Kerusomen Gospel Ministries India Widows Initiative

The Plight of Widows: 

Cries and Suffering that are Often Ignored

James, the brother of Jesus wrote, "This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world". (James 1:27)

Unfortunately today, two thousand years later, widowhood has become a "social death" for women in many developing countries (especially in India and Africa).  In these areas unmarried women are "owned" and controlled by their fathers, married women belong to their husbands, but widows fall into limbo, become outcasts and no longer have any protector.  

What's the Well? l Kerusomen Gospel Ministries

The Well is a passionate and committed movement composed of  monthly givers on a mission to rescue orphaned widows and their children in India.

CHOOSE AN AMOUNT TO 

GIVE EACH MONTH.

$15 brings food, medicine,
and visits of encouragement
 and HOPE to an orphaned

widow and her children.

Named for The Woman at the Well, an outcast whose life was completely transformed after meeting Jesus, the Well is an amazing community of generous people who see a need and refuse to sit on the sidelines. 

People who know they can't do everything but must do something. People like you, who are determined to make a difference by joining forces with each other and God to bring compassion and hope to as many Indian widows as they can!

Why champion widows?  

The Well focuses on widows who are orphaned. Orphaned means they have no family to help them or their family refuses to help them. This is often the case in India where widows of the Hindu culture are blamed for their husband's death. They are literally outcasts in society, shunned and banned from all social interaction. Their suicide rate is very high...

Kerusomen Gospel Ministries Helps American Widows

Kerusomen Partners with Friends Needing Friends...Bringing New Hope to American Widows

Did you know?..

There are over 14 million widows in the United States today. That is an average of 40 widows for every church in the United States (AARP).

Over 700,000 women are widowed each year. (U.S. Bureau of the Census)  Thom S. Rainer, Founder and CEO of Church Answers and previous president and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, describes the situation this way:  “Upon the death of a spouse, a widow loses 75% of her support base...

KGM Partner FNF Widow Ministry l Rejoicing in God’s Solution for Widows

Friends Needing Friends Widow Ministry Celebrates 33 Years 
of Service to Widows Internationally

International Widow's Day is Wednesday and in honor of widows everywhere we want to highlight ministries that are serving widows and are also Kerusomen partners.

Today we want to  applaud the ladies of Friends Needing Friends Widow Ministry. They are a perfect example of sacrificial service to widows and faithful partners and friends of Kerusomen for many, many years.

They are also way too humble to toot their own horn. But we're not so here goes:

They have rescued 18 India widows who were abandoned; they assist monthly with food and medicine; 

They sent emergency food in times of crisis;

They support KGM's New Hope chickens & goats ministry;

They sponsor widows into KGM Isos, a women's savings and training ministry;

Despite most of them being on fixed budgets, they have given $7,271 to assist widows in India over the past 12 months. Incredible! 

But the physical needs, as important as they are, pale in comparison to the relationship of love they've built though their fervent prayers for each other. The FNF widows pray for a different Indian widow each month and treasure every update from the mission field.  Likewise, KGM India headquarters reports their widows call weekly to ask after their American sisters and pass on the message that they are praying constantly for them. Pastor Saha says that during their Covid lockdowns they had more concern for their sisters here, than they did for themselves.

Friends Needing Friends is a beautiful example of how God brings beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3) in the lives of widows. He rescues them by sending HIs church family to offer them His hope, a hope that lasts.

 

God's church, His people, are the ambassadors he sends in answer to the global widow crisis. It's not just a social or economic answer. It's an answer of LOVE. And that changes EVERYTHING.

The bond of love these American and Indian widows have for one another - even though they have never met and probably never will in this life - is reflected in the letter below from Tom Caprio, President of Kerusomen Gospel Ministries:

Christian Widows Movement Serves Jesus at Home and Abroad

Friends Needing Friends: Turning Tragedy into Hope for India Widows

Dorothy Ackerman is a champion for widows. When Dotti lost her husband in 1986, she was discouraged to discover that there were no growth groups for widows - anywhere. Not even at church. Out of her tragedy, in 1988, Friends Needing Friends was born. 

At first, Friends Needing Friends was a small group of 10 women, bonded by their desire to love, support, and encourage one another during this new phase of life called widowhood. Thirty-one years later, their message of God's special love for widows circles the globe, impacting the lives of over 50,000 widows in 20 different countries through its FNF blog. God also uses this sisterhood in a very tangible way to bring His message of hope to widows in India...

