A message from Shobha
This project is especially close to my heart. When I was 22 years old, I received a phone call from my sister informing me that my brother-in-law had been diagnosed with cancer. The prognosis wasn’t good and there was nothing they could do. It wasn’t even one week after his death that all the villagers began a push to run her out of the village. Not only had she taken on the role of a cursed woman, they were now vying for my brother-in-law’s property and attempting to leave her with nothing. Considering the abuse, my sister was ready to forfeit what belonged to her and give the villagers what they wanted. I knew, however, if she did that, she would have nothing…nothing for herself…nothing for her kids, where would they go? I encouraged her to stay and fight for what belonged to her, to hold fast to her principals and to stand for what was right. In that time, she encountered terrible abuses. Men would throw stones at her; people would invent rumors of affairs to tarnish her reputation. The shame was unimaginable. Despite the insurmountable obstacles we continued to fight for her rights and for the future of her children. I am happy to say that she is now the proud owner of her own property, a property that cannot be taken away, a property where she can’t be evicted based on archaic ideas and lies, a property that she can hand down to her children. What a victory!
As wonderful as it is to own your own home, free of the threat of eviction, that was only half the battle. My sister still found herself on her own with no income and children to provide for. Through this whole process I prayed and sought the Lord as to how she might be able to earn money toward monthly expenses and education while also caring for her children and maintaining the home. That is when Project Dignity was born. By investing in a cow, my sister was able to earn income sufficient enough to not only pay the bills, but also to pay for her children’s’ education, a luxury that many Indian village children are never afforded. Rather than being forced into child labor and premature responsibilities, they will be left with the opportunity to be children, studying and playing like their peers. As I write this, it has been three year since my brother-in-law passed away and the changes I have seen are tremendous. My sister regularly says, “I’m sure your God lives because I prayed to many, but none answered me except yours and He sent you to me.” Slowly I am sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with her and her children. I have never seen her happier and the joy I see exuding from her only serves to remind me just how much the Lord cares for widows and orphans. It was a privilege to get to witness the hand of God in every good thing that happened to my sister and it was catalyst that motivated me to ensure that others will experience the same.