You guys have done a great job so far spreading the word about the big blogging trip to India April 26- May 2 with Compassion International. Thanks for spreading the widgets, banners, and the Facebook group around the blogosphere. Thousands of eyeballs will be tuning in to read about our adventures thanks to you…and I believe hundreds of kids will be released from poverty in Jesus’ name because of that.
For anyone who’s new here, Compassion meets the inside and outside needs of the poorest of the poor through local churches. These churches are sometimes referred to as “projects” or “Child Development Centers” by Compassion’s folks. Every project or Child Development Center has a name and number. If you sponsor a child through Compassion International you may have noticed your child’s project number and name on every letter you receive from your child and on your monthly billing statements.
Some of you sponsor children in India and have been asking if we’re going to visit your child’s project on our trip. Others of you have simply asked for more details of our trip so that you can pray more specifically for us and the communities we’ll be visiting. So, here’s the list of projects/Child Development Centers we’ll be heading to – with a brief description of each. Let us know if your sponsored child is at any of these!
PROJECT #EI-117: Marthoma Child Development Center (Semi-rural)
Typical homes: wood with dirt floors.
Common health problems: malnutrition, malaria, typhoid.
Day laborers earn the equivalent of $22 per month. (most adults employed as day laborers)
Community needs: tuition assistance, higher wages, literacy programs.
PROJECT #EI-107: Kestopur Child Development Center (Semi-urban)
Typical homes: adobe walls, dirt floors, bamboo roofs.
Common health problems: tuberculosis, malaria, chicken pox.
Day laborers earn the equivalent of $30 per month. (most adults employed as day laborers)
Community needs: potable water, proper sanitation and education opportunities.
PROJECT #EI-105: Kalinagore Child Development Center (Rural)
Typical homes: dirt floors, mud walls, thatch roofs.
Common health problems: diarrhea, waterborne illnesses and skin diseases.
Day laborers earn the equivalent of $31 per month. (most adults employed as day laborers)
Community needs: Community has electricity and water! Needs proper sanitation, primary schools, vocational training.
PROJECT #EI-119: Hastings Child Development Center (Urban, heavily Muslim populated area of Kolkata)
Typical Homes: dirt floors, brick walls, tile roofs.
Common health problems: colds, coughs, viral fevers, malaria, waterborne illnesses.
Day laborers earn the equivalent of $27 per month (most adults unemployed)
Community needs: vocational training, secondary schools, stable employment opportunities, health and hygiene education, drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs.
We had our pre-trip conference call last week to get to know each other a little better, discuss some geeky blogging tricks, get an overview of the trip and marvel at the number of shots and other medical precautions Angie has taken. Pete was too busy observing Good Friday (or catching the premier of the new Hannah Montana flick) to join us but we prayed God would protect him from leprosy, malaria and typhoid fever in spite of his lack of dedication to God’s work in the third world. We haven’t heard from God on that one yet. Time will tell. (God have mercy on your intestinal tract, Pete Wilson.)
I’m all the sudden feeling very sick to my stomach.
Shaun,
I heard a two-part series on NPR (yesterday afternoon and this morning) on the collapsing agricultural system in India. One man was even predicting that the Punjab area (where the story focused) could turn from a bread basket to dust bowl in the next few years. Thought you might be interested in the story – here are links to Part 1 and Part 2.
Thanks, Euphrony. I’ll definitely listen.