To understand the need for transformation in this country, we would like to give you an overview of some of the social issues affecting India. We believe that holistic development is more than helping people achieve better living conditions. True transformation comes when a community moves towards God’s intentions for life. Change will only occur in India when minds and hearts are transformed and discipled according to the principles of the kingdom of heaven. As these principles are implemented in this society, the people will find and experience the abundant life that is found only in Jesus Christ.

Poverty, Nutrition and Health

Approximately 26 percent of India’s population lives below the poverty line. It is ironic that an internationally envied IT industry together with dish antennae and cyber cafes thrives in India alongside hovels with no electricity, shameful literacy figures, appalling malnutrition. With almost ten million of its inhabitants living in slums, Mumbai is now becoming known as the slum capital of not only India, but the world.

Government hospitals in India are often in poor condition with doctors who are overworked and underpaid. It is estimated that there are only three healthcare workers for every 10,000 Indians. That is about one-fifth of the total number of doctors in the United States (see Article 1, page 14).

In one of the UNICEF reports on Progress for Children (May 2006), India was reported to have the highest number of malnourished children in the world. (See Article 2, page 15) About 47 percent of children under the age of five are underweight as compared to sub-Saharan Africa, where 33 percent of children are malnourished.

Sadly, the cause of these shocking figures is not only because of a lack of food. Rather the reason for India’s poor performance has been attributed to social issues - high population density, high rate of infectious diseases, low rate of immunization, low social status of women and early marriage leading to low birth weight, bad quality hygiene, and high rate of literacy.

In India, poverty is hunger. Real hunger. Never having three basic meals a day. Poverty is hearing your children cry themselves to sleep because there is no ‘rice and da’l or a few ‘chappatis’ (Indian bread) to give them. Poverty is lack of shelter. In an urban area it might be fear of a slumlord. In a rural area it could be a creditor, the forest department waiting to evict you, or an alcoholic husband signing away the one fragment of land you live on, to drink his last drink. Poverty is being sick and not being able to afford a doctor. Poverty is not being able to send your child to school and not being able to read. Poverty is not having a job and insecurity and fear about the future. Poverty is living one day at a time. Poverty is watching your child die a senseless, needless death from malnutrition or diarrhea brought on by unsafe drinking water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and lack of freedom. Poverty is shrinking from the contempt of others merely because you were born you. - from InfoChange India, on poverty affecting India.

Condition of Women

The condition of women in India is harsh. Although the Indian Constitution guarantees the equal rights for men and women, equality is something that an Indian woman rarely experiences in her lifetime. Women often lack the power to decide who they will marry and are often married off to a man they have never met through arranged marriages. Their value comes from submitting to their husbands and birthing children.

In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in atrocities against women in India, in terms of rapes, assaults and sexual abuse. It is estimated that over 60 percent of all Indian women are sexually abused by a close male relative. Equally disturbing is the finding that two of every five women in an abusive relationship in India remain silent about their suffering because of shame and family honor. (See Article 3, page 16)

India is known for its large number of Commercial Sex Workers (CSWs). Many of these women and girls are sold as minors or kidnapped from their villages and later sold as slaves to brothels. The children of CSWs are often neglected, living on the streets and many will end up working in the sex industry. It is a cruel cycle for many women and girls living on the streets or working in the sex industry. Also see attached articles for recent news on treatment of women in India, pages 17-18.

 “You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.”
- Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru

Street Children

Approximately 18 million children live or work on the streets of India. There is no security for these children on the street. India's laws make no provision for their problems and needs, and an overburdened police department views them as a law and order problem. Street children are prone to everything from prostitution and sexual abuse to violence and drug trafficking.

Many of these children suffer from HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis and malnutrition. They receive little or no education, which only keeps them trapped in their life on the streets.

Some of these street children are from local slums, living on the streets during the day to earn money and returning home at night to an often unstable family situation. The money that is earned is used to buy food for their families. When the children don’t bring home enough money, they are often beaten and abused.

One of the girls who came to our temporarily lunch program for street children told us that her mother threw chili powder in her eyes because she didn’t earn enough money. Her sister got married at the age of thirteen, now it is her turn. It is a harsh reality for many children, who are forced to give up their childhood and earn a few rupees on the street to survive another day.