labor.
Obtained 73 domestic and no international convictions related to forced child labor.
Seized a total of $626,327 in assets from domestic and international investigations on forced child labor.

You do the math. Is there any better way to spend nearly $30 million to aid the cause of child labor?

Blockchain Enforcement

In an effort to combat forced labor, major corporations, including IBM, Ford and Coca Cola, are advocating the use of the current poster child of rapidly evolving technology: blockchain. It is a potentially effective means of ensuring that the products they market do not include child labor or any kind of forced labor from the beginning to the end of the entire supply chain process.

Blockchain proposes to be a secure and accurate digital ledger for recording assets, how and where they were obtained, and by whom.

Theoretically, companies would refuse to purchase from suppliers at any point in the supply chain who use child labor. All assets, locations and employees would be required to be “tagged” so they could be identified as a legitimate part of the supply chain. Miners like Lukasa and indentured fishermen like James Kofi Annan would not be able to work because they would not be registered in the blockchain.

Products sourced from conflict zones or that were created using child labor would not be able to enter the global market.

Exhausted and broken, these children carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Already, more than 152 million children worldwide have exchanged their futures for only a few dollars, and more join them every day. Enslaved in forced labor with no hope of a better future is no way for a child to live. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO / © ILO/Joseph Fortin

What Can We Do About Child Labor?

The answer to that question will depend upon who answers it. Well-meaning individuals from the philosophical to the practical will take positions on both sides of the argument of whether or not the practice of child labor can be eradicated. Even the philosophical and the practical will be divided in their opinions.

One thing we do know is that nothing has succeeded thus far. That does not bode well for future success.

But this report does not propose the eradication of child labor. Rather, it is intended to draw readers’ attention to its continuing existence. The issue of child labor is a Gordian Knot, the size of which cannot be cut even with the sword of Alexander the Great.

“…Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me..” —Matthew 25:40

The problem of child labor is inexorably linked to the poverty that enslaves nearly half the world’s entire population. We must take God at His Word; Jesus reminded His disciples that there will always be people living in poverty (see John 12:8). When Jesus referred to the poor, He used a word that specifically describes people who are destitute, helpless and powerless.

Three billion people in the world live on less than the equivalent of $2.50 USD per day. More than 84 percent of those living in Sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $5.50 per day.

3 billion

people live on less than $2.50 USD per day

While various and sundry organizations and institutions attempt to solve the child labor problem, the church’s task remains what it has always been: Be the hands and feet of Jesus to “the least of these” (see Matthew 25:40).

The Lord never called us to eradicate either child labor or poverty. He will do that someday when He returns to earth to rule and reign. In the meantime, we are called to serve.

Ours is not a race to eradicate child labor. It is a journey to provide and care for those who are relegated to the lowest positions in life. Relentlessly ministering to the needs of “the least of these” is visible evidence of the love and grace of God in action.

These GFA-supported Bridge of Hope students are getting ready to begin class after breaking for lunch. As children’s lives are transformed in Bridge of Hope, they bring new aspirations and knowledge home with them, and their families benefit as a result. Even beyond this, GFA’s Bridge of Hope program does much to uplift the communities it serves.

God’s Grace in Action at Gospel for Asia

For 40 years, the singular focus of Gospel for Asia (GFA) has been “to take the love of Christ to people who have never heard His name before.”

We must understand that Jesus looked upon people with such compassion that He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see. He didn’t just tell them that He loved them; He demonstrated His love in ways that changed their lives.

Representing Christ on earth requires that we demonstrate the same love and compassion that He did while He was here.

We are, from a heavenly perspective, blessed to be able to feed the hungry, tend to the sick and give a cup of cold water to the thirsty in Jesus’ name. These are people who know they have great needs. The Lord has granted us the high honor to love them and to serve them as His representatives. As He came to us as the “express image” of God the Father, so should we reach out to others in the express image of Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 1:3).

Poverty Alleviation

Poverty, as we have shown, is at the root of the child labor problem. Regardless of any other peripheral factors, poverty is always the driving force behind either willing or forced child labor. Therefore, much of Gospel for Asia’s work among the people of South Asia is related to rescuing families from the clutches of poverty.

Literacy and Vocational Education

The inability to read and write is a major hindrance that, unless addressed, becomes a generational curse. Illiterate people lack essential tools needed to rise above a subsistence-level existence. Furthermore, illiteracy leaves people in a position where others can easily take advantage of their situation, including entrapping them and their children in bonded labor.

Gospel for Asia’s field partners host literacy classes and vocational training classes for adults and youth, equipping them with skills that can break them out of the cycle of poverty. Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers guide class members through an understanding of basic entrepreneurial skills to empower them to create a better future for themselves. In addition, gifts such as sewing machines, fishing nets and rickshaws are just a few of the income-generating resources distributed among families who are in dire need of an income.

Farm Animals

Gospel for Asia (GFA) sponsors around the world give generously to provide farm animals for families in rural Asian villages. Chickens, goats, and cattle produce products like eggs, milk and meat, which can be sold for a good price or used to feed the family. Breeding the animals also allows the owners to expand their businesses, continually increasing their incomes to better serve their families.

Jesus Wells

Clean water is taken for granted by Westerners. However, in Africa and South Asia, women and children spend hours fetching water —not from a faucet, but from a ground source several hours away. In some cases, they must make the journey multiple times each day in order to meet their family’s needs.

By installing and maintaining Jesus Wells within poverty-stricken villages and communities, Gospel for Asia (GFA) provides a source of free clean water that can supply as many as 300 people with clean water for up to 20 years.

Not only do these people now have clean water, but it is also readily accessible. The women who fetched the water gain up to six hours a day that can now be used to obtain literacy and vocational training or to tend to their homes and children.

Bridge of Hope Centers

Children who formerly had to fetch water are now able to attend school, thereby avoiding the illiteracy and vocational poverty their parents and grandparents had suffered.

Enrollment in Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope centers is offered freely to children whose parents commit to keeping their children in school. The Bridge of Hope Program is a continuation of the school day, in which the children received enhanced and advanced training.

GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program provides backpacks and school supplies, relieving students’ parents of the pressure of those expenses. Children also receive a nutritious meal each day and free health checkups. As they experience holistic growth through the program, students gain a vision for a life away from the cheap labor in brick kilns and factories—and they are equipped to fulfill that vision.

God’s Grace in Action Through You

None of Gospel for Asia’s efforts to free families from poverty and their children from child labor would be possible without people like you. The prayers and financial support of Gospel for Asia (GFA) friends drill wells; open Bridge of Hope centers; pay for literacy classes, vocational training and farm animals; and equip all of the ministries of national missionaries who are sharing Christ’s love through practical ways that change lives both now and for eternity.

We may never end child labor, but we must never forget it or those working to combat it—and we must remain relentless in being the only Jesus some will ever see.

Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten: Part 1 | Part 2

Source: Gospel for Asia Special Report, Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten

Learn more about the children who find themselves discarded, orphaned and abused, and the home and hope that they can be given through agencies like Gospel for Asia.

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

Child Labor Today: Not Gone, But Forgotten (Part 1 by Gospel for Asia)

Last updated on: November 26, 2022 at 7:01 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues a Special Report regarding child labor today: Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others

In a report written by Lee Tucker, a consultant to Human Rights Watch, about the problem of bonded labor in Asia, a young girl shared,

“My sister is 10 years old. Every morning at 7:00 she goes to the bonded-labor man, and every night at 9:00 she comes home. He treats her badly. He hits her if he thinks she is working slowly, or if she talks to the other children, he yells at her. He comes looking for her if she is sick and cannot go to work. I feel this is very difficult for her.

“I don’t care about school or playing. I don’t care about any of that. All I want is to bring my sister home from the bonded-labor man. For 600 rupees I can bring her home. That is our only chance to get her back.

“We don’t have 600 rupees … we will never have 600 rupees [the equivalent of U.S. $17 at the time of writing].”

Global Overview of Child Labor Today

These girls’ story is heart-breaking.

It is unthinkable that a child would be subject to such mistreatment.

It is deplorable that stories like this are all too common among the most poverty-stricken portions of the world.

It is beyond despicable that an estimated 218 million children as young as 5 years old are employed, and that at least 152 million are in forced child labor, according to basic facts about child labor published by the Child labor Coalition.

The facts also reveal several other startling realities about child labor. Among them:

Children under the age of 12 perform up to a fourth of all hazardous child labor.
Almost half of all forced child laborers are between the ages of 5 and 11.
More than 134 million children in forced labor are in Africa and the region of Asia and the Pacific.

If the 218 million child laborers constituted a country of their own, it would be the fifth largest country in the world, exceeded in population only by China, India, the United States and Indonesia.

Top ten worst countries for child labor

as listed by the Maplecroft Child labor Index⁴

1
BANGLADESH
garment factories, farming, manufacturing

2
CHAD
agriculture, military

3
THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
mining, agriculture, industry, military

4
ETHIOPIA
mining, vending, shoe shining

5
INDIA
mining, agriculture, garment factories

6
LIBERIA
hazardous farming conditions

7
MYANMAR
agriculture, construction, small-scale industry

8
NIGERIA
agriculture, street begging, mining, construction

9
PAKISTAN
agriculture, garbage scavenging, carpet weaving, coal mining, brick kilns

10
SOMALIA
fishing, threshing, construction, hawking, begging

The International Labor Organization (ILO) maintains a limited list of National Child labor Survey Reports, Baseline Survey Reports, Rapid Assessment Reports and Micro-Data Sets for a variety of countries taken over the past 20 years—some as recent as 2018.

Although some participation in child labor can be quantified—such as in Nigeria where more than 15 million children are estimated to be child laborers—one of the overriding problems with looking at the issue from a global or even a national level is that it is generally agreed “that census data is likely to underestimate the scale of child labor.”