Pray for Widows in the Pandemic

Today we are celebrating The Well partners who pray and serve widows month in and month out, year after year, bringing desperately needed food and medical aid to "the least of these." As the coronavirus spreads, Kerusomen partners like you are spreading hope. Right now, access to food and medicine for our widows in India is critical. KGM pastors are delivering the life-saving supplies you sent enabling them to stay healthy and safe in the midst of the global health crisis. Your faithful and sacrificial giving (in the midst of your own trials) are, in the Apostle Paul's words, "a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God." (Philippians 4:18)  They humble us more than you know and we thank you sincerely from the bottom of our hearts. And a special thanks to our prayer partners, as well. Thank you for protecting the most vulnerable families here and in India with our most powerful God-given tool: prayer. Pray with knowledge for these widows real needs, right now...

What's It Like to Be a Widow in India? l Kerusomen Gospel Ministries Video

Recent studies of India widows underscore the importance of  KGM's Year End initiative to provide 500 chickens and 65 goats to vulnerable families and widows in our India churches. Many of these animals will benefit rescued widows to help them become self-sufficient financially. 

One study's [1] research on 10 Kerala widows was published in the NIH National Library. These were some of its findings (italics and bold added): 

“Debt, Shame, and Survival: 

becoming and living as widows in rural Kerala, India” 

“It is reported that Kerala (home of KGM India’s headquarters) has the worst record among the Indian states for economic dependency among the elderly; 76% of its elderly women reporting no financial asset in their name. While, there is a history of progressive public policies in this state, including public support for vulnerable groups, such as widows, economic opportunities for women are few raising specific concerns for their maintaining a good standard of living—particularly if the husband has passed away prematurely. In this case, a woman may be left with young children and no source of livelihood.” 

Economic Security:

 (10 widow participant results) 

• Just three of the 10 widows qualified for the 110 rupee government pension ($1.49 in U.S. dollars a month). 

• Six of the women work in low paying daily wage earner jobs as kuli (agricultural) workers, domestic workers, and child care providers. One of these widows, Ushi, described her situation: 

“I received an honorarium of Rs.50 per month, which was not sufficient to support my family. I took on additional work. I would work at the angavadi (government childcare facility) from 9:30 to 3:00, and in the evenings I would clean houses. On Saturdays and Sundays I would work as a kuli worker making 10–12 rupees per day.”

Ushi’s income working 7 days a week is $1.40 a day (not including her earnings from cleaning houses.) That’s a little more than $42 a month to support herself and her 3 children. [2]

• One widow entered a convent. 

 

 Finding Help and Self-Sufficiency

In this report, three of the women went on to join self-help groups and obtained loans to purchase backyard animals such as chickens and cows. One widow said she is happy because her growing milk business (she now has two new calves!) has made her “self-sufficient” and she is able to stay home with her children. The other two use their chicken and egg business proceeds to supplement other sources of income. 

Investing in Widows' Dreams 

This Christmas you can help a widow jump-start her path to self-sufficiency. These women are smart, motivated, and tenacious. They are ready and able. They just lack opportunity.  Their dreams are very similar to ours: they just want a chance to create a better future for their children and grandchildren.

It takes most widows over two years (many much, much longer) to save enough to invest in a small business start-up that costs just $25. 

But with your help she can begin a backyard business today. Your gift of five chickens ($25) or one goat ($100) is far more than an animal. To these widows it means dignity, respect, independence and hope restored. It means life transformed -  for them and their children. 

Give your gift in honor of a loved one. 

 [2]     Not a part of the report. Researched online using today’s income averages reported by various research agencies. 

India Widows "Condemned to Live"

Have you ever thought about what you would do if your spouse died?

Ranjana Kumari, Director Center for Social Research, India

For those of you who aren't married, think of your parents and use your imagination.

In my case, on top of losing the man that I love, I know my life would be inevitably changed in multiple ways. And more than that, I imagine being a widow is like, well, losing a part of your identity and getting a new one you never, ever wanted.

BUT, I know my Savior lives and I know He loves widows so I am at peace, knowing He will be by my side all the way home.

But what if I didn't know Jesus?  What if I grew up in a culture where everyone I care about believed my being a widow was all my fault.

Worse, what if I believed that, too?

This video news report depicts how this devastating belief impacts the lives of millions of Indian women who are widows.

This video contains excerpts from a 25 minute news report. Widows of Vrindavan

In the video, Ranjana Kumari, pictured above, made a haunting statement about the life of widows in India:  "Their life unfolds before them as if they are not a person, but just a kind of living being, condemned to live."

How Can We Change This Hopeless Mindset?  

Because widows in India find little and often no help from their Hindu religion,their culture, or their family, imagine how they respond when they meet Jesus....

