Raina Miller with Mission India says, “It’s so much more than an ability to read and write. It’s when they can read and write and when they can gain an education that affects every aspect of their lives.”

A Daily Challenge

The last census was taken in 2011 and showed almost one in four adults to be illiterate. While this number is projected to improve with the next census, there are still many people lacking this basic skill.

Miller notes that it affects almost every area of life. Mission India has heard of people who board buses for travel and then have trouble reaching their destinations since they cannot read street signs. Illiterate adults struggle to sign bank documents or open bank accounts to save money. People might be shortchanged in their paychecks or overpay for services, but because they don’t recognize numbers, they cannot prove disparities. Parents who cannot read face challenges even at the doctor’s office.

(Representative photo courtesy of Ted Erski via Pixabay)

“There’s other cases where a parent will want to take their child to the doctor, and there’s all kinds of barriers. They can’t read the bottle of medication to know how much medicine to give their child. Or we heard about one woman who took her child to the doctor, and they were calling everyone’s number when it was their turn to come back to the doctor’s office. She had taken a number, but she didn’t know what it said. So she didn’t know when she would be able to go back with her child, and she was too humiliated to ask.”

Disparity in Who is Affected

According to the last census in 2011, these issues affect significantly more women than men. Often women are expected to marry young and run the home, so education is seen as less significant. Or in larger families there might only be enough money to send a few children to school and so men are favored.

Additionally, there are more people from lower positions in society who struggle with adult illiteracy. However, with Mission India’s classes, all students are treated with dignity and respect.

“So many of them are from a low caste. They’ve been humiliated their whole lives. They’ve never been seen as able, and for the first time, they’re seen as beloved and welcome. Just the warmth of the teacher and the community is a huge, significant start in even building their confidence.”

A Bible-based Approach

Mission India uses a Bible-based curriculum to teach students to read and write at a fifth-grade level. This level is significant for finding work in India. They also offer health and hygiene training and special classes for entrepreneurship.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Miller says, “In John 10:10, Jesus says He came that we may have life and have it to the full. And we see all of this as part of that. So equipping students with practical skills that meet their everyday needs is a way to bring them life to the full here on earth, not just in heaven, but along the way.”

In addition to opening up the world of education to their learners, Mission India shares the truth of Scripture. Their curriculum uses the Bible as the basis for their texts. This helps students not only learn to read, but learn how to read God’s Word.

Most people who attend the classes do not come from Christian backgrounds. However, Miller shares that on average about 40% of those who graduate the adult literacy classes become followers of Jesus. For those who joined the classes already following the Lord, the ability to read opens up doors to study Scripture on their own.

Join the Work

These classes have the ability to change lives, both now and for eternity.

(Image is courtesy of Mission India)

“One of our biggest prayer requests for adult literacy classes is that as students gain an education, that they would see that it’s Jesus that is providing for them, that it’s through Him that they find joy and hope, and that He is giving them this incredible opportunity. So our prayer is that students find stability, find dignity, find confidence, and that ultimately they see all of that is from Jesus.”

The adult literacy class costs $40 per person. From March 1 to April 30, some friends of Mission India are matching every dollar given to adult literacy classes up to $300,000. So paying $40 for one person to attend classes will actually send two adults to class.

If you’d like to join this work, please visit MissionIndia.org/read.

Representative header photo courtesy of Tep Ro via Pixabay.

Wissam Nasrallah with the Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD) says, “While we’ve had vacancies in the presidency before, this is the first time the government is not empowered to take decisions, as it is a caretaker government. Most likely, we’re going to face a prolonged power vacuum.”

“This country is going through hyperinflation, massive devaluation of the currency, and an exodus of people.”

Lebanese have mixed feelings about Aoun, a Maronite Christian. Some saw him as a defender of the Christian community. Others criticized him for participating in the 1975-1990 civil war in Lebanon.

Nasrallah says, “His presidency was marked by a lot of turmoil and changes in the country. Lebanon is going through an unprecedented crisis. He’s not the only one to blame for that.”

