Life can seem eerily reminiscent of World War II for minority children living in this small South Asian nation.
Frequently referred to in the media as “the enemy” and sequestered off into guarded camps, children from this ethnic group spend their days forced to beg on the streets of their designated ghetto or steal food for their families, leaving no room for education.
They are also often turned away from public restrooms and washrooms, causing widespread illness and more rapid contagion levels for COVID-19. In fact, one of the most dangerous journeys a young woman of this ethnicity can make is the trip to their allotted row of toilets, as many bandits and assaulters hide and wait there.
Many children in the camps grow up severely physically impaired due to their malnourishment. It further ostracizes their ethnic group from the locals, feeding into national biases and stigmatizations.
As conditions worsened throughout the pandemic and they shut down with travel and mail restrictions, people in the camps could only do a few jobs—needlework, construction, auto repair and housecleaning. As a result of this sudden loss of income, they introduced illegal drug rings into the camps, which led to many parental arrests, leaving children even more vulnerable to exploitation and early deaths.
Thankfully, with your donations, Send Relief partners established a children’s center in the middle of the camps!
Over 100 kids between the ages of 4 and 17 regularly attend and learn essential skills previously denied by the state like reading, writing and math. Now, they also have a safe place to take showers, wash their clothes, eat nutritious meals and hear about God’s deep love for them.
The center also hosts mentoring and counseling sessions for teenage girls, women’s Bible studies, monthly meetings for single mothers and an annual evangelism program for families of all sizes.
Built on the faith of a few humble founders, the center has now served over 4,000 marginalized people in desperate need of care and attention. Thank you for making this possible!
Pray for this people group to find dignity and a real standing in South Asian society as they continue fighting for equal rights.
Published November 4, 2022