Sixteen-year-old Beulah wears a bright, hopeful smile on her face. Her eyes sparkle when she thinks of her future as a psychologist helping people suffering from trauma and grief. She longs for the day when her listening ear will be just the remedy a hurting person needs.
Why is this important to Beulah? Because when she was 10 years old, her mother died. To make matters worse, her father passed away suddenly two years later. As a young girl, Beulah wondered how she would survive. She feared for her own well-being. Suddenly, everything in her life was at risk. Completely alone in the world, she was certain that she would fade into the sea of humanity.
She believed she would eventually die as an unknown, unloved, and forgotten orphan.
Beulah’s fear of fading into obscurity wasn’t unfounded. She lived in a town packed with people. Large families lived in houses too small while children tried to play on jammed-up streets. There wasn’t enough of anything. Not enough food, not enough electricity, not enough clean water. The mass of humanity was overwhelming.
It’s impossible to predict exactly when India became the world’s most populous nation. Some say January 2023. Others say April. What is certain, however, is that India now holds the world’s most precious resource: people. When the United Nations first began tracking population statistics in 1950, China led. But due to population control in China and a 70% decrease in infant mortality in India (among other factors), 1.4 billion people now populate India. And the number continues to grow.
Young people like Beulah love their country and are concerned for its future welfare. Infrastructure and technology are rapidly improving in the mega cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. However, those living in villages still struggle for basic survival. Worsening drought conditions make water scarce, destroy crops, and plague wildlife. Poor villagers don’t have access to some of the best medical care in the world found in India’s large metropolitan cities. They lack transportation, money, and neighbourhood clinics to treat common colds and life-threatening diseases. While foodstuffs may be abundant nationwide, adequate distribution of food to the poor is lacking. And, while there has been a positive focus on clean fuels, massive pollution still makes breathing difficult in the most congested areas.
Maybe Beulah is right. Maybe we should be worried.
At Dignity Freedom Network, we are not worried. We stand with India amid its massive population growth. We provide whole care for the whole community among the poor and exploited in India. The flourishing of every individual person in every community is radically important to us. And as India reaches this massive population milestone in 2023, there are officially a whole lot of individuals in India to value, serve, and love in the name of Jesus.
So how does your work with DFN give hope to orphans like Beulah? To the millions of vulnerable children without all the advances that modern India holds?
For the children, DFN offers education, an English-medium, values-based education that has been recognized by the government as some of the best education in India. This is where Beulah’s hope comes from.
After her parents died, her relatives enrolled her in a DFN school. The teachers and principal at the school journeyed through Beulah’s darkest days of grief and loneliness alongside her. She learned that she could rely on their consistent and compassionate support.
The school day became the brightest spot in Beulah’s otherwise anxious existence. Her teachers helped her understand that her excellent grades and disciplined study habits would open the doors of opportunity to college, a career, and a life that stands out in the crowd of billions.
Beulah’s teachers helped her reimagine a positive future. She was no longer a nameless face in the sea of humankind. She was unique, she had dignity, and she was going to reclaim the days ahead with confidence.
With the largest population in the world, can you imagine how many Indian children need this same kind of opportunity and hope?
EVERY life matters. There are dozens of ways you can help vulnerable orphans like Beulah lost in the country of billions. Providing early childhood education provides children with the solid start they need to build a thriving future. Your gift will prevent exploitation, equalize opportunity, bring healing, and invest in the future of those who need it most.