Lebanon’s future

Nasrallah expects even more people to leave Lebanon in the coming months. Nasrallah says, “If you want to be optimistic, we might say some of some people could return when things get better. But many of those leaving are fleeing despair and leaving the country with a lot of hurts. I’m not too optimistic about a lot of them coming back.”

The more that leave, the harder it will be to rebuild Lebanon’s economy in the future.

LSESD provides education for kids who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it. Nasrallah says, “Especially within the relief and development arm, MERATH, we have about eight informal education centers throughout the country that cater mainly to Syrian refugee children. These programs are operated through the local church.”

In a situation that seems hopeless, pray the care of Lebanese Christians will point to Jesus.

To support LSESD’s work, visit mebo.org.

The header photo shows kids at Beirut Baptist School, run by LSESD. (Photo courtesy of LSESD on Facebook)

Maha is a 63-year-old woman in India. She never learned to read or write and her days were spent in agonizing physical pain. Then Maha’s friend suggested she attend one of Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes. At the very least, it could take her mind off the pain.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Bartholomew* with Mission India says, “Within a few days of attending, Maha told the teacher about the pain that she was experiencing and the teacher actually prayed over her for healing. After years of agony with that pain she was experiencing, within two hours of that teacher’s prayer, the pain was removed!”

Through the Adult Literacy Class, Maha achieved a fifth grade level in reading, writing, and math. She also learned about good hygiene and received some seeds to plant a garden. But most importantly, she learned about the life-saving message of Jesus Christ.

Bartholomew says, “This class not only completely transformed her physically, but also emotionally and — of utmost importance — spiritually. She now knows Jesus as her Savior and she’s walking in this newfound freedom.”

India is one of the most unreached places on earth. Out of 1.3 billion people, roughly 95% have never heard the Gospel.

There are many men and women in India who not only need educational resources, but also Christ’s hope.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

It costs just $40 to give an adult in India access to an Adult Literacy Class for a whole year. If you want to partner with Mission India by donating to an Adult Literacy Class, click here!

Bartholomew says, “Maha is forever changed because someone gave a $40 gift to give her a year-long training to better her life financially, spiritually, educationally, and emotionally.”

Please pray for Maha’s encouragement as her family is resistant to her new faith. Pray also for the men and women in these Adult Literacy Classes to know the beauty of life in Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

*Name changed for security.

John Frick with SAT-7 says, “SAT-7 is providing four years’ worth of educational programming for the younger ages: kindergarten through third grade. Heart For Lebanon will implement this curriculum with kids who are just not able to go to any of the schools, even the ones Heart For Lebanon is putting together.”

Children attend the My School programs three days a week at Heart For Lebanon’s two centers in the Bekaa Valley and in Southern Lebanon. They primarily learn Arabic, English, and Math.

Changing lives through education

The program has already changed the trajectory of many children’s lives. Some lived in suspicion of teachers, even throwing rocks at them as they approached. Now they have hope for the future.

Education is so important for these kids, Frick says. That’s what fueled the partnership. “Conversations began probably six months, maybe a year ago about this. The question was: how can SAT-7 come alongside and serve or complement what Heart For Lebanon was doing on the ground? It came to this opportunity for SAT-7 to share programming.”

Pray this ministry will clearly display the love of Jesus for all people.

Pray also for the continuing financial and political crisis happening in Lebanon. Frick says, “And COVID-19 has piled on top of these other issues. There are a lot of people that are hurting. And the church continues to need prayers to be the light in a dark area. So pray for the church, pray for leadership, and pray that God’s name would be lifted up and be glorified.”

Header photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA. 

Lynn Cowell, author and speaker with Proverbs 31 Ministries, recently traveled to India and met with Mission India partners. There, Cowell learned one out of four Indian adults is illiterate, “which is hard for me to wrap my mind around because that population equals nearly the entire population of the US.”

Women account for 68 percent of illiterate adults in India, largely due to gender disparities and early marriages that force young girls to drop out of school.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Mission India is removing the barriers facing adults — and women, in particular — with their Adult Literacy Classes.

