What's It Like to be A Widow in India?

$15 PROVIDES  A MONTH OF FOOD AND MEDICINE

BLAME AND SHAME
No matter the cause of death - by accident, illness, or suicide - a widow in India is often declared cursed and is rejected by her neighbors, her community and even her family. Unlike American widows who are cherished and emotionally supported by friends and family, at her time of greatest need India's widow  is left completely alone. 


 She is also responsible financially for any young children she may have:

 TWO-THIRDS OF INDIA'S WIDOWS HAVE 3-4 CHILDREN 
AND ARE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 20-35.


Many other mothers ARE SHUNNED AS WIDOWS because their husbands suddenly vanish. The man packs up and leaves because he's unhappy with his wife, his children, his job, or just life in general. In either case, death or disappearance, the result is the same:

The "widow" is left alone in poverty to raise her children.

These women, like Chronmi (pictured above) are typically daily wage laborers who make just enough each day to buy the food their families need to survive. 

Chronmi's husband was an alcoholic who lost the family property and ultimately his life, because of his drinking addiction. Chromni's youngest daughter, Milka, is also a widow with a mentally disabled son to care for. She and her son live with Chromni in a rented tin hut with no electricity or indoor plumbing. Chronmi and Milka spend many hours of each day just fetching the firewood and water they need to clean and cook. Even more water must be hauled so Milka can do the neighbor's laundry and make a few extra coins each day. A believer, Chronmi prayed for a better way to support her family.

One day Chronmi's prayers were answered and she became a beneficiary of KGM's Widow Rescue and ISOS Women's Transformation Ministries that provided food, medicine, and small business training to help her lift herself, her daughter, and her grandson out of poverty. 

Milla Singh, pictured with Chromni, is just one of KGM's 81 dedicated pastors, who work hard to locate and help widows like Chromni break the chains of generational poverty, serve their communities, and spread the love of Jesus.

Our native pastors find inventive, hard-working widows and women committed to providing for their families and serving their villages through meaningful work and sharing the Gospel. Kerusomen USA stands with these native missionaries by providing complementary gifts that empower beneficiaries and enable them to succeed.

Want to get involved? Here's a few ideas:

Choose Compassion: Invest in Animal Farmers

For food security, nothing beats owning livestock. Goats and chickens provide families with their own supply of milk, meat, eggs and manure to fertilize their crops. As animals reproduce they also provide a new, sustainable source of income that can lift the family out of poverty. To learn more about each gift, click the link below.


Choose Hope: Invest in At-Risk Women

In India's culture, all things are NOT created equal, especially females. Being born a girl means a life of desperate struggle from childhood to widowhood simply because girls are considered less valuable. They get less food, less schooling, and less medical attention. Kerusomen stands with the women of India offering savings opportunities, practical skills training, an encouraging community, and Biblical teaching. To learn more about ISOS Transformation Groups click the link below: 

     


Invest in Bible Storytellers

Illiteracy and 19,500 native dialects (many without Bible translations) are obstacles to sharing the hope of the Gospel with the lost in India. The Bible Storytelling Scarf is an evangelism tool designed for oral cultures that changes everything. 

Your Hope Gift of a Bible Storytelling Scarf will be delivered to KGM India Headquarters and distributed to men, women, and pastors who have completed the Scriptures-In-Use storytelling training course. These believers are dedicated to spreading the Hope of Jesus to their illiterate, unreached friends and neighbors. To learn more about the Bible Storytelling Movement, click the link below:




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