If the 218 million child laborers constituted a country of their own, it would be the fifth largest country in the world.

In areas where national regulations mandate education for children within certain age ranges, the threat of legal consequences likely deters complete reporting of child labor. Census data typically only includes children living within a family household. Children who are orphaned, or living on the streets may go undetected, even when it is those children who may be in greatest danger of child labor. It is, therefore, expected that the occurrence of child labor is higher than reports reveal.

These young boys, deprived of their childhood and forced into child labor, are working hard on a commercial building structure.

What Is a Good Definition of Child Labor?

It is important to recognize the prevalence of child labor in order to gain a realistic perspective on how pervasive it is. We need to understand the generally accepted definitions of child labor. Only then can we comprehend the often-irreparable physical and emotional damage inflicted on children, both presently and in their future.

Some child labor is innocuous and, in fact, may generally be regarded as positive. The International Labor Organization recognizes that activities such as doing chores around the home, “assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays” can “contribute to children’s development and… provide them with skills and experience… that prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life.” Therefore, these activities are not officially considered to be child labor.

Child labor is “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.”

The ILO further defines child labor as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.”

International law divides child labor into three categories:

“The unconditional worst forms of child labor… defined as slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and other forms of forced labor, forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, prostitution and pornography, and illicit activities.

“Labor performed by a child who is under the minimum age specified for that kind of work (as defined by national legislation, in accordance with accepted international standards), and that is thus likely to impede the child’s education and full development.

“Labor that jeopardizes the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child, either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out, known as ‘hazardous work.’ ”

Notwithstanding a few reasonable exceptions, the ILO Convention Concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (C138) adopted in 1973 states that:

“Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall specify…a minimum age for admission to employment or work within its territory [that] no one under that age shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation. …The minimum age specified…shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years.”

Similarly, ILO Convention 182 adopted in 2000 defines the worst forms of child labor as:

“All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale or trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, or forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
“the use, procuring, or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
“the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular, for the production and trafficking of drugs …;
“work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.”

Finally, forced labor is defined by ILO Convention 29 adopted in 1930 as “all work or service exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”

This teenage child soldier endured painful gunshot wounds in battle, after he was pressured to join the militia movement to avoid further torture or arrest. A surge in violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has forced many people (much like the teenager pictured) from their homes. © UNICEF / Vincent Tremeau

Harmful Effects of Child Labor

Childhood is an essential, formative time of life—one which many child laborers must leave too quickly. Their lives may long bear the physical, emotional and physiological consequences of their early adulthood. Many child laborers, regardless of whether they are considered forced or not, lack the chance of acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to extract themselves from the poverty they were born or thrust into by circumstances. Many enter adulthood with no means of securing a better life and with few options for jobs, which extends the continuum of generational poverty to their own children.

Child laborers are highly susceptible to become involved in dangerous situations that may result in their illness, injury or even death.

If these were the victims of a war, we would be talking a lot about it.

In an article by Voice of America concerning child labor, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, said, “Honestly, the annual toll is appalling—2.78 million work-related deaths, 374 million injuries and illnesses. If these were the victims of a war, we would be talking a lot about it. Children and young workers are at greater risk and suffer disproportionately and with longer lasting consequences.”

A World Bank report estimated that 10 percent of all work-related injuries child laborers experience are crushing accidents, amputations and fractures.

Annual Toll of Child Labor:

2.78
million

work related deaths

374
million

injuries and illnesses

World Vision reported the story of Jean, an 8-year-old boy who worked in a mine alongside his mother in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (DRC) where 40 percent of artisanal mine workers are children. He said he had developed a number of physical problems since working in the mines. Children in the mine are susceptible to falling down shafts, being trapped in collapsed tunnels or drowning. Children working in the mine reported having seen other children die at the site. Two-thirds had developed persistent coughs, while 87 percent had been injured or were suffering from body pain. Some girls reported genital infections from working in waist-deep acidic water.

Mired in Mining

An article in Fortune magazine told how 15-year-old Lukasa rises at 5 a.m. to begin his 12-hour workday. He leaves his family’s mud-brick home in a tiny village in the southern region of the DRC, and he walks two hours to a government-owned mining site. He spends the next eight hours hacking away at rock in a cobalt mine.

He typically hoists a sack of as much as 22 pounds of cobalt up and out of the pit, then carries it on his back for an hour to a trading depot where he sells it to one of the Chinese trading companies who dominate the market in the area.

On a good day, the teenager can earn as much as $9 before making the long walk home.

Cobalt is key to the DRC’s economy—it produces an estimated 65 percent of the world’s cobalt supply—but child labor is rampant in its mining industry. The same Fortune story said, “While it is impossible to know how many underage miners there are, Congolese activists working to end child labor say… there are about 10,000 of them.

A National Bureau of Economic Research on child labor found that “most child labor occurs in countries with extremely low per capita GDP and that per capita GDP (and its square) explains 80 percent of the worldwide cross-country variation in child labor.” The GDP per capita for the DRC was $439 in 2017, in contrast to the GDP per capita for the USA in 2017, which was $59,531.

Enslaved in Fishing

“Workers at sea are among the world’s most vulnerable,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Various factors, such as working in international waters, produce gaps in applicable laws leaving workers without adequate labor protections in countries like Honduras, Philippines, Bangladesh, Ghana, Haiti, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand.

James Kofi Annan lives in Ghana. His story is typical of child laborers trapped in the commercial fishing industry.

“I started my working life early. My parents had 12 children, none of whom were educated. By the time I was six years old, I was the only person my father could control. All the others were older and most of them had already been given away to work. As the youngest, I was the only one still available. My father saw the opportunity and gave me away for fishing work. The way it works is that the person who takes charge of you now has control over you.

I was first trafficked with five other children. Out of the six of us, three lived, and three did not. I saw many children die from either abuse or the rigorous work they were obliged to do.

There, I was forced to work excruciating hours catching fish on Lake Volta. On a daily basis, my day started at 3 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m. It was full of physically demanding work. I was usually fed once a day and would regularly contract painful diseases which were never treated as I was denied access to medical care. If I asked for even the smallest concession from my boss, I was beaten. Despite all my hard work, I was often not allowed to sleep because I had to take care of all the other tasks, such as mending nets and cleaning fish.”

It took James seven years to escape his slavery.

Surrounded by Tobacco

Investigations by Human Rights Watch found consistent, significant risks to children’s health and safety who are working on tobacco farms in Zimbabwe, the United States and Indonesia. The children are exposed to nicotine and toxic pesticides. Every child interviewed described having illnesses with specific symptoms associated with acute nicotine poisoning and pesticide exposure, including nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, headaches, dizziness, irritation and difficulty breathing.

Ironically, it is still legal in the United States for children as young as 12 to work on tobacco farms, as long as they have parental permission. There are no age limitations for children who work on small, family-owned farms.

A 2018 special series on NPR’s “Here & Now” reported finding children as young as 7 working during the picking season in North Carolina where tobacco farming is regarded as a legacy.

These children labor in Turkey’s cotton fields in hard conditions. During cotton season, they cannot go to school.

Hemmed In by Cotton, Clothing and Chocolate

Cotton is the best-selling fiber in the world, making the cotton market very appealing.

But according to a New Lanark article, “Children & Cotton”, child laborers in cotton fields and factories may work for up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week during the harvest period for less than $1.50 a day. The article further states, “Without the child workers, the landowners wouldn’t manage to harvest all of their crops.” In some countries, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China, child labor in cotton fields is actually sanctioned by the government.

The beatings were a part of my life.

Bithi is a 15-year-old girl in Bangladesh. She began working in a garment factory in the capital city of Dhaka when she was 12. Her job was sewing pockets for designer blue jeans that will be sold “in affluent countries.”

Sewing blue jeans may not seem like a burdensome task, but it becomes one when her production quota is 60 pockets per hour, every hour, every day she works. That’s 480 pockets over an eight-hour shift. For this, she earns the equivalent of about $1.00 a day.

The Food Empowerment Project investigated the cocoa industry, where the supply chain for major chocolate manufacturers begins. Their findings read:

“On average, cocoa farmers earn less than $2 per day, an income below the poverty line. As a result, they often resort to the use of child labor to keep their prices competitive. … Often, traffickers abduct the young children from small villages in neighboring African countries, such as Burkina Faso and Mali, two of the poorest countries in the world. Once they have been taken to the cocoa farms, the children may not see their families for years, if ever. … Some of the children use chainsaws to clear the forests. Other children climb the cocoa trees to cut bean pods using a machete. …

“The farm owners using child labor usually provide the children with the cheapest food available, such as corn paste and bananas. In some cases, the children sleep on wooden planks in small windowless buildings with no access to clean water or sanitary bathrooms. … Former cocoa slave Aly Diabate told reporters, ’The beatings were a part of my life. I had seen others who tried to escape. When they tried, they were severely beaten.’”

Children just like this young girl suffer verbal and physical abuse while working up to 16 hours a day at brick factory.

Burdened in Brick Kilns

A special report by Gospel for Asia (GFA) shared the results of an investigation into slave labor by the International Justice Mission (IJM). After IJM workers helped 260 people—including children forced into labor—escape from one brick factory, a father shared how he and his family were tricked into working there.

Instead of receiving the good salary they were promised, his trapped family worked 16 hours a day, seven days a week. Their employer denied them hospital visits for injuries sustained while mixing or forming the bricks. Children caught playing during work hours received a torrent of verbal abuse and beatings with a pipe.

The cost of child bonded labor is paid over a lifetime through the loss of health, education, and opportunities.

According to an 86-page report by ILO, 56 percent of brick makers in Afghanistan are children.