During her visit, Cowell got to meet one of Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes. They teach reading, writing, and math so that by the time students graduate, they are at a fifth-grade level.

This doesn’t just change the lives of adult students; it redirects the stories of entire families as parents place greater value on education for their children, including young girls. It also means parents can get better jobs themselves with higher income. They may even be able to start their own businesses.

But the impact doesn’t end there. “The very words that are inside the booklets where they’re learning to read is God’s Word. As they are being introduced to reading, they are also being introduced to the Son of God,” Cowell says.

“As a result of that, 40 percent of the students in these literacy classes typically become new Christians. Then…typically three out of five [literacy classes will] plant new churches.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Cowell especially enjoyed meeting Sunita, a former Adult Literacy Class student.

“After going through that class, she became a believer in Christ,” Cowell says. “It changed her life so much that she next became a project manager, which means that she managed over five different classes. She began to become a leader in her community.

“When we met her, her face literally just beamed with confidence — a confidence that had come from knowing Christ and from the skills that she had gained through not only becoming a member of these classes but becoming a leader in her community.”

 Cowell left her experience with Mission India motivated to get involved.

“Even though I am not a missionary, even though I spend my days serving God here in America, I can still have an impact on what God is doing around the world.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

It’s not hard to support educational and spiritual transformation in India. You can sponsor a literacy student with Mission India for just $40!

“For me and my husband, $40 can easily be a night out that we choose to stay in to change the life of someone forever!” Cowell says.

Even if you can’t give, your prayers are powerful. You can sign up for Mission India’s emails here to recieve regular prayer requests and impact stories.

Please pray for Adult Literacy Class students like Sunita to know the life-changing love of Jesus. Ask God to bless Mission India’s teachers who are representing the Gospel as community leaders.

Mission India also released a four-day devotional today to help you pray for the persecuted Church in India. Sign up for your IDOP devotional here!

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

Three days earlier, Malati had gone to a bank in India to make her deposit. Equivalent to roughly $34 USD today, the 2,500 rupees were a large sum for the average Indian family.

However, there was one problem at the bank. Malati couldn’t read or write. Not that this was unusual. Around 35 percent of women in India are illiterate. So Malati asked a seemingly kind young man to assist her with the deposit. He graciously listened as she told him what to write and filled out the deposit form for her.

Now, Malati realized what had happened. The young man, so willing to assist her, had written down his personal bank information and routed all 2,500 of her rupees to fill his own pockets. When Malati’s husband found out, he was furious. There was nothing she could do.

Not long afterward, Malati heard there was an Adult Literacy Class with Mission India starting in her village.

Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes are year-round and led by indigenous teachers who are trained through the ministry.

Bartholomew* with Mission India explains, “The goal educationally at the end of these Adult Literacy Classes [is] that these adults will have a fifth-grade education level. So they’re able to proficiently do math and read and write, which all then translates into success in terms of those adults’ daily lives.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

“The best part of it is they…get introduced to Jesus — some for the very first time. So it’s just amazing to see the kind of transformation these classes can bring to their communities.”

As for Malati, when she heard about the Adult Literacy Class, “She signed up right away. She was just so excited. She didn’t want to lose any money anymore. The teacher, Sunitha, helped Malati in many ways and Sunitha would actually visit the bank with Malati to teach her about the transactions and how to fill out the deposit form so she could do it on her own now.”

Bartholomew says, “One day, as Malati was listening to Sunitha talk about the lesson, Sunitha started talking about Jesus. She shared the Gospel with Malati and her classmates. Malati was just so moved by hearing about the Gospel and what Jesus did for her, that day…Malati gave her life to Jesus.”

Today, Malati has graduated from the class and learned how to start her own vegetable garden. She sells the produce from her garden in her village and is earning her own income.

An Adult Literacy Class with Mission India. (Photo courtesy of Mission India via Facebook)

“As I’m saying this, I have a smile on my face,” Bartholomew reflects, “because you’re getting to see really the Kingdom of God come forward! You are seeing people who are transformed emotionally and physically and also spiritually through these classes.”

