Indian Missionaries Raise Literacy Rates, Strengthen Souls
EUGENE, OR - Tuesday, February 2, 2007 -- Taking the whole gospel to the whole person is the focus of Reaching Hand Society (RHS) , which has partnered with India Partners. They not only reach out to help souls but embrace and address all the needs of rural Indians. Their literacy and health programs have empowered the local people.
Children's and adult classes are held after the workday. The beginning of the class is spent on education and the last half is spent memorizing Bible verses and learning more about the Gospel. This plan is made clear to the villages from the beginning. Remo Paul, whose mother founded RHS, is an administrator of the organization. He said he has found that sometimes villages who begin wanting only literacy want to sing and learn from the Bible by the end of the day.
As the part of their first and second phase of the literacy project they were able to raise the literacy rate in the rural area from .04% to 40%. "It has kind of brought a sense of self-sufficiency, and a sense of pride among the people, that they can fend for themselves and not be cheated in the local market," said Paul.
The health care project works with the government to help provide medicated mosquito nets for the villages. Skits about sanitation educate the people--who have no access to immediate medical help-- about how to prevent malaria and water-borne diseases.
RHS enters villages as Christians so the people are aware that RHS believes in a God that is different from their beliefs. They let the people know that there will be prayer and mention of Christ as well as singing and dancing, said Paul.
India Partners helps raise people to pray for the projects. "Every time we have had trouble, we suddenly realized that the trouble had just vanished and we realized someone somewhere around the world had been specifically praying for that issue," Paul said.
India Partners also helps find funding for the literacy and healthcare projects. Supporting the healthcare project is $800 for one year. The literacy project costs only $280 per village and averages $8 per person for the entire year.
India Partners is a faith-based development and relief organization committed to supporting self-help projects in India. All are served regardless of caste, religion, gender, or creed. India Partners helps through development projects, training local leaders, disaster relief, and education. India Partners also coordinates short-term volunteer teams, speakers, and sponsorship programs.