One of those is 11-year-old Sima. She works 13 hours per day, six days a week. At the time of the report, she had already been working in brick kilns for five years. She has never attended school and is illiterate. Sima’s circumstances are typical of children laboring in brick kilns. Many begin working at the age of 5.

The report also explains the physical implication of “manual handling of heavy weights … long working hours with awkward posture [and] monotonous and repetitive work.” Child laborers in brick kilns have a high risk of developing health problems like as musculo-skeletal issues, poor bone development and early-onset arthritis.

The ILO further observed that “the cost of child bonded labor is paid over a lifetime through the loss of health, education, and opportunities.”

These are only a few of the industries in which child labor continues to exist.

Many children have no choice but to work to survive. This child is taking a moment to eat a stick of bamboo while working in the fields in northern Vietnam.

Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten: Part 2 | Part 3

Source: Gospel for Asia Special Report, Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten

Learn more about the children who find themselves discarded, orphaned and abused, and the home and hope that they can be given through agencies like Gospel for Asia.

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

100 Million Missing Women – The Aftermath of Acute Gender Imbalance (Part #1)

Last updated on: June 16, 2022 at 5:38 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Part#1 Special Report on the aftermath of acute gender imbalance: Discussing the horrendous reality of 100 million missing women worldwide.

One of the stunning stories from Scripture tells about the uninvited woman who crashed a VIP party at the home of an important religious leader. This is a gal whose bad reputation preceded her—a “woman of the city” reports the account in the book of Luke. Some versions even say that she “was a great sinner.”

Humph, thinks the very important dignitary whose party has been so rudely disrupted by this emotional female basket case. If he [Jesus] was a true prophet, he would know what kind of woman this is, for she is a great sinner.

This is a powerful story of male intervention, protection and advocacy, and in this case, it is Jesus who intervenes for a weeping woman, provides protection and clearly illustrates how to advocate for those wounded and longing for forgiveness.

“Simon,” Jesus asks, “Do you see this woman?”

Do you see this woman? What a question!

Do you see this woman? This is a question that needs to be asked regarding the astonishing demographic figure that is being forced upon our contemporary discussions regarding the status of women in the world today. Indeed, demographers are telling us that there are as many as 100 million women unaccounted for, 100 million missing women in the projections made by statisticians whose job it is to analyze and project the populations of the nations.

Simply stated, the devaluation of women and the often societally approved discrimination against them are creating a global crisis. This article examines this reality and seeks to propose that there are attitudes and actions we can all take to decrease and eventually eliminate this outrageous discrepancy. But first, we have to “see the women.”

These village women are widows, and often endure threats and distress simply because of their social status as a “widow”. What Happened to the Missing Women? — These village women are widows, and often endure threats and distress simply because of their social status as a “widow”.

What Happened to the Missing Women?

My husband, David Mains, tells the story of being in Asia with Dr. KP Yohannan, the founder and director of Gospel for Asia (GFA). They were attending a conference with some 300 men in attendance in an open-air pavilion. Dr. K.P. was preaching on how these men treated their wives, saying something that memory recalls as being to the effect of, “You treat them like servants [by saying], ‘Do this; do that. Take care of me.’ You get angry and yell. Some of you even push them around. But you are not freeing them to be the women God created them to be.”

The power of this exhortation and of the Scriptures verifying his instruction manifested itself in a loud groaning that began to rise out of the group of men sitting on wooden pews.

“At first,” David remembers, “I thought it was a thunderstorm. I had never heard anything like it in my life. Then I realized these men were groaning in repentance and remorse.”

Here you see a family that has been transformed through the love of God. This man used to beat his wife and child, but after listening to KP Yohannan’s words through a GFA-supported radio broadcast, they found God’s love and are living happily in their journey with Christ. — Here you see a family that has been transformed through the love of God. This man used to beat his wife and child, but after listening to KP Yohannan’s words through a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported radio broadcast, they found God’s love and are living happily in their journey with Christ.

The devaluation of women in marriage, which those men repented of many years ago, is merely one symptom of what causes the 100-million-missing-women global crisis. If we choose to “see the women,” to study the plight of women worldwide and to pay attention to their distress, we will quickly conclude that women’s lives are threatened from the womb through widowhood.

Indeed, the whole world needs to be groaning in remorse and repentance when we realize that 100 million women who should be alive according to statisticians’ projections are nowhere to be found.

The reasons for this are varied and tragic. Even the numbers vary somewhat. In a 1990 essay published in The New York Review of Books, Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen claimed there were 100 million missing women. Through the following decade, Sen continued to expand his exploration and discoveries, which were published in many subsequent academic works.

Though estimates of between 90 and 101 million missing women, as well as the various causes for the phenomenon, have been studied, debated and analyzed by demographers and social scientists in the years since Sen’s original announcement, most agree now to the reality that roughly 100 million women, worldwide, are missing.

This number is determined by what is called the sex ratio—a means of measuring the number of males born in a society against the number of women. Generally, the male-female birth ratio is slightly biased toward the masculine sex. Due to some kind of disequilibrium matrix, nature allows for some 105 male births for every 100 female births, on average.

These numbers tell us, quietly, a terrible story of inequality and neglect leading to the excessive mortality of women.

Demographers propose that this is because men are at a higher risk of dying of a variety of causes—violence, accidents, injuries, war casualties—and in time, the sex ratio of a given population for any particular age set begins to equalize. Today, however, when what should be a normal equalized sex ratio is measured in many current populations, particularly in developing countries in Asia, as well as in the Middle East and in parts of Africa, results show a divergence from the norm.

The current sex ratio reveals not a ratio that is beginning to become even between the sexes, but an expanding ratio of men to women of 1.06 (1.06 men per 1 woman), which is far higher than in most countries.

Researcher Amartya Sen concludes: “These numbers tell us, quietly, a terrible story of inequality and neglect leading to the excessive mortality of women.”

Evaluating the Sex-Ratio Disequilibrium

It is here when those of us who care about the state of the world and the suffering and the well-being of the people who inhabit it should begin to groan, loudly and insistently, like a thunderstorm. We need to read the articles that disclose the state of women around the world; we need to do personal research. We need to seek for understanding.

34 million

women and girls are trapped in the sex trade, contributing to the missing women dilemma.

There is now a general consensus as to the reasons why sex ratios are teetering on a wild gender imbalance in various countries of the world. Sex-selective abortions, female infanticide, inadequate health care and nutrition for female offspring, lack of pregnancy and childbirth education, and the now booming sex-slave trade industry all contribute to the missing women dilemma.

In their comprehensive book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn report, “Far more women and girls are shipped into brothels each year in the early twenty-first century than African slaves were shipped into slave plantations each year in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries.”

This horrendous reality is verified by the Foreign Affairs journal, and the above husband-and-wife writing team estimate some 34 million women and girls worldwide are trapped in the sex-slave trade.

This newborn infant from South Sudan lies in an incubator, suffering from sepsis and jaundice and struggling to survive. His mother died giving birth. Photo by Mark Naftalin, UNICEF

Maternal Mortality and Maternal Morbidity

The issue of malnourishment also takes a generational toll. When girls are malnourished—and historically, girls often live on subsistence diets while their brothers receive the family’s available food—they give birth to underweight babies whose bodies are then more susceptible to disease. Malnourished girls become malnourished women, prone to childbirth losses—miscarriages, stillbirths, infant deaths—and multiple pregnancy complications resulting in mortality.

This young girl from the Democratic Republic of Congo brought her younger sister to a health center to have a malnutrition screening, after being driven from their home and community during a violent conflict between the government and anti-government militia. Photo by Vincent Tremeau, UNICEF

In India, for instance, demographers find that, by and large, the main cause of female deaths is cardiovascular disease—diseases of the heart and blood vessels that can lead to heart attacks or strokes. Medical researchers have discovered a close relationship between low birth weight and eventual cardiovascular diseases at a later age.

Maternal mortality refers to the number of women who die in childbirth. Some 99 percent of women in the world who die giving birth are from poor countries. This is determined by another ratio—the maternal mortality ratio (MMR), the number of maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. The MMR measures the potential of death per pregnancy. Another ratio measures death probability over a lifetime of multiple pregnancies. The lifetime risk of dying in childbirth is 1,000 times higher in a poor country.

“This should be an international scandal,” Kristof and WuDunn write.

To sketch out this global crisis, Kristof and WuDunn quote some alarming statistics:

The highest maternal mortality risk in the world is in the African country of Niger.
There the lifetime risk of death is 1 in 7.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the lifetime risk of death in childbirth is 1 in 22.
India is 1 in 70.
The United States is 1 in 4,800, a high ratio for a developed and wealthy country.
In Italy, the lifetime risk is 1 in 26,000.
In Ireland, the chance of dying in childbirth is 1 in 46,000.

Morbidity is different from mortality. Maternal morbidity deals with injuries during childbirth, and they occur even more frequently than maternal mortality. Again, Half the Sky concentrates pages on occurrence of morbidity, particularly fistulas—in this case, rectovaginal fistulas, which are often the result of trauma in childbirth. Here a tear between the vagina and rectum (also caused by rape) is left untreated in places where there is inadequate health care. These women, many now mothers, having successfully delivered an infant, become outcasts in their villages because they cannot control the flow of urine or feces.

“For every woman who dies in childbirth, at least ten suffer significant injuries such as fistulas or serious tearing,” Kristof and WuDunn write. “Unsafe abortions cause the deaths of seventy thousand women annually and cause serious injuries to another 5 million. The economic cost of caring for those 5 million women is estimated to be $750 million annually. And there is evidence that when a woman dies in childbirth, her surviving children are much more likely to die young as well, because they will have no mother caring for them.”

The lifetime risk of dying in childbirth is 1,000 times higher in a poor country.

