“With many of our new members surviving on less than 50 cents per day there is no way that local Adventist churches can support the salaries of teachers,” said Pastor D. Ronald Watts, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southern Asia.

With whole villages in India joining the church, it’s no wonder that the church there now stands at about a million or so members.  But where can the children of church members go? Local schools? Watts sums up the condition of local schools in one word: “horrible.” He explains that often teachers don’t even show up for school consistently. He adds that because most parents are struggling to survive financially, school is often not an option.

“Opportunities for education are few,” agreed Pastor John Rathinaraj, secretary of the Adventist church in Southern Asia. “Some children become bonded laborers, they are always under somebody. Child workers are basically like a slave. It is illegal but common.”

“We cannot accept this,” Watts said. “What is our church going to be like in 10 or 15 years without educated workers?”

Realizing that the church needed to not only train church leaders of the future but also help many of the children of church members who cannot afford to go to school, the church in Southern Asia has set up a sponsorship program. The program, Adventist Child India, will allow people to sponsor a child for $25 a month to attend Adventist boarding schools in India. That amount pays for one child’s food, clothing, books and tuition.

Why support children as opposed to institutions? “Because many people can give $25 a month, which we find is more effective,” Watts explained. “On the other hand many give money to a project and then forget about it. Sponsoring a child personalizes the issue and people become very much involved and become attached.”

Watts said attending Adventist schools will benefit children in several ways: they will learn about the Adventist values; they will learn English and can get better jobs; and they can share what they learn with the rest of their villages.

The program has been in existence for about a year, with 1,200 children already sponsored. The goal is to sponsor 10,000 children.

Pastor John points to current pastors and teachers in Southeast India as testimonies to the effectiveness of sponsorship. “More than 50 percent of our workers—teachers and pastors—were sponsored as children,” he said. ” And we have 3,000 workers in South East India.”

For more information see :

www.adventistchildindia.org