 

HONOR A WIDOW ON INTERNATIONAL WIDOWS DAY

Often family and friends gather around a grieving woman for a short period, then go on with their lives. But International Widow's Day reminds us that widowhood doesn’t have an expiration date. Women who've lost their spouse need our ongoing love, help, and support. 

Many times a simple acknowledgement that you haven't forgotten their loss or their husband, will help them heal and remind them that you want to stay connected and be a part of their life. In her book entitled, From One Widow to Another, Miriam Neff lists seven to-do tips that can help us to help and encourage widows. Here's tip number four:

"Do refer to our husband’s acts or words – serious or humorous. We are so comforted by knowing our husband has not been forgotten..."

Sending a card in memory of her husband on International Widows Day is a  beautiful way to show you remember a widow's husband and are thinking of her with compassion and respect.

Kerusomen Gospel Ministries is privileged to partner with two widow ministries -  one here and one in India. This year we invite you to help us honor both USA and India widows with a special blessing.

IN CELEBRATION OF #INTERNATIONAL WIDOWS DAY

We've created two special cards that will bless two widows:  a local widow you know and an at-risk widow in India. You can change the course of the future for an at-risk widow in India and show the love of Jesus to a widow in your neighborhood. 

                    CARD #1                                                            CARD #2

CLICK ON THE CARD TO ENLARGE

HOW DOES IT WORK?  

For a small $15 gift, you select one of the cards above to hand-deliver or mail to a special widow you know. The card honors your recipient and commemorates her husband by helping us reach 1,000 widows in India so they can experience Christ in practical and life-giving ways. After you write a personal message on the back of the card, slip it into the provided envelope. 

WHERE WILL MY MONEY GO?  

Your gift, given in the name of your recipient, will help fund our India widow ministries that provide food, medicine, income-producing animals, or savings and business training for at-risk and abandoned India widows.

HOW ELSE CAN I HELP? 

Share this opportunity to bless two widows with your friends and family! Forward our posts on Facebook and spread the word. Most important, keep us in your thoughts and prayers through #Internationalwidowsday.

 KGM'S 100% PROMISE

100% - every penny - of your gift goes directly to the India mission field to KGM's Widow Ministries.

HOW TO ORDER

TEXT OR CALL KATHY CAPRIO AT 561.358.7635
or
1. Click the Give a Gift link below. 

2. Choose "widow" in the dropdown menu.

3. Go to Note Section and type the card number(s) you've selected. 

                                                  

                                                       GOD BLESS YOU!

Animals Make a World of Difference for Widows in India

One of our partners, Friends Needing Friends, is a widow's ministry headquartered in Florida. For six years this amazing community of women have generously supported 18 KGM widows in India. Every year FNF has also sponsored a Christmas party for these widows complete with lunch, gifts and a program. This Christmas because of Covid-19, the widows in India are experiencing their worst economic hardship in years. 

In good times these women and their children survive on as little as $1.90 a day. Now with the pandemic to contend with, the future of these families looks bleaker than ever before. The fear of disease is keeping employers unwilling to re-open; the well-to-do won't allow domestic help to enter their homes. Many of these widows are disabled. Unlike America, most Indian citizens have no government safety net to fall back on. It's even worse for widows; help from the outside is their only hope...

KGM Board Member Maureen Barber l Rejoicing in God's Solution for Widows

 

We’re so inspired by our KGM USA community. In honor of International Widows Day we’re saluting Maureen Barber, one of three widows who serve on our volunteer KGM Board. Maureen devotes an enormous amount of time, talent, and resources as an advocate for widows here by donating her time as a GriefShare facilitator and in India by donating her treasure monthly to help an abandoned widow. Maureen is a beautiful example of how God brings beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3) in the lives of widows. He welcomes them into a new community - His church family – and offers them a hope that lasts.  God's church, His people, are His solution. They are the ambassadors He sends in answer to the global widow crisis.  It's not a momentary social solution. It's a relationship of LOVE.  And that changes EVERYTHING. Maureen models that abiding love for widows here and it stretches all the way to widows in India. 

Maureen Finds Healing in Community

"When my husband died, I carefully buried all the grief inside of me and moved on. Twenty-five years later God brought me to the realization...

Celebrating Friends Needing Friends a KGM Covid 19 Food Relief Partner

The ladies of FNF Palm Beach and New Jersey were incredibly generous with their gifts, prayers, and love for the widows in India during the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown. Their kindness, in the midst of their own struggles at this difficult time, is inspiring and appreciated.

When the Kerusomen Board told Dotti Ackerman, FNF's founder, that the Covid 19 pandemic was putting widows in India at greater risk than ever before, she didn't hesitate for one second.

