Water Stress: The Unspoken & Under Discussed Global Crisis — Part 2 by Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: September 10, 2022 at 6:27 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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

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

Micro Solutions to the Global Water Stress Crisis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BioSand Water Filters

If you’d like to make a personal impact on the world water crisis, consider giving a needy family a simple BioSand water filter. For only $30, GFA World can manufacture and distribute one of these effective filters to a water-compromised family in Asia or Africa and provide them with clean, safe water for years to come.

Jesus Wells

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

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

Give towards Clean Water Projects »

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

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

About Gospel for Asia

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

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

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

Pandemic Worsens the Hardships of Leprosy Patients — COVID-19 intensifies two crippling challenges
Modern Day Slavery Speeds up under Cover of COVID-19 — Growing during pandemic: people vulnerable to exploitation

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

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

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

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

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

April 7 – World Health Day: Gospel for Asia’s Sisters of Compassion Provide Health Care to Those in Need

Last updated on: October 5, 2021 at 3:09 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide – Discussing the plight of those in extreme poverty who have little to no access to clean water, sanitation, and medical care, and the Gospel for Asia Sisters of Compassion that provide health care to the needy.

Parts of Asia are home to some of the world’s poorest individuals, as well as some of the world’s most challenging living conditions, making Gospel for Asia (GFA) Sisters of Compassion’s work invaluable to those who need it most.

The Sisters of Compassion are specifically trained to serve the most impoverished people groups in their regions. Some of the individuals they work with have little to no access to medical care, while facing various health challenges.

The majority of these regions’ citizens face underprivileged housing conditions, unclean drinking water, poor sanitation, pollution from heavy biomass fuel use and exposure to harsh environmental conditions—all of which increase the need for medical care.^[1]

To make these individuals’ situation even more difficult, statistics from the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence state that over 75 percent of South Asian individuals do not have health insurance,^[2] while the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that 95 percent of individuals classified as “poor” will avoid medical treatment due to cost, regardless of the medical treatment needed.^[3]

For these individuals, medical care is difficult to come by and even more difficult to afford. Their dire need for medical attention often goes unnoticed, and their glaring need for care made invisible. But because of people like GFA Sisters of Compassion, these “invisible” ones are seen, cared for and helped.

Providing Medical Care for the ‘Least of These’

For World Health Day one year, Sisters Jadzia, Baara and Valeska and other Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers organized a free medical camp for those unable to afford proper medical care. The particular area where the camp was held had once been named one of the most undeveloped districts in the region, heightening the need for free medical care.

Following a word of prayer from Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Salus, medical examinations and treatments provided by four highly recognized doctors in the area began. More than 150 people gathered for the medical camp, many traveling a great distance to receive much-needed medical care, free of charge. The doctors performed thorough examinations, checking vital signs and offering recommendations for further treatment if needed. Many of the attendees received free medication for their illnesses.

Grateful Hearts, Tended Bodies

Though some participants may have come to the camp without much hope for their conditions, they left with great joy.

“I am thankful to the church from the bottom of my heart for their love and concern for others,” said Sabella, an attendee. “I have seen various programs conducted by [the church] for the wellbeing of needy people. And today the church has arranged medical camp too.”

Kaethe, another participant, also expressed her appreciation.

“I am thankful to the church for giving me free medicines,” Kaethe said. “These days no one thinks for others, but I am deeply touched by the social service of [the church].”

Sahkyo was another woman touched by the care provided at the medical camp.

“These doctors are not approachable due to their busy schedule, and we are unable to afford their consultancy fee,” Sahkyo said. “But the church has invited them for us. I am thankful to the church for their great support and concern.”

Through the Sisters of Compassion and local Gospel for Asia (GFA) churches, individuals who would never be able to receive proper medical care and treatment gained access to it. For many of these people, something so simple as receiving health care made an extraordinary impact on their health and their heart.

Read about the impact on Saham’s life when he finally received medical care

^[1] Frontiers in Public Health. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00245/full

^[2] http://cbhidghs.gov.in

^[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1490134/

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

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, GFA Sisters of Compassion Provide Health Care to Those in Need on World Health Day

Learn more about the Sisters of Compassion, the specially trained women missionaries with a deep burden for showing Christ’s love by physically serving the needy, underprivileged and poor.

