A poor child's daily life

The bulk of children's program that our team will visit are to the poor children of Delhi. Delhi is the capital of India and is home to 12 million people. It is a melting pot of people groups and a magnet for rural people who migrate in hopes of a better life in the big city. Here is a biography of one of the poor girls we will meet in one of our children's meeting.

Kalpna is 13 years old. She is the oldest child with four younger sisters. She lives in the slums with her poor Hindu parents. Kalpna does not goes to school; instead she works with her parents to make money for the family. Her day begins at 5am with housework and prayers. At 8am Kalpna and her parents walk through out the city, collecting garbage from different places. She has no breakfast until the garbage is collected. Five days a week at 2pm, Kalpna goes to a free one hour Children's Bible Club so she can learn to read and write. After club time, Kalpa goes to different houses for work, washing dishes, clothes, and clean house. Kalpa gives the little money she makes to her parents. Bedtime for Kalpa is 10:30pm

Kalpna's home has no running water or electricity. It is only one room for a family of seven. She has poor health, few clothes, and receives two poor nutrition meals of rice and vegetable a day. Kalpa struggles with discouragement with the problems of her family.

Our team will probably meet Kalpna when we visit the Children's Bible Club. Mr. Pappu Kumar is the club director, he runs 60 clubs, reaching hundreds of poor children every month.

India: A land of Complexity and Variety

Here is a thumbnail view of where our team is going:

Population: 1.2 billion people (over 700 people per square mile verses the USA at 7 people per square mile!)

Government: The world largest democracy.

Religious groups: 81% Hindu, 1o % Muslim, 2% Christian, 7% other

Economy: India has a thriving economy at over 7-8% growth. It is a land of opportunity for the educated middle class. However, 35% of the population lives on $1.00 a day wages. Adult literacy is 61%. 45% of children under 5 years old suffer from malnourishment.

Social: Hinduism is the driving force behind daily life. Although, the caste system is banned by the government, it is still practiced in day-to-day life. The caste system assigns life- long social ranking to the poorest to the wealthiest without any hope of change. Indian family life is the center of life decisions and gives strength to their culture.

In spite of an endless history of hardships for the India society, they are colorful, gracious and very hospitable.

During our visit in India, a six week long Hindu festival will be happening. About 70 million Hindus will travel to the Ganges River to wash themselves of their sins. It is the prayer of our team to be a part of God's plan to spread the good news that Jesus, the son of God, has taken care of the sins of all people.