Immediately a letter with a video describing the crisis was sent to FNF members. In it Dotti explained that the pandemic lockdown had cut off the India widows from food, medical supplies, and all social contact for months.The response was overwhelming and quick!  Thanks to these ladies, two more truckloads of food were delivered to the poorest villages and areas. We can never thank them enough.

A Special Heart for India Widows 

Long before the Covid 19 virus, our local partner, Friends Needing Friends, (with its members from Florida and New Jersey Chapters) has provided monthly financial support to 17 orphaned widows in India as members of the KGM Well Community.

The plight of these Indian widows is truly pathetic. The women suffer extreme poverty and have no family to help support them.  Many of them are disabled. In India, when her husband dies, a woman no longer has a place in society. She is tossed to the fringe where she suffers extreme forms of dishonor, abandonment, discrimination, isolation and hopelessness.

Kerusomen is blessed to have Dotti and the FNF members as partners who sacrificially and generously support these needy widows every month plus go the extra mile to bless them in times of emergency like the Covid 19 pandemic. To learn more about FNF, check out their new brochure  New Hope For Widows or visit the Friends Needing Friends Blog.

Rejoicing in God's Solution for India's Widows l KGM 2021 International Widows Day

 

God’s Perfect Solution for India’s Widows

International Widows Day, June 23, 2021

We’ve all heard the horror stories about widows in India. Shunned. Shamed. Scorned. Sadly, they’re all true. Kerusomen has a Widow Rescue Ministry in India and we’ve documented some of the abuses in articles and videos. This Wednesday, June 23rd, is International Widow’s Day, an awareness day set aside to highlight the human rights violations of widows globally.

But this year Kerusomen is going to do something different. We’re going to focus on the only lasting solution for widows: God’s solution. It’s called His church. Because when God’s people get involved, everything changes. 

Over the next couple of days we’ll share the Three Steps of God’s Solutions (Rescue, Community, and Empower)  through the stories of KGM partners who work with widows here in America and who also support KGM’s Widow Ministry in India. You won’t want to miss a thing so check-in here every day as we REJOICE IN GOD’S SOLUTION.

How Kerusomen Is Fighting for India's Marginalized Women l Kerusomen Gospel Ministries

Why India's Culture Devalues Women

A recent report on NDTV is chilling - no girls were born in 132 Indian villages for three months.

During that same time, 216 boys were born. Sound a little fishy? A social worker was quoted in the article saying "No girl child was born for 3 months in these villages. It cannot be a coincidence. This clearly indicates female foeticide is taking place..." She goes on to say "nothing is being done by the administration or government."

While India's culture is not the only one to prefer boys, according to its 2011 Census and other studies:

• There are one million sex-selective abortions every single year in India even though they are illegal;
• Midwives in certain Indian states have admitted to being paid to kill almost 50% of the baby girls they delivered;
• Girls receive significantly less nutrition and education than boys;

The Preference for Boys Haunts Indian Women from Birth to the Grave...

2025 International Widows Day

Jesus says even the smallest act of love has eternal weight. As a Kerusomen partner, you send national missionary-pastors and believers twice a month, to speak life into the hearts of 60 widows, who would otherwise feel forgotten. You offer them food and medicine for their bodies. You comfort and pray for those with hurting souls. You show them they matter.

I was blessed to personally experience the difference you make in their lives on our recent mission trip – and it’s immense! When you commit to pray for and care for a widow, Jesus says you become a part of their story. You become the someone they need to remind them that God sees them, knows them, and loves them.

 
Today, on International Widows Day, I bring you a message from these precious sisters in India: “We praise God and thank Him for you.” Your kindness is enlarging God’s Kingdom in India, bringing Jesus into widows’ homes and hearts. God bless you.

Learn more about Kerusomen's widows' ministry in India.

 

It's International Widows Day and today we're celebrating God's perfect solution to the widow crisis in India. Being a widow should never stand in the way of having a full life. But what if you were married to a drunk who lost all your property and died leaving you with nothing but a pile of debt? Chronmi, widowed at age 56, knows exactly what that’s like. Because that “what if” is her reality. Her's husband debts forced her to move into a tiny rented house with a tin roof, no electricity and no water. She washes her neighbors' clothes to put food on the table when she's not fetching water or collecting firewood. 

But God had a plan for Chronmi, who had practiced the animistic beliefs of her family until she found Christ 16 years before her husband died.  When liver failure took his life, Chronmi looked beyond her despair and called on the One who promises to provide for widows and orphans in their distress. And God proved faithful sending caring believers in His Kerusomen India Church Family and financial assistance from KGM partners here in America to rescue her. 