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

Water Stress: The Unspoken Global Crisis — Part 1 from Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: September 10, 2022 at 6:32 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pandemic Problems to Make Global Water Crisis Worse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Singapore Water Crisis Solutions

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

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

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

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

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

Give towards Clean Water Projects »

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

About Gospel for Asia

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

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

Pandemic Worsens the Hardships of Leprosy Patients — COVID-19 intensifies two crippling challenges
Modern Day Slavery Speeds up under Cover of COVID-19 — Growing during pandemic: people vulnerable to exploitation

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

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

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

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

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Modern Day Slavery Speeds up Under Cover of COVID-19 — Part 2

Last updated on: November 4, 2022 at 3:39 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by KP Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this 2nd part of a Special Report update on the state of Modern Day Slavery amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

Trafficking Takes New Forms

Like all the worst viruses, human trafficking continues to mutate. In Asia, traffickers are known to have masqueraded as relief-aid helpers in order to find new victims, for example during the 2015 Nepal earthquake recovery.

Chief Superintendent Linda Jones, divisional police commander, welcomes three new officers who will begin policing the streets of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland very soon.
Photo by Dumfries Galloway Police Division, Facebook

A recent Google search for “crime in the time of a virus human trafficking” found multiple results. One report from Asia documents that seasoned traffickers are busy distributing COVID relief materials and essential food items, and using this activity to identify vulnerable families and possible victims. A report by the UN indicates that the COVID crisis is putting human trafficking victims at risk of further exploitation.

In Scotland, police have warned that with many urban businesses closed, traffickers could be turning their sights on more rural areas.

“We often associate human trafficking and modern slavery with cities and urban areas where it’s easier to hide victims of trafficking in plain sight,” says Chief Superintendent Linda Jones, divisional police commander for Dumfries and Galloway. “However, trafficking happens across all communities, both urban and rural.”

INTERPOL, the international police agency, says the pandemic “has not blunted the determination of organized crime groups to prey on the vulnerable and make a profit from these crimes, which all too often cost the victims their lives.”

Rather, organized crime groups have increased the prices they charge those they are promising to get across borders illegally to find work and heightened the risks involved by trying to find unguarded entry points.

A case in point: In March, 64 male migrants were found dead in a shipping container loaded on the back of a truck trying to cross from Malawi into Mozambique. They are believed to have suffocated. Fourteen others survived.

Such large-scale operations—and tragedies—are not limited to less developed nations. At least nine people died, and more were hospitalized, in San Antonio, Texas, in 2017 after around 100 people were crammed into a tractor-trailer smuggling them into the country from South America.

In England, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck linked to a European smuggling network in May.

And sometimes those in positions of influence are found to be perpetrators. Mohammad Shahid Islam, a member of Parliament in Bangladesh, was arrested in Kuwait in June as part of a human trafficking network. He allegedly charged Bangladeshis almost US$10,000 for a job in the Middle Eastern country.

Paul Petersen, a former county official in Arkansas, pleaded guilty in June to human smuggling and fraud charges related to paying women from the Marshall Islands to come to the United States to put their babies up for adoption.

In some parts of the world, it’s not only individual leaders but large government entities that actively participate in human trafficking. In this year’s TIP report, the State Department named 10 countries it said have engaged in “government-sponsored forced labor.” Among the claims was an Afghan government “policy or pattern” of recruiting child soldiers and sexually enslaving boys in government compounds, a practice known as “bacha bazi.”

Trafficking in Persons Report, 2020 — The U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report affirms that traffickers are denying nearly 25 million people their fundamental right to freedom, by preying on the most vulnerable people, and forcing them to live enslaved lives and toil for their exploiter’s profit. The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic have magnified this problem. Photo by U.S. Department of State

Awareness Training Vitally Needed

While much human trafficking goes on underground, it also often hides in plain sight, such as in domestic workers serving wealthy families, fruit pickers, car wash cleaners and even athletes. For example, in the world of aspiring young athletes, the promise of riches and unscrupulous agents has driven exploitation. According to the U.S. State Department report, “Within Europe’s soccer industry alone, it is estimated there are 15,000 human trafficking victims each year.”

Learning to spot the tell-tale signs of someone who might be enslaved is critical in helping end human trafficking.

