India is a country with a population of 1.35 billion people. The first church planted in India was in Mumbai by the Boston church in 1986 and the next one was in Bangalore in 1987 by the London church. Since then the churches have expanded to 5 nations – India, Nepal, Pakistan, Srilanka, and Bangladesh. We are now 6982 disciples in 66 cities. India has 56 churches, Pakistan has 4, Nepal has 3, Srilanka has 2 and Bangladesh has one.
With the coronavirus pandemic, we have experienced a nationwide lockdown for 50 days and it is continuing. This has affected the whole nation and our disciples. Many of the disciples are daily wage earners, some working in private firms and some even doing small businesses. Some of them have no work, they have lost jobs and many are uncertain whether they will get their salary. Some got They are unable to work and earn to support their family. Some have gotten a salary with a huge cut. Things are not looking that good for people. We took a survey of how many people in the church needed help so far we have helped 34% of our church members with groceries worth $20 and cash of $20. This will last for 10-15 days depending on the family size and needs. The grocery kit we provided had 15kgs of rice, 5 kg of wheat flour, 2 kg lentil, 1 kg sugar, salt, tea, and some Indian spices. Most of our members live on rent and that is also a big need that disciples are worried about how they will pay [each family pays an average of $100-$150 per month as rent].
The immediate need is for disciples is to help them with support for groceries, medicines, and also their rent. Any help would be appreciated to support the disciples' families.
Dinesh George
India
Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.