There are many women and even men in India who would benefit from access to an Adult Literacy Class with Mission India. You can be a part of connecting them with educational tools and spiritual hope that could change their lives! Malati’s story is just one of several that Mission India hears every month on the holistic impact of their classes.

“First and foremost, we believe prayer is the first work in missions. So we would ask your readers and listeners to join us in praying for people like Malati, and also for people like Sunitha who are taking up their time in teaching these men and women how to be literate.”

You can also support an Indian woman or man in an Adult Literacy Class! All it takes is $40 for one enrollment.

“During that time, you’re going to give them a year-long transformation,” says Bartholomew. “It’s not just a week, it’s not just a day — $40 enrolls one person for the entire year where they not only learn how to transform themselves, but they get to learn how to transform their families and communities.”

Click here to give to Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes.

Header photo courtesy of Mission India.

*Name changed for security purposes.

Barisha’s husband was pained by this and tried to convince Barisha to leave vengeance to karma. But she persisted in witchcraft and it took a toll of their marriage.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

However, all that was about to change. Bartholomew* with Mission India shares, “One day, one of our partners opened up an Adult Literacy Class program in her village. So Barisha started going to that.”

Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes help men and women in India gain a 5^th grade education in reading, writing, and math. Many of the students from the Adult Literacy Classes even start their own home businesses.

“[Barisha] gradually started gaining skills in literacy and other areas of education and started participating in special trades which these classes often bring which taught her about health. Then she realized she should be taking her kids to a regular doctor so she started doing that.”

In addition to the physical and social transformation, Barisha experienced a profound spiritual transformation.

An Adult Literacy Class with Mission India. (Photo courtesy of Mission India via Facebook)

“The great thing about this Adult Literacy Class program is that it brings in the love of Jesus Christ into these programs. So she started learning about Jesus through her teacher and as she learned about Jesus and what He did for her, it prompted her to stop spending her income and time in witchcraft and she started to read the Scripture and started to pray. And we just celebrate that eventually, Barisha did commit her life to Jesus Christ!” Bartholomew shares.

Previously, Barisha led her family in witchcraft and watched her marriage suffer. Now she is a witness to her own family of the power of the Gospel.

“Her heart was just filled with peace that she had been longing for. Her family has been transformed…. Her children were following her lead with everything they did. They also now are starting to follow her lead and starting to go to church and seeking what Jesus means to them.”

For $40 a month, you could help send men and women like Barisha to Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes. Click here to support Mission India!

(Header photo of Barisha courtesy of Mission India)

*Name changed for security purposes.

In the next few weeks as we gear up for Christmas, we’ll be looking at how we can bring hope to the people of India through India Partner’s gift catalog. Today, we’re talking about literacy. Current numbers estimate that about 70 percent of India is literate.

While that is the overwhelming majority of the nation, we have to take India’s size into consideration. This percentage means that nearly 400 million people still cannot read or write in India.

(Photo courtesy of India Partners)

There’s also a difference in literacy rates between genders and locations. Women have a significantly lower rate of literacy, as do people from rural areas.

India’s constitution guarantees the free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of six and 14. Education is viewed as a basic right. However, in some rural areas or in tribal villages, schools don’t exist. We know the lack of education can arrest communities in cycles of poverty. The lack of the most basic education, not being able to read or write, can make things difficult for people trying to run a business or ensure they are getting paid fairly for their work.

Donna Glass of India Partners says they work in many remote tribal areas to provide literacy classes.

“A teacher goes in and offers these classes and … almost everything is done on chalk and slate.” She says. This means the costs for teaching supplies are kept low because the boards can be used over and over again.

“A lot of times in these remote villages, they don’t even know how to read or write in their [mother tongue]. There are so many different languages in India.”

But because there isn’t a school around, many parents never even think about the importance of education for their children. Glass says they will engage their children in household work, instead.