It was how a routine traffic stop in Florida led to the arrest of six men who “orchestrated an extensive human trafficking ring.” Following a vehicle reported stolen in Ohio, deputies arrested the driver and his female passenger, whose behavior made them suspect she was under coercion. Eventually, she trusted the officers enough to reveal what she was caught up in.

“The bottom line is that traffickers have not shut down … traffickers are continuing to exploit people. And as vulnerable people become more vulnerable due to COVID, it’s making it easier and easier for traffickers to operate.”

Such alertness isn’t just needed from first responders like police and EMS providers who, according to the U.S. Fire Administration, are “well-suited to help counter human trafficking” because of how they come into contact with people. People working in hotels, bars or sporting events should also be trained to discern the signs of human trafficking because of the high level of interaction with others. The Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, for example, has arranged for awareness training for all its members.

Photo of first responders — According to the U.S. Fire Administration, first responders like police, EMS providers, or this Italian Red Cross worker in Macerata, Italy, are “well-suited to help counter human trafficking” because of how they come into contact with people. Likewise, workers in hotels, bars or sporting events should also be trained to discern the signs of human trafficking because of their high level of interaction with others.

The Power of Faith-based Action

Charting the progress that has been made in fighting human trafficking over the past 20 years by governments and other agencies, the latest TIP report notes the important part played by faith-based groups like Gospel for Asia (GFA World). They are “powerful and necessary forces,” it says.

Glimpse of the red-light district where Pastor Dhinanath ministers — This photo is a small glimpse of the red-light district where Pastor Dhinanath ministers. This row of houses has multiple rooms, which are usually rented by pimps for ongoing prostitution. For safety concerns, we cannot identify anyone working this row of rooms, or share its location in South Asia.

“Unlike governments, faith-based organizations are not limited by jurisdiction, election cycles, or political will.”

“They reach across international borders,” the report says, “spanning continents with a powerful network of followers with tremendous reach—from remote villages to capital cities and the seats of power.”

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) workers seek to help those caught in the human trafficking chain by reaching out to sex workers in red light districts—like the testimony of Pastor Dhinanath and his wife Lydia who helped Athalia escape sexual slavery.

They also aim to break the cycle by providing vocational training and tools that can provide an income and keep people from getting trapped in perpetual debt.

Another way they help is by caring for children whose parents are forced to work all day.

“While these parents are engaged in their daily work, their children are left unattended,” says Kien, who works at one of Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope community centers that opened its doors to the youngsters. “They have no parental guidance or supervision whatsoever. … They are let loose, and they become very unruly. They do not obey or listen to others. This is a big need here to teach their children.”

Bridge of Hope Sri Lanka — The staff at this Bridge of Hope Project Center in Sri Lanka individually help the children out in their after school learning, provide a safe environment to study, supply a hot meal every day, and give them encouragement, love and hope for a brighter future.

At the center, children get a hot meal and schooling and experience genuine love and care from staff.

“I feel very happy and joyful because of the work that we are doing among them,” says Kien. “These children will get a new life; they will become new persons as we teach them. I feel very glad and happy to think where these children will be in the future because of the investment we have made in their lives while here at the center.”

While bright spots like Gospel for Asia (GFA World) exist, a recent report by PBS says that COVID is making it harder for many worthy NGOs to survive, suggesting that only 24 percent of anti-trafficking organizations would be able to remain fully operational without extra funding in the next 12 months.

Your gift today can make an enormous difference in helping the fight against slavery and human trafficking. And your ongoing prayers are welcome too, as this fight—like the battle to beat COVID-19—is not looking to be an easy one to win.

Give Towards Strategic Field Ministries

Your donation enables GFA World national workers to reach out to multitudes of needy people and provide for their most crucial physical and spiritual needs.

About Gospel for Asia

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Modern Day Slavery Speeds up Under Cover of COVID-19 – Growing during pandemic: People vulnerable to exploitation — Part 1

Read more about Gospel for Asia, Modern Slavery, and the COVID 19 Pandemic on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

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

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

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

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

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

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

Modern Day Slavery Accelerates Under Cover of COVID-19, says Gospel for Asia (Part 1)

Last updated on: November 4, 2022 at 3:56 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by KP Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this 1st part of a Special Report update on the state of Modern Day Slavery amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

In my original report, 21st Century Slavery & Human Trafficking, I unveiled the overwhelming reality that more than 40 million people in our modern world are trafficked as slaves—more than any other time in human history. In this sequel, I unpack how modern slavery is growing—not slowing—under the covering of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Desperation, Fear — The global COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk, and deepened the cunning of human traffickers.

