STORIES

CHANDA KOMU DANDAGE
STUDENT NUMBER: RGI 0607/T02

Chanda, her mother and older sister live in Vadhoni, a small village of about 300 people. Her father has left them. He and Chanda's married brother still live nearby.

Chanda's parents own a small farm. Her mother works there as a day laborer, and her father pays her as he does the other workers - 30 rupees a day (about 65 cents US). During the summer season there is no itinerant work on the farm, and Chanda's mother earns what she can by digging wells and roads to support herself and her daughters.

Five years ago Chanda's mother contracted tuberculosis. She was treated at the mission hospital in Umri, where she received Christ. When Chanda and her sister saw the change in their mother, they too came to believe in Jesus. All three are baptized believers and attend the Indian Evangelical Mission Church in Sibla.

Chanda's sister helps on the farm as a laborer. Chanda takes care of the home. She has completed 8th grade, and can read and write. A local missionary told her about Prakash Institutes and Ruth Girls Institute, helped her with the application process and made sure she had necessary funds to travel to the school to enroll. Chanda is studying tailoring. She plans to return to her village and earn a living there.

"I want to thank my sponsor for their help," says Chanda. "It really means a lot to me."

JAYWANTIMALA BHIMRAO TEKAM
STUDENT NUMBER: RGI 0607/T03

Jaywantimala lives in Matharjun, a small village of about 1,000, with her parents and two brothers. Their home is made of stones, mud, wood and thatch. It has a tiled roof.

Her parents own a small farm which is the sole source of their food and income. They earn approximately 1,000 rupees ($22 USD) a month. Jaywantimala's older brother, Prakash, works as an evangelist. Her younger brother, Ravindra, is in ninth grade. Jaywantimala, 18, has completed 10th grade at the village school. She and her brothers help on the farm.

About five years ago, a missionary visited Jaywantimala's village to pray for Jaywantimala and her sick brother. He continued to come regularly, and eventually led the entire family to Christ. Jaywantimala's family now attends their village Indian Evangelical Mission Church.

Jaywantimala has enrolled in Ruth Girls' Institute tailoring course in order to learn the sewing trade, become a tailor and support herself. She also has a burden for her villagers to know Christ, and she wants to learn more of the word of God and share the love of Jesus with her people. Jaywantimala asks for special prayers that the people in her village come to know Jesus as their savior.

"I want to thank my sponsor for their help," says Jaywantimala. "I will work hard, and when I am able, I want to help others too."

LALITA LETU ATRAM
STUDENT NUMBER: RGI 0607/T01

Lalita lives with her parents and two sisters in Sibla, a small village of about 200. Both parents work as itinerant farmers. Their average daily income is 60 rupees (about $1.30 USD), but only if work is available.

Lalita's mother has suffered from sickle cell anemia for about twenty years. During her treatment at a mission hospital, Lalita and her family heard about Jesus Christ and became Christians. Since then, they have regularly attended their village Evangelical Mission Church.

Lalita, 21, is the oldest of the girls. She and her sisters work on the farm weeding, fetching water and mixing pesticides. They help their mother take care of the home by cooking, washing clothes and sweeping. Their house, like others in the village, is made of bricks and mud. Villagers in Sibla earn a living by farming, as day laborers by digging pits and roads or by collecting and selling leaves from tendu trees, (used for rolling cigarettes) from the jungles nearby.

Lalita has attended school and can read and write. In her spare time she likes to read story books. A missionary who lives in her area told her about Prakash Institutes. She enrolled in the tailoring course at Ruth Girls Institute so that she will be able to earn a living in her home village. There are no tailors in the immediate area around Sibla.

"I want to thank my sponsor for their help," says Lalita. "I want to tell them that I will not let their investment be in vain. I will obey my teachers and use every opportunity made available to me to learn all that I can. During my stay I want to become stronger in my faith and learn to sew very well."