All these factors are symptoms of one major toxic cause: female discrimination. Simply stated: Women in a cross section of wide-ranging cultures are not valued. In fact, they are actively abused, neglected and abandoned through countless ingrained cultural practices that deem women as inferior to men and ensure they stay in subsistence-like conditions.

The conglomerate of all these causes contributes to the overall demographic reality of 100 million missing women. To repeat Amartya Sen again: “These numbers tell us, quietly, a terrible story of inequality and neglect leading to the excessive mortality of women.”

The Irony of the Skewed Sex Ratio

The irony of the missing-women demographics—enabled by entrenched cultural attitudes and systemic discrimination against the female sex—is that many places in the world with a skewed sex ratio are now experiencing such high female shortages that there are no longer enough women to mate in marriage with the existing male population. Think about that 1.06:1 sex ratio (again, 1.06 men to every 1 woman), and multiply it by the thousands. Imagine what that means. Imagine the implications.

This photo is just one depiction of a once-looming human rights catastrophe. Because of the skewed sex ratio in Asia, many countries are now experiencing such high female shortages that there are no longer enough women to mate in marriage with the existing male population. In 1990, a cultural preference for male children had caused South Korea's sex ratio to be at the world's highest, but after campaigns and restrictions on ultrasounds, the ratio is back to normal. — This photo is just one depiction of a once-looming human rights catastrophe. Because of the skewed sex ratio in Asia, many countries are now experiencing such high female shortages that there are no longer enough women to mate in marriage with the existing male population. In 1990, a cultural preference for male children had caused South Korea’s sex ratio to be at the world’s highest, but after campaigns and restrictions on ultrasounds, the ratio is back to normal.

The Wall Street Journal focused an article on this topic that dealt with South Korea:

“A cultural preference for male children has cost Asia dearly. … Not just a human-rights catastrophe, it is also a looming demographic disaster. With Asian birthrates already plummeting, that means millions of women will never be mothers, and the economic and social impact on some of the world’s largest countries is incalculable.

“For decades, South Korea was Exhibit A in this depressing trend. By 1990, as medical advances made prenatal sex selection routine, the ratio of male-to-female babies soared in South Korea to the world’s highest, at 116.5 males for every 100 females.”

Projections made by the Population Council, a New York City-based research center, indicate that if trends continue, there will be an increase to 150 million missing women by 2035. The world is just sensing the demographic wave that was set into motion years ago. This means that in China, by 2035 there will be as many as 186 single men for every 100 women. In India, by 2060 the sex ratio could curve even higher: 191 men for every 100 women.

A cultural preference for male children [is] not just human-rights catastrophe, it is also a looming demographic disaster.

The governments of both countries have established means and laws to correct this extraordinary deviation. Fetal ultrasound imaging has been restricted (at the least, the reporting of the sex of the child while in utero), and legislation aimed at gender equality, to address gender imbalance has been enacted. China even offers financial incentives to couples with daughters and announced it was abandoning its one-child policy. But demographers warn that even if both countries brought their sex ratios to normal, the damage has been done. Hundreds of millions of Asian men in their 50s will still be unmarried in 2070. In India, the result would be around 15 percent.

Can this rampant and damaging sexism be altered? Remember South Korea, once Exhibit A? Now, partly because of the political insistence of a growing body of educated women, it is beginning to reduce its sex ratio through a variety of national policies. By 2005, the ratio had become 110 males for every 100 female babies. Five years later, the ratio became 107, finally normalizing at the natural level of 105.

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report on 100 Million Missing Women & the Aftermath of Acute Gender Imbalance here: Part 2 | Part 3

Learn more about Gospel for Asia’s programs to combat the Missing Women reality by helping women through Vocational Training, Sewing Machines and Literacy Training.

This Special Report article originally appeared on GFA.org

Read more on the missing women dilemma on gender imbalance and violence against women on Patheos.

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

10 Things Gospel for Asia Wants You to Know As We Reflect on World Malaria Day

Last updated on: September 13, 2023 at 10:24 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – According to Dr. Seth Barkley, the CEO of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, “Malaria is still one of the biggest killers of children worldwide, taking the lives of over 200,000 children each year.”

April 25 is World Malaria Day. Because the disease is still widespread in large regions of the globe, Gospel for Asia (GFA) has shared 10 facts to remind us about this life-threatening disease:

1. The Institute of Health Metrics & Evaluation estimates that more than 720,000 people die of malaria each year. This is significantly higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) estimate of 438,000.

2. Malaria is still one of the leading causes of child mortality.

3. More than 70 percent of malaria fatalities are children under the age of 5.

4. Ten percent of all child fatalities in 2016 were caused by malaria.

5. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 90 percent of all malaria deaths.

6. Countries with the highest malaria death rates currently include:

Country	Deaths/100,000
Niger	138.76
Sierra Leone	136.28
Togo	111.32
Mali	99.62
The DRC	99.25
Guinea	97.21
Cameroon	93.98
Benin	88.39
The CAR	84.18

7. A 2015 study published by Nature.com quantifying the most effective means of malaria prevention to date indicated that insecticide-treated mosquito nets provided the most widespread intervention.

a. The report cited treated mosquito nets to be the “largest contributor” to averting malaria at 68 percent of cases.

b. Numerically, treated mosquito nets averted 451 million of 663 million cases.

8. There is a dynamically growing number of children under 5 who sleep under treated mosquito nets in malaria-prone regions.

9. It is estimated that 66.6 percent of children in India sleep under the protection of treated mosquito nets.

10. The malaria virus is becoming increasingly more drug resistant. One doctor specializing in malaria prevention has described drug resistance as “one of the biggest threats we face.”

The BBC reported on April 23 that Dr. Kate O’Brien, director of Immunization and Vaccines at WHO, announced “a large-scale pilot program of what has been called the world’s first malaria vaccine to give partial protection to children has begun in Malawi.”

a. The vaccine is administered in a series of four injections over a period of 21 months.

b. The pilot phase of the trials should be complete by 2023.

The pilot project will end in 2023, but the trials will continue until the vaccine has been proven effective and approved for worldwide distribution.

In the meantime, mosquito nets remain the best prevention against mosquito-borne disease.

Between 2016 and 2018, Gospel for Asia (GFA) distributed more than 1 million mosquito nets to homes throughout Asia. An entire retinue of NGOs and FBOs are working in harmony to provide mosquito nets in countries across the 10/40 Window where the need is the greatest.

To learn more about malaria and the battle to prevent it, read Gospel for Asia’s special report “Fighting Malaria – A Chilling Disease.”

Other recent Missions Box reports on the scourge of malaria include:

Learn how you can help Gospel for Asia to provide mosquito nets – the most effective preventive measure against contracting malaria – to improve life for families across Asia.

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

Sources:

Our World in Data, Malaria
The World Health Organization, This year’s World malaria report at a glance 2018
The World Health Organization, Short overview of the malaria vaccine implementation programme
The World Health Organization, Malaria vaccine pilot launched in Malawi (April 23, 2019)
Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance
Nature, The effect of malaria control on Plasmodium falciparum in Africa between 2000 and 2015
Gospel for Asia Special Report, Fighting Malaria – A Chilling Disease

Dying of Thirst: The Global Pure Water Crisis (#3 by Gospel for Asia)

Last updated on: September 10, 2022 at 7:47 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report #1 – Discussing the world’s quest for access to pure water that is safe to drink.

India: Success and Challenge

In recent decades, India has emerged as a global economic powerhouse. It is now the seventh-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP)^[27] and at least the fourth largest in purchasing power parity.^[1] Much of this success stems from the technology field, India’s fastest-growing sector. Information technology, process outsourcing and software services are among the country’s booming industries.

India is suffering the worst water crisis in its history.

But success is accompanied by great challenges. India is home to about 1.34 billion people and is still growing. Its population, now the world’s second largest,^[2] is projected to overtake China’s as early as 2024.^[3] This has placed unprecedented stress on the country’s water resources, which are already stretched to meet the needs of a growing population.

In June 2018, the Indian think tank NITI Aayog released a comprehensive report on India’s water status. Among its conclusions:

India is suffering the worst water crisis in its history.^[4]
200,000 Indians die each year from lack of clean water.^[5]
600 million Indians face high-to-extreme water stress.^[6]
By 2020, 21 cities could completely run out of groundwater.^[7]
By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the supply.^[8]

The booming cities have borne a large portion of India’s water stress. Bangalore, known by some as India’s Silicon Valley, is a good example. The city’s needs were once met by wells that reached 300 feet deep. But now, 400 bore wells must go down as far as 1,500 feet to find water. How long will that suffice? No one knows.

Jesus Well provides safe, pure water to many families - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — In this remote village, a Jesus Well provides safe, pure water to many families. Each Jesus Well serves an average of 300 people for about 20 years, and the wells may be drilled up to 600 feet deep, providing pure water in even the worst droughts.

In the countryside, the challenges are different but just as dire. Agriculture uses some 80 percent of India’s water.^[9] When water is unavailable, the farmers feel it immediately. They can quickly lose their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, millions of Indians have no reliable access to water at all.

Much of India is arid or semi-arid. Vast areas receive rain only sporadically from storms brought by the summer monsoons. Many people collect their water from surface sources, which are often contaminated. The daily trek to a local pond is a regular feature of life for many rural Indians. They may walk for hours just to obtain their day’s supply of water. That leaves little time to work productively or improve their lives.

For years, Gospel for Asia (GFA) has been helping to equip national workers to get wells installed in needy communities. They’re called Jesus Wells and are fitted with a plaque sharing Christ’s words to the Samaritan woman:

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13–14).

Israel: A Glimpse into the Future

While discussions of global water issues typically focus on the problems, it’s also helpful to consider the success stories. One of those is the tiny state of Israel.