If there is any sliver of a silver lining to be seen in the coronavirus cloud that has darkened the world in 2020, a reduction in human trafficking might be suspected. After all, with half the globe locked down, the modern-day slave trade must have at least slowed, if not stalled, right?

Sadly, no. If anything, the global pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk and deepened the cunning of traffickers. For example, the World Bank expects poverty to rise for the first time in 20 years, as circumstances push an additional 88-115 million people into extreme poverty, depending on the severity of economic contraction worldwide.

The World Health Organization issued a statement on October 13 saying:

“The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being hardest hit.

“With low and irregular incomes and a lack of social support, many of them are spurred to continue working, often in unsafe conditions, thus exposing themselves and their families to additional risks. Further, when experiencing income losses, they may resort to negative coping strategies, such as distress sale of assets, predatory loans or child labor.”

With poverty worsened and government resources stretched to capacity, COVID-19 has widened the crack through which the vulnerable fall—or are pulled through. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) details how COVID-19 has impacted “the capacity of state authorities and non-governmental organizations to provide essential services to the victims of this crime.”

21st Century Slavery & Human Trafficking — Worldwide, over 40 million people are enslaved or trafficked, which is higher than the entire population of Canada. Many of these victims are literally kept under lock and key, while others are effectively imprisoned by coercion, manipulation and extortion.

Income, food, housing and health care inequalities have increased in impoverished parts of the world, and these “drivers … increase the risk of sexual and labor exploitation, and are being used by criminal groups to scale-up modern day slavery activities,” warns the distinguished British medical journal The Lancet.

Rather than diminishing it, the ongoing coronavirus crisis has cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind only illegal arms and drugs.

As detailed in a previous Gospel for Asia special report on the issue, human trafficking generates an estimated $150 billion a year from the oppressed lives and broken hearts of men, women and children. What sets human trafficking apart from other major issues Gospel for Asia (GFA) has addressed in its series of articles on key global challenges is that it is entirely man-made, both exacerbating and taking advantage of natural factors like disease, economic impoverishment, climate change and the coronavirus.

Photo of forced labor — Those people already working in forced labor conditions may face further hardships because production costs are being squeezed, while more people unable to make ends meet may turn to loan sharks for money and so risk getting caught in a debt pit they can’t climb out of, effectively enslaving them for life.

Exploitation on the Rise

“Instability and lack of access to critical services caused by the pandemic mean that the number of people vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers is rapidly growing,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he introduced the government’s 20th annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which monitors the crime and efforts to combat it.

Mike Pompeo, U.S. Seecretary of State — Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State Photo by United States Department of State

“The bottom line is that traffickers have not shut down,” Pompeo said elsewhere. “Traffickers are continuing to exploit people. And as vulnerable people become more vulnerable due to COVID, it’s making it easier and easier for traffickers to operate.”

Victims of trafficking are also “disproportionately at risk” of getting COVID-19 for a variety of reasons, according to The Lancet. Among the causes: pre-existing health needs, unregulated and unsafe working environments, over-crowded living conditions, poverty, malnutrition and substance misuse.

A United Nations report reveals just how COVID-19 has made trafficking easier. Travel and border restrictions intended to slow the spread of the virus may have only driven traffickers further underground, it says, while also making victims harder to identify. Additionally, those already working in forced labor conditions may face further hardships because production costs are being squeezed, while more people unable to make ends meet may turn to loan sharks for money and so risk getting caught in a debt pit they can’t climb out of, effectively enslaving them.

Rather than diminishing it, the ongoing coronavirus crisis has cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind only illegal arms and drugs.

Meanwhile, children are at heightened risk of exploitation because schools are closed. For many of them, school was both a safe place and one of their only sources for a regular meal. Now they may be left to fend for themselves with parents unable to care for or supervise them at home.

