GFA World Media
Photos: ‘Untouchable’ Boy Finds Acceptance, Love
It was 6 a.m. and the start of a new day for 6-year-old Nihal. He woke up knowing the first thing he had to do was feed the family pigs. It was a menial chore, and it would be his responsibility for the next six years.
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This is Nihal. When he was 6 years old he began helping his father to rear the family pigs—their source of income—by feeding them slop in the early morning hours.
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Nihal often accompanied his father in the mornings before school to walk the pigs to a nearby pond where the animals could feast on roots.
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Every day, Nihal collected whatever thrown-away food he could scavenge from the local hostel to feed the family pigs.
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This is Nihal’s father, Santavir. Santavir grew up rearing pigs. It was the profession handed down to him from his father and his father before him.
“I can’t say whether I like raising pigs or not,” Santavir says. “It has been passed down the generations. Now I am doing it as part of my professions and identity. I don’t know any other work.”
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In the region where Santavir lives, rearing pigs is considered a job for the lowest of the low. Because of this, Nihal would often get picked on at school. His schoolmates labelled him as “untouchable.”
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Nihal’s mother (in blue) collects trash for a living.
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She scavenges, looking for anything deemed worthy of reselling, to help provide for her family.
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Before attending a GFA-supported Bridge of Hope centre, Nihal endured insults and rejection from the kids at his school because he helped his father feed pigs. When he started at the Bridge of Hope centre (pictured), he expected the same kind of treatment. He was surprised to discover that the kids at the centre were very different than the kids at his school.
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The first few weeks and months Nihal started in Bridge of Hope, he kept to himself and wondered what the children would say to him if he sat with them or ate lunch with him. But over time, as his teachers ministered to him, he felt more comfortable in interacting with his fellow students.
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Nihal’s Bridge of Hope teachers lovingly and patiently taught the children at their centre how to break down walls of discrimination and to look at one another as equal. Though others in the community may deem some people as inferior, Nihal’s teachers faithfully shared lessons of love and acceptance.
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One of Nihal’s greatest fears upon enrolling in Bridge of Hope was eating with the other children. In school, his schoolmates had often told Nihal to stay away from them, but in Bridge of Hope he found fellowship.
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The children at Bridge of Hope don’t consider Nihal as “untouchable.” Instead, they welcome him into their fun and games as their equal.
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Santavir enrolled his son in Bridge of Hope knowing it would offer his child a different future than his own. Today, Nihal experiences the joy of being one of God’s creations—loved and accepted by those around him.
Photos: Jesus Well Relieves Water Crisis
Vimal grew up in an agrarian village where most of the locals were farmers, relying on small ponds to irrigate their fields and sustain their livestock. Women relied on the single water well in the village, almost a mile away, for their daily cooking, bathing and cleaning needs.
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Mothers and their children walked a mile each way several times a day to fetch water from the only well close to this village. That well was the only source of water for every household need for the entire village of more than 200 people.
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Every morning and evening, long lines would form at the well as families waited to fill their water jugs. Bickering would often break out among those waiting. Children, whose morning chores included helping carry water to the house, sometimes missed the bus that took them school. This hindered their education.
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Every spring, drought came to this village, drying up any natural sources of water available to the farmers. Men joined the long line at the well, bringing their livestock for watering. This drastically increased the burden on the single water well and lengthened the wait time for everyone.
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Vimal, the first believer in this village, was burdened by his community’s struggle for the basic necessity of water. He asked for help from the local GFA-supported pastor (pictured), praying God would provide a solution to their water crisis.
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The Lord answered Vimal’s prayers, and a Jesus Well was installed. Vimal’s neighbour donated land to the church for the Jesus Well. The prime location, which was centrally located and near the roadside, provided easy access to the entire village.
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This new easy access ended the long travel times and lines as women and children were able to quickly get to the well throughout the day as they had need.
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Jesus Wells are drilled much deeper than the average village well, tapping into greater water reserves and producing plenty of water for the needs of the community. Even in the drought season, the well continues to pour out pure water despite its heavy use.
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Many people in this village had become ill, and some even died, because of the murky water (pictured on right) from the former well. Because the Jesus Well pulls water from a deeper reservoir, it produces cleaner water and the villagers are healthier.