After World War I, the territory of Palestine came under the control of the United Kingdom. As the British government was considering what to do with this important strip of land, its economists concluded that the area’s water resources could only support about 2 million people.^[10] There were slightly more than 800,000 residents there at the time. But after the modern state of Israel was created in 1948, that number nearly doubled in just three years—and kept climbing.^[11] Today, Israel is home to more than 8 million people,^[12] with another 2.8 million in the West Bank^[13] and 1.8 million in the Gaza Strip.^[14]

Clearly, a drastic program was needed to meet the water demands of this booming population. Through the efforts of visionaries such as water engineer Simcha Blass, Israel not only met this challenge but became an exporter of water technology, water-intensive crops—and water itself. The story of that success can serve as a model and inspiration for other countries.

Israel points the way to a future free from water insecurity.

Simcha Blass, an Israeli visionary in the clean water field - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Simcha Blass, an Israeli visionary in the clean water field. Photo by Ybact on Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

Israel’s leaders realized that all those new immigrants would need to eat, so food production became an urgent priority. The Negev in the south of Israel was a vast dry desert where few people lived. But Simcha Blass was convinced there was water underground that could be accessed through deep drilling. He was right. That was the beginning of an agricultural boom in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments. Some people saw it as a fulfillment of the prophecy in the book of Isaiah: “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (Isaiah 35:1 niv).

Blass also envisioned pipelines that would stretch from the water-rich north of Israel to the south where water was most needed. Through years of effort, his visions became reality.

Israel’s visionaries then turned their sights to the world’s most abundant water source—the oceans. The idea of processing seawater for drinking and agriculture has long been an elusive dream for people around the world. Israeli scientists experimented with several desalination techniques, most of which proved too costly to be practical. But with perseverance, Israel developed a system which, though still expensive, provides an important supplement to its other water sources. Israel now has several functioning desalination plants on its Mediterranean coast, which provide an astonishing 27 percent of the country’s water.^[15] Most importantly, the desalination plants serve as a kind of insurance policy against severe droughts and other disruptions. The ocean, after all, is always there.

Drilling for water in Qumeran Valley, Israel - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Drilling for water in Qumeran Valley, Israel
Photo by Tamarah on Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 2.5

Reclaimed waste water is another promising source of water for agriculture that Israel has used effectively. The idea of reusing sewage is repulsive to most people, but when water is at a premium, as in Israel, it’s an option that can’t be ignored. The main concern with recycled waste water is that dangerous microbes or other contaminants might remain even after processing. That could endanger anyone exposed to it, as well as the crops treated with it and the groundwater under the crops. Israel addressed this risk with a process that resembles a giant version of the BioSand water filters described earlier.

Israel’s sewage treatment plants were located near some sand dunes, under which there was a known water aquifer. The water engineers began speculating: What if the treated waste water were released into the sand and allowed to percolate down into the groundwater? Would the sand act as an effective filter? It was a risky experiment, but worth trying. After more than a year, the results were in. Yes, the sand made the water clean, safe enough for agricultural use. Today, Israel reuses more than 85 percent of its sewage, which provides 21 percent of its water.^[16]

Israel also pioneered the use of drip irrigation, which made it possible to grow abundant crops by using limited water supplies efficiently.

These innovations may seem out of reach for many developing countries. Their implementation would require concerted, long-term effort, and they can be expensive. But they show what is possible. These are things we know can be done—because they have been done. They point the way to a future free from pure water insecurity. And that’s something all people can aspire to.

The Big Picture

The world’s need for pure water has only accelerated with the inexorable growth in population, which could reach another 2 billion by 2050. And by then the demand for water could increase by 30 percent.^[17]

The United Nations has appropriately designated March 22 as World Water Day to focus on the global need for pure water. Along with international bodies like the U.N. and the World Health Organization, countless nonprofits and NGOs are addressing the issue. Many of them focus on Africa, which has some of the most severe water problems. But Asia is in urgent need of help too, and even affluent countries are not immune from water emergencies.

Those who deal with the global pure water crisis recognize the critical need for funds to attack the problem. Usually, the people most in need don’t address their own problems because they simply can’t. They don’t have the resources. And they often don’t have the leisure time to think beyond their immediate survival. So outside funds are essential to solving the problem. But that’s not all that’s needed.

The world’s need for pure water has only accelerated with the inexorable growth in population.
By 2050, the demand for water could increase by 30%.

Relief organizations that drill wells in poor communities must also think about their long-term maintenance. When the local people haven’t been taught how to care for the wells, over time those wells become useless. In a 2009 report, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) noted that 50,000 such wells in rural Africa had become nonfunctional. The reason was distressingly clear: “The root cause is the water community’s failure to plan for maintenance of the infrastructure in a systematic way …”^[18]

Outside organizations came in, installed wells with the best of intentions, and then left. But their work did not endure.

Keeping It Local

Gospel for Asia (GFA) knows of the pitfalls that beset many relief efforts. To ensure their work will be sustainable while keeping costs low, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers employ local people to drill Jesus Wells, and they train local people to maintain the wells. In addition, Jesus Wells are constructed with local components, making them much less expensive than those brought in from outside. Buying materials in bulk saves even more money. Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers can install a complete well for 1,400 USD. By drilling deep, they can reach water that may have been inaccessible before. Villagers can be assured of pure water even through the dry seasons.

Jesus Wells are conveniently located for community access, and the water is always freely available to anyone, regardless of religion, class or background. Each Jesus Well serves an average of 300 people, and the wells are built to last for decades.

Along with providing pure water, Jesus Wells strengthen the local economy and inspire a healthy pride of ownership.

In 2017, Gospel for Asia (GFA) helped install more than 4,600 Jesus Wells in Asian communities. But that’s just a start. With the generous support of donors throughout the world, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers will continue to help address the global water crisis—one community at a time.

Six Steps to Pure Water Security

The world’s water problems can seem overwhelming. Some of the solutions are complex, difficult and expensive. But others are simple, easy and cheap. Here’s a short list of things that can make a difference—starting with the easiest and ending with the ones that still await as promises for the future.

Provide BioSand water filters.
Just one of these portable, inexpensive items can literally save an entire family from a life of sickness and hardship. To deprive vulnerable people of this simple solution would be tragic.
Drill deep wells.
Not every well will endure through droughts and overuse, but here’s the key to long-term success: Don’t stop when you hit water! Keep drilling. Deep wells will ensure the water keeps flowing through the dry times.
Train local people to maintain the wells.
What good is a well that’s broken or contaminated? Remember 50,000 wells in Africa alone are sitting unused because of inadequate maintenance. It’s not enough to provide the well. Instilling the knowledge to maintain it over the years is also essential.
Launch water-reclamation programs.
Sewage may be unpleasant, but it’s also a valuable resource. Properly treated, reclaimed water can revolutionize agriculture almost anywhere in the world.
Develop national water policies.
Water is a community resource. It can’t be managed effectively with scattered, isolated efforts. Most national governments are grappling with this reality. Some are responding with effective programs. That must happen on a wider scale.
Pursue desalination.
It’s expensive now. But so are sickness, poverty and death. The ocean is the one water source that will never be depleted. This is a promising avenue for the future.

Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis – The Crucial Quest for Access to Clean Water: Part 1 | Part 2

This Special Report article originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read the Global Clean Water Crisis Report: Finding Solutions to Humanity’s Need for Pure, Safe Water.

Learn more about how to provide clean water to families and villages through Jesus Wells and BioSand Water Filters.

To read more on the global crisis for water on Patheos, go here.

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

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Footnotes

^[1] World Fact Book. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html. Accessed January 24, 2019.
^[2] U.S. Census Bureau Current Population. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/popclock/print.php?component=counter. January 1, 2019. Accessed January 24, 2019.
^[3] India’s Population to Surpass that of China around 2024: UN. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indias-population-to-surpass-that-of-chinas-around-2024-un/articleshow/59257045.cms Updated June 21, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2019.
^[4] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[5] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[6] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[7] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[8] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[9] Dhawan, Vibha. Water and Agriculture in India. Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. 2017.
^[10] Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water, p 21. 2015 Thomas Dunne Books.
^[11] Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water, p 21. 2015 Thomas Dunne Books.
^[12] The World Factbook: Middle East: Israel. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2019.
^[13] The World Factbook: Middle East: West Bank. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html. January 22, 2019.
^[14] The World Factbook: Middle East: Gaza Strip. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/gz.html January 22, 2019. Accessed January 28, 2019
^[15] Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water, p 252. 2015 Thomas Dunne Books.
^[16] Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water, p 252. 2015 Thomas Dunne Books.
^[17] The United Nations world water development report 2018: nature-based solutions for water; facts and figure, p. 2. UNESCO Digital Library. 2018.
^[18] Skinner, Jamie. Where every drop counts: tackling rural Africa’s water crisis. International Institute for Environment and Development. http://pubs.iied.org/17055IIED. March 2009. Accessed December 27, 2018.

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Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis (#2 by Gospel for Asia)

Last updated on: August 25, 2022 at 11:47 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report Part 2– Discussing the global water crisis and the quest for access to clean water.

Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis (#2 by Gospel for Asia) - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — A mother cares for her son who is being treated for cholera at a UNICEF-supported cholera treatment center in Baidoa, Somalia Photo by Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, UNICEF

Waterborne Diseases Caused by the Global Water Crisis

Even under normal conditions, people in many regions are exposed to life-threatening diseases from their water, including typhoid, polio and hepatitis A. Among the most common waterborne diseases is diarrhea, which can be caused by any of several pathogens. It kills about 1.5 million children every year, more than 80 percent of them in Africa and South Asia. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 88 percent of those deaths are caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.^[1] Diarrheal diseases kill by depleting the body’s fluids, often very rapidly.

Children are most vulnerable because their metabolisms use more water than adults’, and their body weight consists of more water proportionally than an adult’s. Their kidneys are also less able to conserve water.^[2]

Diseases that are so deadly can be prevented
with changes that are simple.