Photo of little girl from Sri Lanka — Nearly all the children in villages like this one in Sri Lanka do not have any parental guidance whatsoever as many come from broken or illiterate families, which makes these kids vulnerable to predation and trafficking. For many of them, school was both a safe place and one of their only sources for a regular meal. Local lockdowns due to COVID have left many to fend for themselves, as parents are unable to care for or supervise them at home, increasing their risk of exploitation.

Online Predators on the Rise

Dark web chatter — Chatter in dark web forums indicate that online offenders see the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to commit more offenses against children.

It’s not only children and young people in poorer nations that are at risk, either. In North America, the pandemic has seen everyone spending even more time online than usual—exposing them to predators who scour the web looking for innocent children.

“It’s easier for traffickers to sit behind a computer screen and actually reach out to multiple people, hoping that one or two bite,” says Karley Church, a human trafficking crisis intervention counselor with Victim Services of Durham Region, near Toronto, Canada.

A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that “chatter in dark web forums indicate that offenders see the pandemic as an opportunity to commit more offenses against children.”

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About Gospel for Asia

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Modern Day Slavery Speeds up Under Cover of COVID-19 – Growing during pandemic: People vulnerable to exploitation — Part 2

Read more about Gospel for Asia, Modern Slavery, and the COVID 19 Pandemic on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

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

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

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

24 Christian Leaders affirm Gospel for Asia’s integrity and credibility.

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Gospel for Asia Supplies 37 Million with Safe Water in ‘Thirstiest’ Continent

Last updated on: December 8, 2021 at 2:10 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Faith-based agency has drilled more than 30,000 ‘Jesus Wells,’ distributed 58,000-plus water filters A leading mission agency revealed it has provided safe drinking water for a staggering 37.5 million people in Asia, the world’s “thirstiest” continent. The number of people helped by Texas-based Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is roughly equivalent to the entire population of California.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reported millions of water-deprived families across Asia — home to six out of every 10 people on the planet — now have safe, reliable drinking water thanks to the organization’s deep wells and BioSand filters.

In the past two decades, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) and its partners around the world have provided more than 30,000 wells and 58,000 filters.

Gospel for Asia reports it has provided safe drinking water for a staggering 37.5 million people in Asia, the world's thirstiest continent. — **QUENCHING THE THIRST OF A CONTINENT:** Gospel for Asia (GFA World) revealed it has provided safe drinking water for a staggering 37.5 million people in Asia, the world’s “thirstiest” continent. The faith-based mission agency released a new report titled Don’t Drink The Water (Unless You Know What’s In It).

In 2019 alone, the faith-based organization — manned entirely by local workers, many traveling from village to village on foot — helped drill 4,856 new “Jesus Wells” and distribute 12,243 new water filters in communities, many of which were stricken by waterborne diseases.

“In the world’s thirstiest continent, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) workers and churches are committed to meeting people’s most vital physical need — safe drinking water,” said the organization’s founder Dr. K.P. Yohannan, as the mission agency released a new report titled Don’t Drink The Water (Unless You Know What’s In It).

The report comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) says one in every three people in the world doesn’t have access to safe drinking water, and the United Nations predicts that by the year 2050 up to 5.7 billion people worldwide could be affected by water shortages.

Finding safe drinking water is not just a problem in Asia. In the U.S., as many as 63 million people — nearly one in every five Americans — have been exposed to potentially unsafe drinking water, GFA World’s report says, citing lead and arsenic contamination.

Demand for Water to Skyrocket

In the next 20 years, global demand for water is expected to surge by more than 50 percent, according to the U.N.

“This desperate situation is especially acute in Asia, where millions of families get their drinking water from the only source available to them — often a dirty river or stagnant pond, which are breeding grounds for parasites and deadly bacteria,” Yohannan said.

Drinking contaminated water can lead to fatal diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis A, and diarrhea. Globally, diarrhea kills almost 2,200 children every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

By providing safe water, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) hopes people who’ve never heard about God’s love will see “love in action.”

In one community, the local pastor began praying for a new well when the old village water source dried up, forcing villagers to trek every day to the river. Days later, a team arrived to drill a new Jesus Well. Although skeptical at first, locals soon realized the new well was heaven-sent, the report says.

Going Deep, Finding Lasting Solutions

Beginning with the first well in the year 2000, Jesus Wells — up to 1,500 feet in depth — tap deep underground reserves and bring year-round, clean water to thousands of villages across Asia, each well supplying hundreds of people on average and providing a central community gathering place.

