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the ministry

sarah's covenant homes

eMi2 project 8211

I just want to start by saying how encouraging our visit was with Sarah's Covenant Homes. A huge work is being done through the people in Ongole and I feel so honored to serve this ministry.

Sarah's Covenant Homes is an organization who is dedicated to the care of disabled children in India who have been abandoned or relinquished by their families due to their disability or special needs. Often, these children are referred to SCH by government facilities who are completely overcapacity and understaffed. In the government facilities, many children die from completely preventable causes, simply because of the lacking facilities and care.

To fully understand the weight of what SCH does, its important to understand the broader picture in India. In the West, there are hundreds of organizations dedicated to the care and empowerment of individuals with special needs and they are widely and comfortably integrated into the public school system. Most westerners view these people as those who need a little extra love and are more than willing to give to them.

Indian society holds a much different view for many reasons. Disabled individuals are truly regarded as inferior. This is tied to the Hindu caste system, which although is illegal is absolutely upheld at present. The disabled are often believed to have done something in their previous lives to warrant being reincarnated in this physical or mental state. Hindu beliefs emphasize that the only way for one to better their position in the next life is to live out their circumstances dutifully and to the best of their abilities. This is dharma. If a person attempts to better their circumstances this is adharma and though they may live a better worldly life, they will pay for this rebellion in their next life. Similarly, if someone else attempts to prevent a person from fulfilling their given life course, for example rescuing and rehabilitating someone who is abandoned because of disability, they also are preforming adharma and will suffer in their next life.

Aside from the physical or mental restrictions, the stigma of being handicapped and paying for past adharma may make it difficult for someone in this position to find work. They, then, must use the only thing they have - their disability - to try to beg for food or a little money. This begging further perpetuates the negative light upon the disabled, keeping them oppressed.

As this is the situation in much of India, parents of infants with disabilities often cannot imagine a viable future for their child, and may fear social isolation or shame for the entire family. Many of these children are abandoned or given over into government care. These beautiful innocent children are the most likely to be abandoned and the least likely to be adopted. Also, due to restrictions from the government of Andhra Pradesh, adoptions in general have been halted for the last few years. Adoption has recently opened up but, in attempt to hinder sexual slavery, is limited to children under the age of 12. Which means, if these children are not adopted by the age of 12, they never will be.

Enter the brave and loving people of Sarah's Covenant Homes. Sarah, an American is living in Ongole with her husband James, who is from there. (see her full story here) Another American family, Eric and Tisra and their four sweet children have recently moved to Ongole, as well, to help in the administration, daily operations and adoption efforts of SCH. They have been there for 8 months and have already made such a huge difference. (watch their story at the end of the post!)

eric beginning to share the vision of sch with our team

SCH currently has 105 children who have all been diagnosed (and some even misdiagnosed) by the Indian government as 'mentally retarded.' Some of these sweet kids have only minor disabilities. One little boy we met was simply blind, fully mentally capable, but due to lack of care, can hardly walk. He is slowly building up his leg muscles in SCH's Victory Home. There are currently three sites for 105 children, most of whom are living at Victory Home, 80 to be exact. Victory Home is a gigantic leap from the government orphanages and hospitals from which the children were rescued, however, SCH's vision extends far beyond this limited facility.

the victory home courtyard and two iyas

christine playing with nolan
- he couldn't get enough of climbing up
her legs like a little monkey

david's new friend and dance partner

some of the older girls, doing some home school work
meghan has the big smile in front

We were able to see one flat that SCH currently owns and cares for some younger children in. This is nearer to the ministry's vision of family-style care and living for these children. An American volunteer, Cassie, lives in this flat and acts as a sort of foster mother for a group of eight precious kiddos with the help of an Indian iya or nurse.

an iya feeding a little one in the family-style flat

This family-centered set-up is really the desire of SCH for all of their children, and the best scenario for the rehabilitation, growth and development of these children by loving foster-type parents until they are adopted by their real parents! This is the vision eMi2 hopes to help them realize.

eric explaining the idea of the family-style living
(evan's in front and aloe behind him )

After leaving Delhi in January 2010 and returning to Austin for school, I remember just sitting down one afternoon in my house and weeping for the things I had seen. So much beauty, but inextricably intertwined, so much pain and suffering. During my first week back in Delhi in August, I was struck by how hardened my heart seemed to be. Was it protecting itself? Was I trying to close myself off to feeling so strongly as I did before in order to live here for 4 months? I just prayed for God to soften me, to open my heart to these people I so desperately wanted to serve. I knew, conversely, I couldn't afford to be broken and immobilized by empathy, but I wanted to be stirred for them again.

my little buddy, evan, who I got to see a few times in the week

he had something imaginarily delicious in that spoon
and all he wanted to do was share it with everyone

Standing in that flat and staring into the faces of these sweet little children, I saw the faces of all the kids I have taught swimming lessons to these past 6 summers. Are they so different? I fully comprehended, for the first time, that these children's parents had held them, looked in their innocent eyes and given them up. I felt the weight of the truth that society doesn't believe they are worth a thing, and further that India does not understand or believe in the work of SCH - in fact many Indians think these people who have sacrificed their own American comfort to move to Ongole have completely lost their minds - and not in a good way. As one little boy, Evan, ran at me to share some imaginary spoonful of food, I felt myself about to come undone. I felt hot, sick tears forming behind my eyes, and burning in my throat. He was full of such joy and light, and all it took was a little tickle and he was on the floor giggling and squealing. How could anyone discard him? Luckily, our volunteer architect Mark stole me away to grab some measurements and I could regroup. I felt, then, and still feel now thankfulness that these children are with SCH now and are being loved so well, but it's mixed with a confusion and anger towards the religion that provides justification for this sort of apathy and mistreatment. Maybe God, knowing my fragility was saving my heart in those early weeks to break it for these children who I will be designing for.