Children with malnutrition and weakened immune systems are especially susceptible to the worst effects of diarrhea. This explains why diarrheal disease is one of the primary killers in poorer countries but not in the developed world. Some diarrheal diseases target adults and older children. One of the most familiar and deadly of these is cholera, which afflicts between 1.4 million and 4 million people each year, killing thousands.^[3]

In some documented cases, improving the quality of water at the source, combined with treatment of household water and safe water-storage systems, has reduced the incidence of diarrhea by 47 percent. And studies show that simply handwashing with soap can reduce the incidence by 40 percent.^[4] These figures underscore a tragic truth: Diseases that are so deadly can be prevented with changes that are simple.

Trace Element Contamination Adds to Global Water Crisis

Sometimes it isn’t living organisms that make people sick, but it’s the naturally occurring elements in the water. Heavy metals and other trace elements are usually present in our diets, and in fact, many of them are essential—but only in tiny quantities. When we ingest more than the safe levels, we can experience illness and even death.

Jesus Wells were dug by Gospel for Asia-supported workers - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — In 2014, four Jesus Wells were dug by Gospel for Asia-supported workers in one drought stricken region—now approximately 5,300 people benefit from these wells. Read the story »

Some of these elements are in the ground and leach naturally into the water we use, while others are introduced into the water supply through industry, mining and agriculture.

This was the problem facing four Asian villages when Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers came to the scene in 2014. This area typically experienced several months of drought, followed by heavy monsoon rains. But the water left by the rains was contaminated with chemicals. Villagers with enough money could buy their own water, but the poor had to walk long distances every day to ask for water from local landlords. Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors in the area arranged for wells to be installed in all four villages, bringing clean water at last to approximately 5,300 people.

One of the most well-known water contaminants is lead. Lead poisoning can cause headaches, abdominal pain, mood disorders, high blood pressure, joint and muscle pain, and difficulty with memory or concentration. As always, children experience the worst effects. Lead poisoning can delay their development and cause learning difficulties. They may also experience fatigue, vomiting, hearing loss and seizures.

Water is a fragile resource, and its problems
are not limited to the developing world.

Since lead paint was identified as a major problem in the United States during the 1970s, a concerted national campaign reduced its impact over time. But Americans received a wake-up call in 2014 when the water supply in Flint, Michigan, came under scrutiny—as described by Karen Burton Mains in GFA’s special report “The Global Water Crisis: Finding Solutions to Humanity’s Need for Pure, Safe Water.”^[5]

Residents complained about the color, taste and smell of their water. It turned out that the service lines from water mains to individual homes in Flint were made of lead and were not treated with corrosion inhibitors, which keep the contamination at acceptable levels. Eighty-seven cases of Legionnaire’s disease were associated with the contaminated water, leading to 12 deaths. Overall, more than 100,000 people had been exposed to a dangerous poison.

The Flint saga reminded everyone that water is a fragile resource, and its problems are not limited to the developing world.

The National Guard delivers bottled water to residents of Flint, MI - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — The National Guard delivers bottled water to residents of Flint, MI.

In 2017, the Reuters news agency conducted an investigation that revealed how widespread such issues really are even in the United States. Their reporters discovered 3,810 areas in the U.S with childhood lead poisoning rates twice as high as those found in Flint. And 1,300 areas showed lead levels four times greater than those found in Flint.^[6] The affected locations included 34 states and Washington D.C. In the best of outcomes, such a national scandal should at least inspire compassion for others around the world who struggle to find clean water.

Arsenic is well known as a poison, but it’s actually an element that occurs naturally throughout the world. When it enters a water supply, however, it can cause unimaginable suffering.

In 1983, scientists discovered arsenic in the water of 33 villages in West Bengal, India. Subsequent investigations revealed similar contamination in 2,417 villages along the flood plains of the Ganges River.^[7]

Arsenic poisoning can cause severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Other symptoms include abnormal heart rhythm, muscle cramps and tingling extremities. Some victims first notice unusual lesions and growths on their skin, and many then discover they have cancer. Victims of arsenic poisoning can recover if the source of their illness is removed in time.

Several other disease-causing trace elements—most of them heavy metals—contaminate water supplies today. Cadmium accumulates in the kidneys and hepatic system and can cause cancer. Chromium, likewise, can cause liver and skin cancer when it reaches high levels. Zinc and copper can also be dangerous to health.

A Simple Solution to the Global Water Crisis

People in the developed world rely on their water providers to protect them from such threats. For those who can afford it, a home filtration system offers added security. But people living in poorer areas have no such protection. They often collect their water from fetid ponds or polluted streams. They’re exposed to all the worst dangers that may be hidden in their water.

Fortunately, a solution exists that can offer them protection similar to what the rest of us enjoy. And it’s amazingly simple, portable, effective and affordable. It’s called a BioSand water filter.

Since [the Biosand water filters] were installed, all water-caused and waterborne diseases have ceased.

BioSand water filters use mechanical and biological processes to remove heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and other impurities from water. They are widely recognized as effective and are small enough to fit easily in virtually any home. Most importantly, they are inexpensive—just $30 for a filter that can serve an entire family with clean water for decades. Seeing the dramatic impact BioSand water filters have, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers have built and provided 85,000 of them for Asian families since 2008.

Aanjay, a farmer in Asia, saw firsthand the effects of contaminated water on his family and his entire village.

“We were forced to use dirty and filthy water for cooking and drinking,” he recalls. “Thus, we suffered stomachache, jaundice, typhoid and diarrhea.”

The villagers also had to use the tainted water for bathing, which caused skin infections.

That changed when some Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors provided BioSand water filters for Aanjay’s family and several others.

“Along with receiving a filter, families also received health and hygiene training that works to significantly lower the incidence of waterborne illness,” Aanjay says. “Now the villagers are getting purely filtered water for drinking. Since [the Biosand water filters] were installed, all water-caused and waterborne diseases have ceased.”

Burkina Faso: Africa’s Anguish

Recurring drought, contamination and lack of funds have all contributed to Africa’s severe water problems. A vivid example of all three can be found in the little landlocked country of Burkina Faso.

Located in the vast savanna region south of the Sahara Desert, Burkina Faso endures up to eight months of dry weather each year.^[8] When drought makes conditions even worse, as it did in 2016, a true crisis occurs. That year, the capital, Ougadougou, was able to provide only intermittent water service for its 2 million residents. People were forced to travel far into the countryside to find usable water.^[9] Water shortages like this, and the power outages that accompany them, have become a normal part of life for city residents.

Nearly half the residents of Burkina Faso live without clean water.

For people in rural areas, the hardships are even worse. Eighty percent of Burkina Faso’s people are subsistence farmers,^[10] so droughts are especially devastating for them. The country is also plagued by waterborne diseases common to undeveloped areas—diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid fever.^[11]

According to Water Aid UK, 4,500 children under the age of 5 die of diarrhea each year in Burkina Faso, and nearly half the residents live without clean water.^[12] When the rains do come, mosquitoes that breed in the standing water spread malaria, yellow fever and dengue fever.

women are collecting water for crop irrigation in Burkina Faso - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — These women are collecting water for crop irrigation in Burkina Faso, where the global water crisis is severe.

One of the main industries in Burkina Faso is gold mining. But the mining process has introduced deadly arsenic into the groundwater.^[13] On top of all these challenges, the rapidly-growing population is putting unprecedented stress on the water supply. War and disruption in neighboring countries have displaced millions of people, many of whom seek refuge in Burkina Faso. This has only exacerbated a problem that was already severe.^[14]

Efforts to improve conditions in Burkina Faso haven’t always been effective. Relief workers from Water Aid UK found that many existing wells there were unusable because of broken handpumps. And toilets provided by the government to improve hygiene were going unused—because people don’t know what to do with them.^[15] This underscores the importance of education to go along with physical improvements. One without the other leads to failure.

Against this stark backdrop, a number of entities are working valiantly to reverse the cycle of despair in Burkina Faso. Since 2000, the government has taken real steps to address the crisis, creating five water basin committees to protect and preserve water resources throughout the country.^[16] Meanwhile, many non-governmental organizations are helping by drilling new wells, repairing old ones and training local people to manage their water effectively. Among these are the aforementioned Water Aid UK, Myra’s Wells, SIM missionary organization, The Water Project, Hearts for Burkina, Engage Burkina, and Living Water International.

Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis – The Crucial Quest for Access to Clean Water: Part 1 | Part 3

This Special Report article originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read the Global Clean Water Crisis Report: Finding Solutions to Humanity’s Need for Pure, Safe Water.

Learn more about how to provide clean water to families and villages through Jesus Wells and BioSand Water Filters.

To read more on the Global Water Crisis on Patheos, go here.

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Radio | About | Integrity | Facebook | Lawsuit

For more information about this, click here.

