According to Daniel*, an OM partner working in South Asia, following Cyclone Amphan, recent flooding caused by monsoon rains and the economic hit of COVID-19, millions are struggling to survive.

“Starvation is a very real threat, and we really want to extend a helping hand to provide dry food rations so that we can keep people alive until things turn normal again,” Daniel explains.

OM partners throughout South Asia have reached out, in the midst of chaos, to help their neighbours and beyond. “We all had this thought in our hearts, [while] looking at what COVID-19 was doing,” Daniel shared. “We were praying 'Lord help us to do something.' So we started with one bag of groceries for people impacted by COVID. And then it turned into two bags and then food for about 70 families.” Relying on relationships they had, and a network of Jesus followers who helped to highlight needs in more remote places, Daniel and his teams have helped 1,200 families to date.

In one village a team found a way to cook food for 500 people every day for a week. These people had lost their homes to flooding, had no cooking ware or kitchens, and needed food while they waited for the waters to recede enough. The teams found creative ways to deliver dry food items, like rice, lentils, cooking oil and vegetables, to various villages in need. 

During such a distribution they encountered Salma, a recent widow with five children, who had been struggling even during COVID lockdown to find work to feed her family. She was given dry food rations, tarpaulin to help cover her house’s damaged roof, and a mosquito net to protect them. “She was very thankful,” Daniel shared.

"She had tears in her eyes and said, 'It is only God who sent you, because nobody in the village ever came to rescue us.’”  

Another worker, Biswajit*, has also been handing out food packages to people in need. During one distribution to 65 people in a village, Biswajit met a local man there who was a wealthy teacher. This man assisted the team in organizing, and then invited them to his home for a meal. “There he asked me ‘Why did you bring this food? Why did you come to help us?’ And then I was able to share the reason and also the purpose of our coming,” Biswajit recounted.

“I shared the whole story of Jesus and the story of the good Samaritan and how Jesus asked us to love our neighbours – not the way we understand neighbour – but that Jesus came to show us what love is. And this man and his whole family listened.” Biswajit has arranged to meet the man and his family again to study God’s word together. His teams to date, have helped almost 5,000 families.

Dave*, an OM leader coordinating with these partners, explains the seriousness of the situation in South Asia. “The high density of population, extreme poverty and the lack of ability to mitigate the spread of this pandemic leads to the continued spread of COVID-19.  So, yes, there is a great need but even greater opportunity for believers to demonstrate the reality of the Kingdom and what it means to be a follower of Jesus especially to the least reached Muslims in South Asia.”

Please join us in partnering with these brothers and sisters in South Asia to share true joy with those struggling to survive.

 *Names changed for security