(Photo courtesy of India Partners)

For those who work as day laborers, work is unreliable and inconsistent. Making ends meet is difficult. But without education, their children likely have the same struggles to look forward to. Part of what India Partners does is share with the parents why education is so important.

But the classes they offer don’t just impact the children, but entire families as well.

“A lot of times what happens is the child will come to these literacy classes and then they take this information home to their parents. So their parents, then, learn. And this often times does help them in being able to better communicate and to be able to make sure that when they are doing whatever work they do… that they can make change properly, and they are paid fairly.”

For the children, being able to read, write, and do simple math can open doors of opportunity.

“It brings hope to the child because it’s like, ‘I’m not going to have to spend my life, you know, watching the cattle, or collecting the firewood, or being a day laborer, doing heavy work that I’ve seen my parents do.'”

The classes have proven to be very effective. Children with no previous education have gone through the literacy class, and are able to continue their education at government schools. Being able to read and write bridges the gap so that they can learn English at the government schools, and maybe even continue to higher education. Glass says classes at the University level are all taught in English.

(Photo courtesy of India Partners)

One boy, named Montu, came from a forest village so remote that the teachers had to take motorcycles for part of the way and travel the rest of the way on foot. This boy attended the literacy class. What he learned allowed him to join a government school at the 5th-grade level. These schools, while away from family, provide housing for the students who come from afar.

“So he learned all his basic skills—his reading and writing and math… He learned in his mother tongue, the language that the village speaks, and he learned in English, and he was able to enter into the government hostel so he could continue his education.  And the hope is that he will be able to graduate, and perhaps even go on to University,” Glass says.

So this Christmas, would you consider giving the gift of literacy? The cost for these classes might surprise you. For only $22, you can sponsor four children. That cost covers the materials and the teaching.

Alternatively, you can sponsor a teacher in a village for four months for $45. This means the whole village will have the opportunity to learn how to read and write. To learn more, click here.

(Photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA)

Rex Rogers with SAT-7, a Christian satellite television ministry to the Middle East and North Africa, explains, “There are 13 million Arab kids over there who are not in school or are in poor schooling situations — their school has been blown up even if they want to go to school, those kinds of things. And we look at that socially speaking as a real threat to not only their future, but to the future of the Middle East.”

The channel will provide round-the-clock programming with educational lessons on Arabic, English, mathematics, and some science.

“SAT7 ACADEMY is innovative,” says Rogers. “It is education on TV; that’s been done before, but not in areas of extensive economic, social, and educational need and development — areas and regions that are struggling. This really hasn’t been done very much.”

SAT-7 already has another educational kids’ program called My School on their SAT7 KIDS channel. They have heard very positive feedback on this program from kids, their parents, and even NGOs. It’s strategic because satellite television has a wide audience reach and can touch communities that otherwise might not be accessible through other methods.

(Map courtesy of SAT-7 USA)

Satellite television is free and almost everybody in the Middle East and North Africa has access to television, even in refugee camps. Television doesn’t require literacy, so children who aren’t in school and don’t know how to read can still watch and learn.

“There are already children over there who haven’t been in school for five or six years. So when you think about that and you think about how important education is to any kind of meaningful quality of life as an adult and the ability to care for yourself and the hope to live in a free society where you’re supposed to think and participate, education is enormously important and SAT-7 believes it needs to be a part of addressing that need.”

Additionally, when it comes to refugee and displaced children, there is the trauma to be considered. Growing up without an education only compounds the issue.

“People are doing studies now of the trauma impact of all this moving, of the violence, loss of home, loss of family members, of uncertainty, of living in places where you’re unfamiliar, of hunger. I mean all the health problems, all the things these children are going through and young adults, youths, you can’t help but experience trauma,” says Rogers.

“If [refugee children] grow up illiterate then, of course, they are more vulnerable, more susceptible to extreme ideas, whether extremism or radicalism. Or just not being able to find employment, not being able to care for themselves and therefore their families, and that creates frustration and it creates reaction.”