Footnotes

^[1] Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, p. 11. UNICEF/WHO. 2009.
^[2] Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, p. 11. UNICEF/WHO. 2009.
^[3] Cholera: Key Facts. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cholera. February 1, 2018. Accessed January 15, 2019.
^[4] Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, p. 12. UNICEF/WHO. 2009.
^[5] Gospel for Asia, Special Report: The Global Water Crisis, https://www.gfa.org/special-report/global-clean-water-crisis/
^[6] Pell, M.B., Schneyer, Joshua. Reuters finds 3,810 U.S. areas with lead poisoning double Flint’s. Reuters Special Reports. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lead-map/reuters-finds-3810-u-s-areas-with-lead-poisoning-double-flints-idUSKBN1DE1H2. November 14 2017. Accessed December 26, 2018.
^[7] Ghosh, N.C., Singh, R.D. Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in India: Vulnerability and Scope for Remedy, Uttarahkand, India, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, p. 2. Accessed December 26, 2018.
^[8] The World Factbook: Africa: Burkina Faso. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019.
^[9] Burkina Faso drought triggers water and power shortages. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/drought-brings-water-power-shortages-burkina-faso-160511103306983.html. May 11, 2016. Accessed January 28, 2019.
^[10] The World Factbook: Africa: Burkina Faso. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019.
^[11] The World Factbook: Africa: Burkina Faso. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019.
^[12] Andrew McConnell. Water is precious in landlocked Burkina Faso, West Africa. Water Aid UK. https://www.wateraid.org/where-we-work/burkina-faso. Accessed January 28, 2019.
^[13] Shannon Warren. The Current Situation of Water Quality in Burkina Faso. The Borgen Project. https://borgenproject.org/water-quality-in-burkina-faso/. October 2016. Accessed January 28, 2019.
^[14] The World Factbook: Africa: Burkina Faso. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019.
^[15] Andrew McConnell. Water is precious in landlocked Burkina Faso, West Africa. Water Aid UK. https://www.wateraid.org/where-we-work/burkina-faso. Accessed January 28, 2019.
^[16] Shannon Warren. The Current Situation of Water Quality in Burkina Faso. The Borgen Project. https://borgenproject.org/water-quality-in-burkina-faso/. October 2016. Accessed January 28, 2019.

Leprosy: Misunderstandings & Stigma Keep it Alive (Gospel for Asia #2)

Last updated on: February 15, 2023 at 10:06 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report – Discussing the misunderstandings and social stigma that are kept alive toward leprosy patients, despite the disease being a curable worldwide problem.

Leprosy: Misunderstandings & Stigma Keep it Alive (Gospel for Asia #2) - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Sakshi, who ministered to leprosy patients, once had leprosy herself before Jesus healed her.

Misunderstanding Leprosy: ‘I Deserve This Disease’

Sakshi was rejected by her family when, as a teenager, she found out she had leprosy. Read her story »

“Don’t open my bandage!” the leprosy patient cried out. For years the patient believed it was because of their sin that the destructive disease controlled their body. Now, they thought they must suffer and settle with bearing it alone.

But after the leprosy patient’s exclamation, Sakshi, a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported missionary, revealed her own hands and feet to the patient, deformity clearly marking what leprosy’s nerve killing illness left behind.

“No, no, this is not some sin,” Sakshi said. “I myself have gone through this.”

This conversation, shared by Gospel for Asia (GFA) in 2017, gives a glimpse into the despair and belief of personal guilt many leprosy patients carry.

Sakshi understood only too well the shame and grief of those she served. Leprosy was detected in her body when she was only a teenager. Dreams of living life as a normal young woman shattered with that diagnosis. Her disease barred her from visiting her neighbors or from making friends, and it even estranged her younger siblings.

“[My brother and sister] used to love me so much, but when I got this sickness, they hated me, and they don’t want to come to me for anything,” Sakshi recalls of her early days as a leprosy patient.

Acceptance and kind words from her community were replaced with rejection and accusations. People said it was her fault she contracted leprosy, and over time, that lie took hold of her heart. Guilt and hopelessness consumed her, and she began wondering why she should endure life.

In her hopelessness, Sakshi tied a noose to hang herself.

Although Sakshi’s story does not end here, many leprosy patients’ stories end on a tragic note of despair. Whether they choose to end their lives or plod through the rest of their days alone and abandoned, the moment they discover leprosy in their body is the moment society defines them by their disease—not by their value as human beings.

Gospel for Asia calls Leprosy Patients ‘Friends’

In 2007, Gospel for Asia-supported workers began ministering among leprosy patients with an aim to change that definition.

“We thought we would name the ministry differently,” says Pastor Tarik, who helped start the leprosy ministry,

“Where they won’t have to remember their sickness or feel the stigma of it. So, while praying and discussing, we thought, ‘Let us call them “friends” because they have been created in the image of God, like us. It is only the sickness that keeps them different, but let us not make that a barrier. Let us accept them as friends.’”

And so, Reaching Friends Ministry began. What started in 2007 as a handful of men and women pursuing opportunities to care for outcasts of society has since expanded to minster to patients in 44 leprosy colonies. Each colony is home to as many as 5,000 patients. Through this ministry, thousands of hurting hearts have found a glimmer of love and hope to cling to.

Let us call them “friends” because they have been created in the image of God, like us.

Sakshi’s testimony proves the impact of even one kind word in the midst of isolation. Although Sakshi planned to end her life, today her story continues. On that pivotal day, her father saved her from suicide and spoke words of life into her weary soul. He told Sakshi she was a precious child and urged her to strengthen her heart through the pain and hardship.

After the conversation with her father, Sakshi gave up trying to end her own life, but she still felt alone and worried.

Sakshi's feet still bear the marks of leprosy, though she is now cured. — Sakshi’s feet still bear the marks of leprosy,
though she is now cured.

After the conversation with her father, Sakshi gave up trying to end her own life, but she still felt alone and worried. Leprosy still disfigured her limbs and even threatened to remove one of her legs to amputation.

But then she met some Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported missionaries who prayed for her and shared with her about the Great Healer. She joined them in faith and asked Jesus to heal her body. God moved on her behalf; she was miraculously healed of leprosy!

Like Sakshi, many leprosy patients are discovering that physical healing—through both prayer and medical treatment—is possible. Now, it is time for communities around the globe to be healed of the negative mindset toward those with leprosy.

Changing the Mindset Toward Leprosy

Over the passing of time, leprosy has drawn increased attention around the globe. The last Sunday in January has been observed as World Leprosy Day for more than 60 years. But while most countries have been freed from the grip of leprosy as a result of leprosy elimination programs, other areas are still high in battle against the disease.

Brazil, India and Indonesia account for more than 80 percent of new cases detected globally, and areas of Africa also detect leprosy in high numbers. The transmission of leprosy is slowly decreasing, but more must be done, especially regarding the elimination of stigma.

These efforts have strong obstacles to overcome. The UN notes,

“Historically held fears and assumptions about leprosy continue to promote the pervasive exclusion of persons affected by leprosy from mainstream efforts to include them in society and development.”

The transmission of leprosy is slowly decreasing, but more must be done, especially regarding the elimination of stigma.

In 2016, The World Health Organization launched their new Global Leprosy Strategy. Included among the increased effort to detect and care for new patients is a high emphasis on the removal of stigma and discrimination toward those with leprosy.

Gospel for Asia wholeheartedly desires to see the plight of leprosy patients improve, and its work in Asia is helping make strides in both the emotional and physical healing of those affected by leprosy.

Sisters of Compassion are specially trained to minister to the hurting, rejected and downtrodden of society - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Sisters of Compassion are specially trained to minister to the hurting, rejected and downtrodden of society—ministering to both their physical and spiritual needs in the name of Christ.

While you’ve been reading this article, national workers, including around 500 specially trained women called Sisters of Compassion, are helping care for leprosy patients throughout the Indian Subcontinent as part of Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported leprosy ministry.

Sakshi herself became one of those faithful workers. After she experienced God’s healing, she dedicated her life to serving Him and enrolled in a training course. Her passion for ministry among leprosy patients soon placed her alongside other Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers serving in a leprosy colony. Through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Reaching Friends Ministry, she became part of bringing hope to others still trapped in the desperation she felt when she held the rope in her hand.

“Nobody is there to comfort [the leprosy patients] and to give any kind of encouragement,” Sakshi explained.

“Nobody wants to love them, hug them or to come near to them to dress them. … They have so many inner pains in their heart, because they also are human beings. They also need love, care and encouragement from other people.”

Sakshi shared about her love for the leprosy patients she serves - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — “I will become their daughter, I will become their grandchildren, and I will help them and encourage them and I will love them.” —Sakshi shared about her love for the leprosy patients she serves

She and other servants of God serve these precious patients in practical ways, such as by cleaning wounds, doing housework, cooking meals and helping with personal hygiene. Through every sweep of a broom and touch of their loving, helpful hands, these workers convey how much God values His creation—even those abandoned by their own families.

“By seeing [the leprosy patients], I am thinking that I will fill the gap,” Sakshi said.

“I will give that love, which they are not getting from their grandchildren and daughters… I will become their daughter, I will become their grandchildren, and I will help them and encourage them, and I will love them.”

Through love like Sakshi’s, many leprosy patients are finding new hope and lasting joy that helps carry them through their troubles.

KP Yohannan, founder and director of Gospel for Asia, wrote about his experience of witnessing leprosy ministry take place.

Sisters of Compassion to clean the wounds of leprosy patients - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Gospel for Asia founder KP Yohannan worked alongside Sisters of Compassion to clean the wounds of leprosy patients during a recent trip in November 2017.

“I recently got to visit one of the many leprosy colonies where Sisters of Compassion are working,” he writes.

“As I joined these Sisters of Compassion in giving out medicine and bandaging wounds, I was once again amazed by how these precious sisters embrace those afflicted by leprosy, serving them so faithfully in the name of Jesus. These leprosy patients, some without fingers or nose or ears, have faced so much rejection in their lives. But now they are finding hope, knowing that someone cares about them.”

These workers, like Sakshi, are diligently bestowing love, medical care, assistance and dignity to those suffering with Hansen’s Disease. Some specialize in making customized shoes for leprosy patients, carefully measuring each individual’s feet to accommodate the sores or disfigurement the person has experienced. Other workers make warm meals for those who cannot cook—or even eat—by themselves; clean homes; wash and comb the tangled hair for those who can no longer perform even these most basic functions for themselves.

GFA-supported workers minister in whatever way is needed - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — GFA-supported workers minister in whatever way is needed—here, a Sister of Compassion cleans a leprosy patient’s wounds, and a man makes custom shoes for leprosy patients.