Last year another tragedy struck suddenly, Chromni's youngest daughter was widowed and left alone to provide for her son who is mentally disabled.  How God transformed this new tragedy from" ashes to beauty" (Psalm 61:3) is a perfect example of  how God's thoughts and ways are far above ours... 

Honor A Widow On International Widows Day: Fill Susanna's Seed Jar

 

From Shadows to Light: A Story for International Widow’s Day 

In Luke 8:3, we meet Susanna. She wasn't a famous preacher. She quietly used her own resources to support Jesus’ ministry. She provided the "seed" that kept the Gospel moving.

Today, that same spirit is alive in rural India through KGM’s Susanna’s Seed Jar.

In a small village in Kerala, a group of widows lived under a heavy shadow. Local superstitions labeled them as "bad luck." They were excluded, isolated, and forced into silence.

But love stepped into that silence. 

Our ministry partner, Anju, began visiting these women. She brought friendship, prayer, and practical help. Soon, she formed small gatherings. For the first time, these widows had a safe space to share their burdens.

Through these circles, they discovered a new identity as daughters of the King! 

Today, they are no longer hiding. They gather weekly, support each other, and serve the village that once rejected them. God is using them to change the heart of their entire community!

What is Susanna’s Seed Jar?

Stories like Anju’s are the heartbeat of Susanna’s Seed Jar, KGM’s on-going campaign to serve more India widows. Your support allows partners to reach the most marginalized with the love of Christ and the tools for a new life. It is more than a gift. It is a vessel of opportunity. It provides the initial capital—the seed—a widow needs to stand on her own two feet, build a sustainable income, and meet Jesus.

This International Widows Day, you can help restore dignity and bring spiritual hope. Your $15 gift supplies food, medicine, and community for a whole month.  Fill a Seed Jar for $15:

Friends Needing Friends Celebrates 12 Years of Love in Action

 

What do you love? After God, family, and friends, Dotti Ackerman’s answer to that question is one simple word: widows. That answer birthed the Florida ministry and impact partner we're proud to celebrate today.

It’s a love story inspired by God and lived out day after day, year after year by its incredible leaders. What’s it look like? Countless hours of relentless planning and sacrifice motivated by an unstoppable passion. All to empower widows in need of a friend with new hope and a community they can depend on and thrive in.

Friends Needing Friends Sisterhood of Widows  is a labor of love worth celebrating and today marks the 12-year anniversary of its beginning in Florida. We’re head over heels in love with both their work here and their generous spirit that allows Kerusomen to reach more widows in need in India.

Thank-you Friends Needing Friends Florida, for walking alongside us to demonstrate the life-transforming love of Jesus to the widows He loves so dearly. We are deeply grateful for you. Happy Anniversary!

International Widow's Day 2020 l How KGM Empowers India Widows During Covid 19 Pandemic

It’s International Widows Day and we just want to say “God Bless!” to every wonderful woman in God's special sisterhood of widows.  We love you and want you to know how grateful we are to know you and how much you are appreciated.  

Today and every day Kerusomen Gospel Ministries and its’ amazing community stands with widows in India in the fight for equality, dignity, and new hope.  The work we do in partnership with the KGM Foundation in India is more important than ever during this Covid 19 recovery period. And God has moved mountains to meet the need. Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and partnership. To learn more about our ministry to widows and how you can get involved visit What's the Well or click the link below for related articles.

Happy 10-Years FNF l KGM Impact Partner Spotlight

 

Friends Needing Friends Florida Celebrates 10-Years

Nothing gives us greater joy than seeing widows get access to a ministry like Friends Needing Friends International Sisterhood of Widows. 

Ten years ago God called Dotti Ackerman to leave the thriving widow ministry she had founded, nurtured, and grown in New Jersey and start a new life in Florida. 

She could have kicked back and enjoyed her grandchildren. 

She could have traveled with friends. 

She could have learned to play golf and "do lunch" with the girls.

But God had another plan...and when God calls, Dotti doesn't think twice. She  follows. 

And we're so thankful she did because Friends Needing Friends Florida was born. Now the ladies of FNF partner with Kerusomen bringing new hope to widows in India. They PRAY daily for specific India widows, they PARTNER financially through our widow rescue, savings groups, and vocational training ministries,.and they PROCLAIM God's mighty works in the lives of  India's widows with friends here and around the world on their blog: friendsneedingfriends.blogspot.com. 

Thanks FNF Florida! We're so grateful for each and every one of you. The part you play in Kerusomen's ministry is priceless and brings glory to God.