Because local people receive training to maintain the wells, the water keeps flowing. One team recently found a Jesus Well still going strong after 20 years.

Meanwhile, portable BioSand filters — another clean-water solution, costing around $30 each — remove most contaminants, making water 98 percent pure.

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

About Gospel for Asia

Gospel for Asia (GFA) is a leading faith-based mission agency, bringing vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear the “good news” of Jesus Christ. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,000 clean water wells drilled, over 11,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 200,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.

Read the Special Report on Solving the World Water Crisis … for Good — Lasting Solutions Can Defeat an Age-old Problem

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Gospel for Asia Calls for ‘Lasting Solutions’ in Report on World Water Crisis

Last updated on: August 25, 2022 at 10:45 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Two billion people worldwide struggle to find water every day, says ‘sobering’ GFA report in wake of World Water Day. A sobering report released by Gospel for Asia (GFA) reveals that two billion people globally are struggling to find enough water to survive.Approximately 40 percent of the world’s land surface is desert or semi-arid, placing about two billion people — one in every four people on the planet — in peril, says the report titled Solving the World Water Crisis for Good: Lasting Solutions Can Defeat an Age-Old Problem.

“In many places, there simply isn’t enough water, and the water that people do have is contaminated,” said Gospel for Asia (GFA) founder Dr. K.P. Yohannan, whose Texas-based mission has served the extreme poor in Asia for more than 40 years.

Millions of people rely on dirty ponds for drinking and washing, but the water often contains dangerous toxins or pathogens, says the report.

“People have to choose between drinking tainted water and going thirsty — it’s sobering,” Yohannan said.

Drinking contaminated water can lead to deadly waterborne diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis A, and diarrhea. Globally, diarrhea kills almost 2,200 children every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

“Despite the often devastating consequences, millions of people start each day with a long trek on foot to the nearest waterhole, possibly miles away,” Yohannan said. “Life for them becomes a dreary quest for survival.”

Going Deep, Finding Lasting Solutions to World Water Crisis

Gospel for Asia (GFA) teams have led the way in drilling deep wells — up to 1,500 feet in depth — to tap plentiful underground reserves and bring reliable, clean water to thousands of villages across Asia where families used to drink from filthy ponds.

These deep wells — known as Jesus Wells — supply year-round clean water to villages prone to drought and water shortages, with each well serving an average of 300 people.

Because local people receive training to maintain the wells, the water keeps flowing. One team recently found a Jesus Well still going strong after 20 years — transforming the lives of hundreds of villagers.

Another clean water solution — the portable BioSand filter, costing around $30 — removes most contaminants from dirty water, making it 98 percent pure, the report says.

In the past 12 years, Gospel for Asia (GFA) teams have distributed more than 73,000 of these household filters, changing the lives of impoverished villagers like Nirmala whose family often got sick drinking from a polluted pond.

“We had frequent stomach problems,” she said, describing life before getting a filter in her home. “Headaches, skin problems, pain… it was a very discouraging way to live.”

Even though improvements and advances in water-purification technology have been made, the report says much more needs to be done to solve the world’s water crisis. “The best solutions arise from cooperative efforts that involve (the local people),” it says.

“By God’s grace, Gospel for Asia (GFA) has been part of the solution for many years now,” said Yohannan. “People are experiencing the life of Christ because of the gift of clean water.”

About Gospel for Asia

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, bringing vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear the “good news” of Jesus Christ. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,000 clean water wells drilled, over 11,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 200,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.

Source: Christian News Wire

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World Wars Against Deadly Mosquitoes, Says Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: January 3, 2022 at 11:39 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Discussing special report Winning the Ancient Conflict Between Man and Mosquito and the battle being fought against mosquito-borne diseases.

Mosquito bites will result in more than 700,000 deaths around the world this year — wiping out the equivalent of the entire population of Washington, D.C., says a report for World Mosquito Day.

Mosquito bites will result in 700,000+ deaths around the world this year -- the equivalent of the entire population of Washington, D.C. — **WAGING WAR ON DEADLY MOSQUITOES:** Mosquito bites will result in more than 700,000 deaths around the world this year — wiping out the equivalent of the entire population of Washington, D.C., says a report by Gospel for Asia (GFA World). The report — Winning the Ancient Conflict Between Man and Mosquito — coincides with World Mosquito Day, Aug. 20.

