Missions Message

India’s Economy

I don’t know if we here in the United States can truly understand what poverty in a third world country really is like unless we have seen it and experienced it.  I remember a friend in college who grew up in Mexico City and had witnessed it first hand who then decided to live in India for a year.  He came back and said he had never seen anything like the desperation that he saw there. 

 

“One-third of India's population (roughly equivalent to the entire population of the United States) lives below the poverty line and India is home to one-third of the world's poor people.

 

Though the middle class has gained from recent positive economic developments, India suffers from substantial poverty. According to the new World Bank's estimates on poverty based on 2005 data, India has 456 million people, 41.6% of its population, living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day. The World Bank further estimates that 33% of the global poor now reside in India. Moreover, India also has 828 million people, or 75.6% of the population living below $2 a day, compared to 72.2% for Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

75% of the poor are in rural areas, most of them are daily wagers, self-employed householders and landless labourers. Although Indian economy has grown steadily over the last two decades, its growth has been uneven when comparing different social groups, economic groups, geographic regions, and rural and urban areas.”   (Wikipedia)

 

Despite the overwhelming and daunting statistics, there are Christian ministries making some real economic differences to families and communities.  One of the more promising strategies has been micro-financing.  This means that people are given small loans with little or no interest to begin a small business to improve their economic situation.  One of the most well known among Christian organizations is Opportunity International. They work world-wide. In India, they have over 34,000 active loans close to 5 million dollars.  Another organization that works with families in India is HeartCraft. This organization helps persecuted Christians and local self-help groups by teaching them to learn new skills and have viable business platforms.  HeartCraft then brings these products here to sell them.   There are many other good ministries using this strategy of microfinancing to bring the hope of the gospel to a very desperate part of the world.

 

Prayer Points:

Christian Ministries such as the one mentioned above would flourish and really be able to bring both economic and spiritual help to the poor of India.

 

That our hearts would break for the poor and we would become generous in our giving towards the least of these….we would store up treasures in heaven rather than in our closets.

 

That India's poor would be loved by both the nationals and by the international community.