USA (MNN) — The Supreme Court of India has postponed hearings on demands made by Dalit Christians and Muslims for full constitutional rights after the central government again failed to officially respond. The government claims it still has not received a report from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
While these oppressed people continue to wait, two Christian ministries are joining forces in an effort to help the lowest and poorest caste of people in India. Gospel for Asia (GFA) and American Family Radio (AFR) recently kicked off an initiative that allows people to provide items for the poorest of the poor in India, reports OneNewsNow.com.
In that country, people known as the Dalits — or untouchables — are considered subhuman by many. The shunned group has a population of more than 300 million.
The Christmas campaign initiated by the two ministries will allow donors to reach out to this group by purchasing practical gifts for families such as chickens, sewing machines, and water buffaloes.
GFA's Chris Brewer says the initiative can have an eternal impact. "There's such abject poverty in that country, hundreds of millions of people are subject to that poverty," he explained. "So the opportunity that we have to get involved in their lives through this program we're going to be doing is a tremendous open door to share the gospel and make a difference, not only in their lives now, but to make a difference for eternity."
GFA has more than 16,000 native missionaries working throughout Asia.
