India

“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Psalm 82:2

About India

India is a county approximately one-third the size of the United States, yet it is the second most populated country in the world, being the home to more than one billion souls. Two-thirds of it’s people live in poverty, with most of these living on less than $2 per day. This makes India one of the poorest countries in the world.  Without sufficient drinking water, garbage disposal methods, and in many cases without electricity, diseases such as cholera, typhus and dysentery run rampant and lead to sickness and death. This is especially the case in the lives of children with chronic malnutrition being the leading cause of death. More than 47% of the young children are malnourished, causing a large array of special needs in these children.

India Photo Gallery

See the children, volunteers and one of Keaton’s Angel Homes in India.

Many of the orphans of India belong to the social and cultural or religious minorities that live through the 550,000 villages in the rural parts of India. Poverty has left these children with little or no help and many are subjected to slavery just to survive. Although child labor for children under the age of 14 in India is prohibited by law, still more than 60 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are working in the fields, factories, quarries, and more than 70% of these children work as domestic servants where they are physically assaulted by their employer as well as forced into prostitution.

Thousands of children lose their lives daily, not only because of poverty, sickness, and disabilities, but because of female infanticides, a cultural practice in which thousands of small baby girls either die before being born or lose their lives just because of their gender. Sadly, every minute that passes, there are an estimated 9 abortions of female fetuses that take place in India.

A baby girl is often looked at as a ‘burden’ because women, who lack education, still often don’t contribute to the income of the household. Apart from that, the practice of dowry, which is still prevalent in the Indian society, means the more girl children that a household has, the more money the family needs for dowry, a tradition requiring the parents of the bride to give large amounts of money and valuable goods to the groom and his family. Many think the Dowry system in India often makes daughters an ‘unaffordable economic burden’ and a drain on family resources.

To deal with this problem many Indian families turn to selective abortion of the female fetus (foeticide), which runs rampant across the country of India, despite strict bans on determination of sex of a child during pregnancy.  Even more alarming, when the birth of the child is unavoidable, families kill the infants by suffocation, poison, or deliberate negligence leading to the death of the baby. 

 

Our Mission:

India Photo by Sharon Christina Rørvik on Unsplash“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 
Psalm 82:2-4

It is our goal to see the children of this developing nation, who live in poverty and are left with no assistance for their disabilities to experience transformation and wholeness through God’s love. A child’s life is priceless, no matter their gender or special need, and every one is a unique and precious gift. Our home is committed to meeting the needs of children one by one as we care for, protect, and nurture the disabled & abandoned in India. Our focus is to create worth and wholeness through a loving, family home environment where God’s love radiates. Our goal is to equip children to reach their God given potential by nourishing not only their physical, mental, and emotional needs, but also offer a place of hope.

How can I help?

Donate today to help special needs orphans and children in Taiwan and India. Or volunteer your time and energy to help Keaton’s Angel Homes.