Pushed by Poverty

This story appeared in the newspapers and TV news channels yesterday.

A man threw his 7 year old daughter, Sarita into the Gomti river as he could not afford treatment for her kidney disease.Fishermen rescued the girl and took her to a hospital.Her mother was found but the father is absconding. The police are trying to hunt him.

P Chand, a fruit seller in Mumbai (Bombay) took Sarita to the KEM Hospital there, where the doctors said Rs 300,000 (US $7500) were required for a kidney transplant. Chand did not have the money. So he brought Sarita to Jaunpur and threw her into the river.

We come across stories like these everyday. Incidents like suicides, murders, child sacrifices and disappearances induced by abject poverty and despair.The list is endless.People are drawn towards terrorist organisations and leftist and extremists groups because they are promised money and protection, apart from being attracted towards their philosophy.

We have a great responsibility to provide relief to our less fortunate neighbours.We provide employment to widows and physically challenged people, just because we know there is no one to look after them.Sometimes I feel very frustrated dealing with them as they are not efficient and I have to do half their work, but my mother reminds me of the purpose behind keeping them.We feed them and give them clothes ,medicines, fruit and vegetables from our garden etc. to help them meet ends. We allow poor people to collect firewood and cattle grass from our church campus instead of selling it.At times I feel we cannot afford house help and I could do the work myself to save money, but my mother prevents me from doing so.This is our social and Christian responsibility and outreach too because we teach them about Jesus our true Guru.

Maybe I 'm taking this passage out of context but James 2;15-17 says "If a brother or sister is poorly clad or lacks food for each day,And one of you says to him,Goodbye,Keep (yourself) warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body,what good does that do? So also faith if it does not have works(deeds and actions of obedience to back it up),by itself is destitute of power-inoperative,dead." (Amplified Version Bible)

Pray that God may enable us to carry out our mission and keep us humble and obedient to His call. All hail the power of Jesus name.

UPDATE

On the afternoon news we heard that several individuals have come forward to help Sarita also the Lions Club and a hospital in Bangalore. A lady is willing to donate a kidney. Praise God.

I am playing hide and seek with the electricity and broadband connection. The electric supply is like a candle blowing in the wind (people in the west cannot imagine it), the broadband keeps snapping off all the time. Faulty technology can either drive you up the wall or make you patient. Colocasia leaves, they are quite ornamental too

I am going to make fritters with colocasia leaves for dinner and a stir fry with string beans and soya granules with Indian bread called chapattis.The colocosia fritters need a lot of preparation.You have to make a batter of chick pea powder, spices and tamarind juice.Layer the leaves with the batter,roll them up tie them with a string and steam them. After that you cut them up and deep fry them in mustard oil. They are
delicious.Some people have them with a gravy. Above left : fritters , right :colocasia roots which make a delicious curry and stir fry