Malaria is the most common mosquito-borne disease, claiming more than 400,000 lives worldwide every year — mostly children under five, says the just-released report by mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World).

The report — Winning the Ancient Conflict Between Man and Mosquito — reveals the lethal impact of mosquitoes across Asia, where the aerial menace also spreads other diseases, such as dengue, yellow fever, Zika, West Nile virus, and Japanese encephalitis.

“Without proper prevention or treatment, the consequences of a simple mosquito bite are very serious in many places around the world,” said Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founder Dr. K.P. Yohannan, whose Texas-based organization is on the ground across Asia in thousands of cities and villages. “Unfortunately, it’s a war that needs to be won and won and won — it rages on every day in places like Asia.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) says mosquitoes actually could be responsible for “several million deaths” every year. World Mosquito Day, observed annually on Aug. 20, commemorates the breakthrough discovery in 1897 that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between people. So far, there’s no vaccine for malaria.

More than half the world’s population is at risk of contracting dengue — a raging fever that claims 40,000 lives every year.

Annoying Bite Could Be Deadly

“For most of us in the West, a mosquito bite is an itchy annoyance,” Yohannan said, “but for hundreds of thousands across Asia, it’s deadly.”

Millions across the region can’t afford vaccines against mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus if available — or even basic preventive measures, such as insect repellent or window screens.

Every year, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) and other organizations distribute thousands of free mosquito-repelling bed nets to impoverished families, students in hostels, and agricultural workers in endemic areas who are among the most at-risk of getting bitten at night.

So far, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) has distributed more than 1.3 million nets across Asia, costing around $10 a piece. Nets are the most effective way to prevent potentially deadly bites when mosquitoes are most active at dusk and daybreak.

“Our response is driven by the love of God,” said Yohannan, author of the new book Never Give Up. “Mosquito reduction efforts by organizations such as Gospel for Asia (GFA World) are one of the evidences that fulfill Christ’s imperative to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’.”

About Gospel for Asia

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.

Learn more by reading these Special Reports:

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Man’s Health Restored After Drinking Water from Gospel for Asia Jesus Well

Last updated on: September 11, 2022 at 8:28 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Discussing Sabar and his village, the daily reality of unclean drinking water that far too many experience, and the Gospel for Asia Jesus Well that restored life and health.

Imagine for just a moment: The water that flows through your filtered refrigerator to your glass of ice or that pours from your sink faucet to the cooking pan is gone.

Instead, you heft a bucket in each hand and walk to the closest river, which is 300 meters (0.19 miles) away. When you return home with the heavy buckets, you finally take a deep drink to quench your thirst. You know the water you just drank could also contain disease-causing bacteria. But is there any other option?

For far too many, like 60-year-old Sabar, the answer is no. Drinking unclean water is a daily reality.

Struggle for Clean Water

Discussing Sabar & his village, the daily reality of unclean drinking water, & the Gospel for Asia Jesus Well that restored life & health. — A Jesus Well like this one proved to be life-changing for Sabar and his village.

Every day, Sabar trekked to the river to collect his water supply. Unfortunately, the water was not safe for consumption. Sabar often fell sick and his overall health suffered. But there was no other source of water for his village, so he continued to use the unfiltered river water.

One day, as Sabar made his way to the river, he met Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers Jamir and Vazir. They greeted him kindly and talked with him about how Jesus can provide for all his needs.

Naturally, Sabar thought of his village’s need for clean water. After all, he wasn’t the only one who suffered from the unclean water.

“If your Jesus will provide our needs, it will be very helpful to us,” Sabar told Jamir and Vazir.

Water from a Different Source

After the men prayed with Sabar, Jamir conducted a preliminary survey of the village area and took Sabar’s request for clean water to Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Tusar. Recognizing the village’s need for a good water source, Pastor Tusar began the process of installing a Jesus Well.

Jesus Wells provide communities with clean water, safe for cooking and drinking. They play a vital role in helping prevent disease caused by water contamination.

