We've Got Good News!
The world is fully tuned into the COVID-19 crisis - and rightfully so. It’s an outbreak like we’ve never seen before, and we’re all working overtime to protect our families from its effects. We check the news every day only to find more information to dissect.
IT CAN BE OVERWHELMING, AND IT MAKES US LONG FOR GOOD NEWS.
While we won’t downplay the effects of this virus in South Asia, we do think it’s about time for some good news. It’s time for us to remind you of the incredible work you’ve made possible.
“My name is Yesa,
and I was rescued from a rock quarry when I was 13 years old. When I was little, my father was a bicycle mechanic and my mother stayed at home with me and my younger brother Akkar.
i used to go to school, but my father thought it was a waste and that the money would be better spent on my brothers education
We never had much money, but we never went hungry. When Akkar started going to school, my parents realized that he was gifted. This led them to finding an expensive school for him where the uniform alone cost more than what they had paid for all of my classes combined!
My parents didn’t have the money, so they started talking about things they could sell. Conveniently, an agent from a rock quarry came to our village and told all of us about jobs he had for kids and adults at the quarry. He promised good pay and plenty of food. My parents took the deal, and I was sent to work in the quarry at 12 years old so that my little brother could go to a fancy school.
Life in the quarry was unimaginable.
The food wasn’t fit for animals to eat, and the water was contaminated with garbage and human waste.
For 15 months, I struggled to survive, and then one day the overseers were suddenly gone. They had run off because they heard that the police were coming. I was so confused about what was going on and started to let myself hope that I was about to be freed. Policemen arrived with pastors and rescued me along with 12 other children. After that, we were brought to live at The Sylom Children’s Home.
With the pastors, caretakers, and teachers helping me, I have restarted school! Now I’m close to catching up to where I would be if I had never stopped. Someday, I hope to be a nurse and help deliver babies.
I’m so thankful that I was rescued.
I have met God as my Father in heaven and He has restored my hope. He will always love me and never abandon me.”
COVID-19 IN SOUTH ASIA
WHILE WE ARE CERTAINLY FEELING THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19 HERE IN AMERICA, SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST VULNERABLE, LIKE YESA, ARE FACING HARDSHIP AS WELL.
In South Asia, entire markets have shut down and the price of food has skyrocketed in response to the pandemic. This exploitation from food providers has caused feeding the rescued children to be more difficult and expensive than ever. In addition to these inflated food costs, we’re also facing challenges in regards to the children’s medical care.
Thankfully, none of the 1,200 rescued kids at The Sylom Children’s Home have tested positive for COVID-19.
However, reports of the virus spreading in the area are growing, which means there are preventative measures. After seeing how quickly chicken pox spread among the rescued children in 2019, we identified the need for a small medical facility. This will allow us to care for sick children as well as isolate them to prevent the spread of illness. The good news in South Asia is that the Government is taking this situation very seriously, and they are preventing the movement of people to slow the spread of illness.
These challenges we face are scary, and they make it easy to feel hopeless. they also remind us that we are not in this on our own.
We have a hope, and His name is Jesus.
In this time of great need all around the world, we are wholly leaning on God, who has shown us time and time again that He will stop at nothing to care for His children. We believe that He has fully and completely equipped His body to care for those in need, even in the midst of crisis and uncertainty. God will provide for the rescued children as He has done before.