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This Jesus Well has lifted the strain of getting enough water each day. Joy and health have replaced worry and sickness. “It was a such a blessing that the Lord answered our prayers and gave us this Jesus Well in our village,” Vimal (not pictured) shares. “I was so happy.”
Photos: The Only Medical Care They'll Ever Recieve
Aashna squatted on a dirt floor beside brightly clothed women all waiting to see a doctor. Each had different needs, different concerns. For Aashna, this was her only opportunity to help her baby boy.
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GFA-supported workers organize free medical camps to serve the poor people in their community and neighboring villages. They invite medical professionals to examine, diagnose, prescribe and counsel villagers who would otherwise never see a doctor. Here, a group of GFA-supported workers, professional doctors and volunteers from the local church pose for a photo.
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GFA-supported workers, like these Sisters of the Cross, help with the camps by taking people’s names, ages and symptoms.
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Vey often, female patients are uncomfortable sharing their health conditions with men, especially if they are gynecological. Having Sisters of the Cross greet them as they register frees these women to express their problems without shame.
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After connecting with hospital officials, GFA-supported workers were able to obtain free medicine for the patients attending the medical camp. Here, one of the medical professionals (left) reviews the medicine before seeing patients.
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At this medical camp, more than 200 people from 14 villages showed up. A good number of patients were children. The main symptoms included stomach complications or skin wounds and sores. Unhygienic living environment and consuming unsafe drinking water is seemingly the main reason for many children becoming sick. Poverty, coupled with superstitions, often makes their sicknesses worse.
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While people waited for their medical checkup, volunteers and GFA-supported workers provided snacks and small cups of tea.
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Throughout the day, Sisters of the Cross visited with the people who came for the medical camp. They offered encouragement and prayer.
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The medical camp took place inside a place of worship where a GFA-supported pastor serves. Volunteers set up a temporary bed for patients who were feeling weak and could not walk themselves.
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This is Aashna and her 3-year-old son, Prajivan. She walked three miles carrying her child so he could see a doctor at the medical camp.
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During Prajivan’s examination, Aashna explained how a “boil-like thing” had been growing on his forehead for about a month. But she and her husband were too poor to visit a doctor to have it examined. This medical camp gave Aashna the opportunity to find out what was going on with her son’s health.
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After being examined, the doctor believed little Prajivan could have a tumour. He prescribed some medicine and advised Aashna to visit a hospital that could better facilitate Prajivan’s needs if the medicine did not help.
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Aashna and her husband are daily labourers, barely earning $1 a day. They’re too poor to afford medical treatments. Aashna said that attending the free medical camp was “a great help and great blessing to us because we are getting everything free.”
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Aashna, her husband and three children.
Photos: The Pastor and The Gangster
Pastor Shorya knew the Holy Spirit had been speaking to him about going to visit a certain village—a village where he’d been told not to come back. The GFA-supported pastor lived nearby and had gone there several times, offering a message of hope to any who wanted to hear.
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Pastor Shorya and his wife, Aaloka, lead busy lives sharing Christ’s love, encouraging new believers and raising two boys. (Their older son was away at school when the photograph was taken.)
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Pastor Shorya starts his day praying and reading God’s Word, gaining strength to serve Christ in a region sometimes hostile to Christians.
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Pastor Shorya and Aaloka take time to talk with a man in one of the villages where they minister. When Pastor Shorya first began visiting Hitansh’s village, he faced opposition because he was a pastor.
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This is Hitansh, along with his wife and children. In part because of his wife’s faith, this former gang member encouraged Pastor Shorya to return to the village.
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After Hitansh got out of prison, he went to Pastor Shorya to ask him about Jesus. Today, the two remain friends. Pastor Shorya encourages Hitansh in his faith, and Hitansh joins with the pastor to show Christ’s love in the village.
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Hitansh actively participates in the life of the local congregation. He plays tambourine during Sunday worship services.
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Pastor Shorya greets believers following a worship service. Seeing how Jesus transformed Hitansh’s life, many people believed in Christ. The local congregation continues to grow.
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Hitansh is now an example of service to the believers. Here, he opens a prayer meeting held at his home.
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Through Pastor Shorya’s and Hitansh’s faithfulness, many villagers have come to know Christ’s love. Now hope is touching lives from one generation to the next.