Soon the well in Sabar’s village was complete and ready for use. Now, instead of walking to the river every day, Sabar has a well near his home. The water is pure, and Sabar no longer suffers from the effects of drinking the contaminated river water. His health has greatly improved, and the well has been a blessing for the entire village.

Sabar saw God’s provision firsthand through the installation of the Jesus Well. He learned he could truly trust Jesus to provide for his needs. For Sabar, the gift of one well pours forth blessings of fresh water, good health and a growing relationship with Jesus.

To learn more about the effect Jesus Wells can have on a family’s health, watch Arnab’s story here.

Learn more about how to provide pure, clean water to families and villages through Gospel for Asia Jesus Wells and BioSand Water Filters.

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

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Report, Man’s Health Restored After Drinking Water from Jesus Well

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

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650 Million Child Brides Worldwide Says Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: August 12, 2022 at 9:55 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by KP Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada reveals a shocking new special report that followed the International Day of the Girl on October 11, that girls face greater exploitation than ever, with 650 million child brides in the world today.

As women’s rights take center stage in the U.S. and many parts of the world, the reality for millions of girls worldwide is sexual exploitation and forced marriage before the age of 13.

The reality for millions of girls worldwide is sexual exploitation and forced marriage, becoming child brides before the age of 13. — **650 MILLION CHILD BRIDES:** Girls face greater exploitation than ever, with more than 650 million “child brides” in the world today, a startling new report reveals. Rewriting the Tragedies of Girlhood — a special report by Gospel for Asia (GFA World) — coincides with the U.N. International Day of the Girl, Oct. 11.

The horrific treatment of girls — including sex trafficking, sex-selective abortions, and denial of education — is exposed in a special report titled Rewriting the Tragedies of Girlhood, released by Gospel for Asia (GFA World) to coincide with the U.N. International Day of the Girl, Oct. 11.

In 2014, the kidnapping of 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria by Boko Haram terrorists grabbed the headlines, but rampant abuse of girls across Africa and Asia continues largely under the radar:

In Bangladesh, a survey of 375 sex workers revealed nearly half of them were child brides, married as young as 11, and trafficked into prostitution
In China, sex-selective abortions resulted in a national shortage of women, fueling demand for child brides and sex workers
North Korean girls who escape across the border to China are forced to stay “invisible” and often end up in brothels and the cybersex trade
Girls in Asia as young as nine are forced to perform sex acts in front of webcams, live-streamed to a pay-to-view global audience

“Globally, millions of girls — nearly double the entire U.S. population, in fact — are trapped in a web of exploitation,” said Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founder Dr. K.P. Yohannan. “Girls living in areas of political instability, conflict, or oppression are especially vulnerable to forced marriage and sex slavery.”

In China, girls are trafficked from neighboring countries, lured by the promise of jobs. Victims are forced to cohabit with men who don’t speak their language, keep them locked in tiny rooms, and rape them at will. Often, girls are beaten and drugged.

UNICEF — the U.N. children’s agency that stages the annual International Day of the Girl every October to raise awareness — estimates there are 650 million child brides globally, including women who married in childhood. Girls are often forced to marry early because their parents don’t want them, placing a far higher value on boys.

‘You Should Have Been A Boy’

One of four sisters, Ruth was treated cruelly by her father who flew into a rage when she was born. “You should have been a boy,” he later told her. When Ruth decided to go to Bible college, she knelt at her father’s feet to get his blessing. Instead, he kicked her in the face.

“While Ruth was at college, her father’s heart softened and he came to know the love of Jesus,” said Yohannan. “When she traveled home and stepped off the bus, her father ran to hug her. Change happens when people see every single girl is precious because she’s created by God in his image.”

Giving girls the opportunity to pursue education is key in the battle against exploitation and child marriage — with GFA World’s Bridge of Hope program providing schooling and safety for tens of thousands of at-risk girls in Asia.

When 13-year-old Krupa realized she was being roped into a childhood marriage, she alerted workers at the Bridge of Hope center she attended. Within minutes, “they arrived at our house like angels” and intervened to stop the ceremony, she said. Today, Krupa has achieved her goal of becoming a teacher — and married of her own choice when she was 20.

GFA World’s full special report is at https://gfa.org/special-report/child-marriage-child-trafficking-girl-problems/.

Media interested in interviews with Gospel For Asia should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

About Gospel for Asia

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An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear — Think About Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
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