Workers serving at a GFA-supported leprosy hospital offer tender care for patients afflicted with Hansen’s Disease. Beyond addressing the physical needs of medication, procedures and bandages, this hospital gives its patients emotional support, acceptance, respect and genuine concern for their holistic well-being.

Hospital staff members routinely visit neighboring leprosy colonies to examine patients and determine who should go to the hospital for medication or treatment. They also host events to increase awareness of basic health and hygiene practices, as well as speak words of truth and life to those who feel overcome by their sorrowful plight.

Leprosy: Misunderstandings and Stigma Keep it Alive: Part 1 | Part 3

This Special Report article originally appeared on gfa.org

To read more on the experience of leprosy patients on Patheos, go here.

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

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A Public, Tragic Secret

Last updated on: December 24, 2018 at 7:57 am By GFA Staff Writer

It’s fairly well known that in many parts of the world, women are second-class citizens. “Second class” might be a bit generous, considering the shocking treatment so many women face. When a woman has the unfortunate experience of becoming widowed, her standing may plummet further without anyone to help or even care. And she may live that way for the rest of her days.

This is reality for widows in some developing countries. It’s inescapable unless someone steps in to speak out on their behalf, offer assistance and help them find their way back into life again.

God loves and cherishes every person equally. No one has an extra share of that love, especially not because of their sex, social standing or where they happened to be born. As for us, Mark 12:31 says clearly that we are commanded by God to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and there is no greater commandment.

If only the most vulnerable of women, those who have lost their husbands, could experience the same in their family and community.

Inheritance is a Right for Some, a Myth for Others

“Remember, God commanded us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.”

When a woman’s husband dies, life permanently changes. She is without her partner. If she is older or has no children, she is alone. Fortunately, inheritance laws in many countries protect her to a certain extent. Depending on where she lives and whether or not her husband left a valid will, she may inherit all or a legislated portion of her deceased husband’s estate.

Every state in America has established some type of spousal-inheritance protection for both men and women. Those protections vary, and they’re quite complicated. But the meaning is clear: Just because a husband or wife didn’t leave a will or get around to writing their spouse into a will doesn’t mean the spouse will inherit nothing. In parts of Asia and certain developing countries, that is not the case.

In Nigeria, there is no pretense of support or inheritance after a woman’s husband dies. She is, according to The Africa Report, essentially the property of her husband. As property, she has no right to inherit anything upon his death.

How should these forgotten women survive? Tragically, many of them have no one to turn to for help.

Where There’s No Will, There’s No Way

One of the prevailing threads that run through the fabric of widow inheritance is the existence, or not, of a will. Legislation may plainly state how and how much a widow may inherit from her deceased spouse. With an existing will, she still has little chance of inheriting.

It doesn’t matter how clearly a will was written or who affirmed it. Tradition, not law, tends to govern who receives property. And tradition holds that male heirs take all, especially the eldest male heir.

It doesn’t help that many countries have laws that further restrict equality, inheritance and property ownership rights for women. A 2016 report by The World Bank explains that 155 of the 173 economies studied impose restrictions on women that don’t exist for men.

Without a valid will or testamentary document in place, a widow may be fully without hope. It doesn’t appear to matter what a court has held in the past or what legislation demands. If she’s lucky, her family will take her in (after first taking away her property). But even then, her life may become one of servitude. That’s true, regardless of whether she is a young woman or if she’s elderly and in poor health. Too often, elderly women face the most abuse at the hands of their adult children or extended family.

Life is already difficult when a spouse dies. Imagine, if you can, having life transformed in such a way that rights cease to exist, and the most basic necessities of life must come from a person kind enough to care.

Now imagine being blamed for all of it.

In Some Cultures, Women are Accused of Their Husband’s Death

What might happen in the United States if, on a man’s deathbed, his doctor turned and told his widow that she was to blame? There would be outrage, for certain. The doctor would probably face at least some sort of disciplinary action. Even so, this scenario isn’t as far-fetched at it seems.

Right now, husbands around the world are working in fields, in factories and in any number of jobs. Wives may have their own jobs, or they may be devoted solely to keeping the home and raising the children. Before the day is finished, one of these men may suffer a tragic accident or suddenly fall ill. Maybe he will never come home again. Or maybe he will return, only to die at home later. In parts of Asia, this scenario usually has one ending:

His wife is viewed as the cause of his death, no matter how or why it happened.

It’s difficult to believe, but it’s true. Certain religious traditions, cultures and social norms have long held that any time a man dies, his wife is to blame. More specifically, her sins are the real cause.

Where women in the Western world may turn to family and friends for love and support, women in other parts of the world may be shunned. They can face harsh treatment. They may be stripped of rights and property for no other reason than a supposed curse or vengeance for their sins.

Some women of any age are forced to beg in the streets just to have something to eat. But even the small charities of passing strangers can’t be counted on; not even if she has small children who are also hungry. If a woman is shunned, people may pass her by in fear, outrage or a combination of both.

GFA Ministers to These Disenfranchised Women

“In the presence of God, they learn they are His precious children, no less worthy of kindness than any other person.”

Left to survive in a world that only shows hatred, fear and distrust at every turn, it’s no wonder that many widows feel hopeless. But remember, God commanded us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That’s one of many reasons why Gospel for Asia (GFA) offers ongoing support for the precious few who are willing to help. Sisters of Compassion are some of those few.

These special women are trained in ministering to and helping the disenfranchised. They aren’t afraid to pour out love to widows who’ve been hurt, neglected and wronged. It’s part of God’s work, and they do it with compassion. Being women themselves, it’s easier for them to minister to those who need them most.

Women’s Fellowship groups also receive support from GFA. Their work includes a range of programs, such as organizing special events for women and the distribution of gifts of mosquito netting, sewing machines, small livestock and much more.

In the care of Godly women, widows find training that can help them earn income. That’s important for a woman living on her own, and even more so for a younger widow with children to provide for. They also find fellowship and support for when the burdens of life as a family and community outcast are too much to bear.

In the presence of God, they learn they are His precious children, no less worthy of kindness than any other person.

Image Source: Gospel for Asia, Photo of the Day

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The Amazing and Empowering Impact of Chickens and Goats

Last updated on: November 21, 2019 at 3:16 pm By GFA Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again when Gospel for Asia (GFA) and many other faith-based organizations (FBO) publish their Christmas gift catalogs. Two of the seemingly ubiquitous gifts available are chickens and goats.I know what you are thinking. “Chickens and goats? How can chickens and goats really have any impact?” Altruistically speaking, we tend to see more value in things like Bibles, blankets, sewing machines, pull carts or rickshaws. I know this because I had thought that way for years. I was wrong.

My mistake was that I was perceiving the value of chickens and goats from a Western worldview. A chicken has little value to me, and my neighbors would not appreciate me owning a goat (nor would the Home Owners Association by-laws permit it).

Consider, however, the value of chickens or goats for a family living in generational poverty in Asia. When you have absolutely nothing, a couple of chickens or goats is a big deal. They are gifts that can be life-altering.

GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog says:

“The gift of chickens supplements a family’s income and often helps a family get on its feet financially. Families can eat or sell the nutritious eggs, or they can hatch chicks to increase their flock and later have more eggs and chicks to sell. These birds of a feather multiply quickly, taste just like chicken and are really ‘cheep!'”

Another FBO says:

“With a pair of chickens and a goat, you’ll provide a steady supply of eggs, milk, and protein to feed children and help families . . . Chickens are equally easy to raise and will naturally multiply to impact generations of children.”

If this sounds like marketing propaganda, think again. The Population Council is an international, not-for-profit NGO that was established in 1952 by John D. Rockefeller III with funds primarily from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The Council conducts programs to the most vulnerable people in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. It conducts detailed research to ensure the effectiveness of their programs.

“Because our objective is to transform one community at a time… We help them to realize that there is hope for every man, woman and child in that community.”

Would you believe that the Population Council conducted a study that demonstrated the impact of chickens and goats? They did.

In addition to addressing the overarching issue of poverty, the project focused specifically on developing sustainable approaches to help delay childhood marriage.

That raises another question. How can giving chickens and goats help reduce childhood marriages?

The plan was to offer chickens or goats to families as the significant, empowering element of the program. It had already been apparent that education alone was inadequate to change the cultural mindset or the dilemma faced by families with insufficient resources that, therefore, would sell their daughters into a forced marriage.

The empowerment to effectively reduce childhood marriage was the gifting of chickens and goats.

In Ethiopia, families were offered two chickens each year if they agreed to keep their daughters in school and unmarried. The animals were offered in conjunction with a program of informing the communities about the dangers of child marriage. They also offered assistance with educational supplies and an understanding of good animal husbandry.

Because the chickens and goats provided a source of income, the results indicated that girls between the ages of 12 and 17 were far less likely (by two-thirds) to be offered in marriage during the time of the project. Similar results were achieved in Tanzania.

Gospel for Asia does not require a similar commitment from the families to whom you donate chickens and goats. GFA-supported workers give these gifts to demonstrate the love of Jesus to “the least of these” and provide those families with a source of income.

“Chickens and goats may not change your life, but they can make a radical transformation for the poor in Asia.”

Because our objective is to transform one community at a time, our ministry through our partners in Asia takes a holistic approach within each community. We help them to realize that there is hope for every man, woman and child in that community. Our field partners live in or regularly visit those communities to create an environment of hope, love, education and enablement for the entire community to prosper and grow.

To them, we are the hands and feet of the living God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The gifts of chickens or goats are just one of the ways you can enable us to be His representatives in the villages that are most in need.

Chickens and goats may not change your life, but they can make a radical transformation for the poor in Asia. When you give, and when you realize the impact of chicken and goats, you may discover that the Lord is transforming your heart and mind as well.

Sources:

World Vision, Gift Catalog
The Population Council, Building an Evidence Base to Delay Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa

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