But There Is Hope

Photos courtesy of Touching Asia

But there is hope! Shortly after my father visited the area, he wrote up a report detailing the horrible living conditions of the Badi people and sent it to all the supporters of Touching Asia ministries. Money immediately began pouring. The first girls' home was inaugurated in Kathmandu in November 2009, only nine months after my father had been to Garbage Village, and thirty girls were finally given a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, and the prospect of a bright future ahead.

Two older widows from a church in Kathmandu would be the ‘mothers’ of the home, responsible for making sure the girls from the village received love and care, food, shelter, clothing, and an education. My father says it was pure joy to buy track suits, socks, hats, and other personal items for the little girls. The girls were so delighted to find mattresses on the floor of their room they did not wait for the bunk beds to be brought in, but crept under the blankets right away. They had come from homes of few clothes and little warmth, and my father wrote in his next newsletter that it “must be like heaven to them. They also received a few stuffed animals—the first they had ever had—and tears welled up in my eyes when I saw their joy over these few things. How many more children are there in this world, suffering like these girls?” 

The ministry was blessed from the beginning. Good News Mission financially underpinned the next two homes, which opened in March and November 2011, and an Australian church is currently supporting a fourth home.  Though such efforts may seem small and futile in the face of overwhelming statistics, they are changing the world for the youngest and most vulnerable of people. The homes do not only provide a Christian home with house parents, but also a long-term education and vocational training in preparation for future job opportunities, breaking the generations-long cycle of poverty and prostitution. 

There are many needs in the world, and though this is a tiny fraction of an enormous problem, God had let his light shine upon it. We cannot do everything, but we must do something. The compassion ministry in Nepal is currently providing a way out for the outcasts, and it is standing up against hundreds of years of culture and defying that which has stood still for so long. It is working to restore dignity to the Badi community and to see lives redeemed, saved, and healed.

For more information, contact me or my father at thefaerytale@gmail.com and hakangabriel@gmail.com respectively. If you would like to support this project, you can do so in the following ways:

 USA :

           Gifts/checks for the ministry of TOUCHING ASIA should be made to ‘AFC GLOBAL’

             and sent to 511 E. Travelers Trail, BURNSVILLE, MN 55337 

          

           AFC GLOBAL is a charitable organisation and a tax deductible receipt will be issued

          to you for your gift.  Please put a post-it note or sticker on the back of the check

          indicating "Touching Asia." For more information, please contact Timothy Skoog at 

          952 886 7610 (direct) or email paskoog@gmail.com

Sverige:

          Svenskt postgironummer: 'Touching Asia' 608 28 50-6

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