What The Isaiah 58 Fast Will Do for the Street People of Vizag

Pas. Steve,

We are praying for this project since you came here and told us about it.

It was a great moving work, feeding the poor and hungry.

Few details about the work we are doing among the beggars.

The beggars mostly live beside the pavements, in bus shelters under the benches, railway stations, many under the trees beside the roads. Some are married and live with their families while many of them are single. Many are mentally challenged, physically crippled. Most of them are orphans, they do not even know their parents.

Livelihood:

Rag picking, begging, but most of them as thieves and drug addicts.They end up hating the people and society.

They merely earn anything to buy food, so many are seen competing with the dogs near the garbage cans eating the left over food in them. Hunger silences their minds, stop the stinking smells, forces them to satisfy it by any means.

Many do not bath for months together, wear torn and dirty clothes, rarely they will cut their nails and hair, most of them leave their hair like that or some put it as a knot on top of their heads.

Most of them especially the children die due to Mal nutrition, vitamin deficiency, multiple diseases and exposure to extreme heat during days and cold during nights. Most of them die at early ages. The rainy season will always be a night mare for them. They will just sleep on the pavements and under the trees even while raining. No other option!

A shocking revelation, of course, is that 31% of 175 adolescent female beggars were sexually abused and 50% were physically abused. The abusers include street children (77%), street youth (13%) and cycle and auto rickshaw drivers (10%).

Policemen, too, occasionally sexually abuse these girls. 67% of the girls were not aware of the risk of HIV/AIDS.

They are seen almost every where, begging near the bus stations, railway station, near traffic signals, garbage dumps, streets.., just every where. It is so painful to see them like that, many just ignore them but their painful faces and cries are always haunting us, forcing us to do within our limits. But now thank you for joining with us in feeding them.

prayers,

vince & nancy