(Photo courtesy of Tent Schools International)

This is why, in addition to education on SAT7 ACADEMY, “we’ll do what we call social impact programming where we will address issues, problems on air that are relevant to their understanding of their needs. But primarily it’s aimed at children and aimed at education.”

Although SAT7 ACADEMY will not address biblical topics, SAT-7’s other channels do, and Rogers says an educational channel is right on mission.

“Christians have always been motivated to provide education because we are, as they say, ‘people of the Book’. You want to teach people how to read so that they can think, so that they can access ideas for themselves and process and internalize and make their own decisions in life, including spiritual ideas.”

As SAT-7 prepares to start SAT7 ACADEMY next month, please pray for a smooth launch process and that it would stir a love for learning in the young minds of refugee and displaced children.

Pray also that as these children grow up into critical thinkers and seek life’s truths, that they would find joy in the truth of God’s Word — perhaps even through the ministry of SAT-7’s other Christian channels.

Rogers adds, “If they want to financially support, they can do so through SAT-7. A typical way is on our website, sat7usa.org. They can find us and find out more about this new programming, SAT7 ACADEMY.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

However, children’s education in India wasn’t freely available or required until 2009. Because of this, nearly 30 percent of Indian adults today cannot read or do basic math — mostly women.

That’s why Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India leads 52-week adult literacy classes for men and women in India.

“There are nearly 300 million illiterate adults in India. And to serve those individuals and to educate them, we started forming these adult literacy classes. Through these adult literacy classes, we also share about the love of Jesus,” explains Bartholomew* with Mission India.

“Over a course of 52 weeks, these individuals go through holistic and practical lessons that empower them to read and write at a fifth grade level, do three-digit math, save money, and increase income. At the same time, they’re also learning about healthy eating, good hygiene, and sanitation.”

Bartholomew says these classes have opened exciting opportunities for the men and women gaining new skills.

“In some cases, because of all the stuff we’re teaching them, men and women are starting their own macro-economics business and really growing their families’ income. It’s upped their education level and it’s also upped their income level in a lot of cases.”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

But one of the most life-changing aspects of Mission India’s adult literacy classes are the conversations that take place about faith and Jesus Christ.

Bartholomew shares, “We just got a quote from an adult literacy student who said, ‘The adult literacy classes helped many people become literate. Thank you for giving me a Bible. I feel happy because the Bible gave me a good knowledge of how to lead a spiritual life and live and walk according to God’s will. I feel happy to read the Bible everyday and memorize it daily. It helped me as well as my family come closer to the Lord Jesus Christ.’”

The literacy classes not only transform the lives of the students, but the instructors as well. Bartholomew also gives this testimonial from one of their adult literacy class teachers:

“He said, ‘The adult literacy class program is effective in transforming the lives of people, both economically as well as spiritually. For the last seven years I was in ministry. Though I tried to start a prayer group, I couldn’t. But after partnering with Mission India through adult literacy classes, I was able to start nine prayer groups; and out of nine prayer groups, I was able to baptize 20 students. I was also able to witness God’s love with some anti-Christian extremists.’”

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

Bartholomew says it’s stories like these that make it all worth it. “We just have quotes and stories upon stories of men and women starting out not even knowing how to read, [then] learning how to read; and through their ability to start to read, they start to understand the love of Jesus Christ. It’s something I’m very passionate about. These adult literacy classes bring so much change to families, and we are just so blessed to be a part of what God is doing through these adult literacy classes.”

The cost to sponsor an adult literacy student in India for a year? Just $30. And a giving commitment of $30 per month will sponsor 12 literacy students that year!

“That covers all the materials for all the students that are partaking, so everything from booklets they’re reading to chalkboards and chalk they use to write and practice on to partnering and supporting the educator as well.”

If you’d like to sponsor an adult literacy student with Mission India, click here! There’s a section to designate your monthly donation near the bottom of the page.

In doing so, you’re not only empowering the life of a man or woman in India through the gift of education, but also opening up the door for them to engage the written Word of God and come to a saving knowledge of their Heavenly Father. Please pray to that end as well.

*Name changed for security purposes.