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Poverty Line Problems of the Impoverished (Part 1 by Gospel for Asia)

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Wills Point, Texas – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report Part 1 – Discussing the impact of education on the eradication of extreme poverty and illiteracy. When considering the issues of poverty and lack of education, an old saying comes to mind: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Poverty and low education are each self-perpetuating: Those born into poverty (or illiterate households) often live the remainder of their lives in that same condition and have nothing more to offer their children. [ 1] What’s more, it is as if poverty and low education have a magnetic attraction, relentlessly pulling those who are caught in one cycle deep into the other too. Why is that? Kristina Birdsong, a writer for Scientific Learning, sums up the relationship between poverty and education by saying, “Today more than ever, education remains the key to escaping poverty, while poverty remains the biggest obstacle to education.” [2] Let’s look at one example: Dayita is a mother in Asia living with...
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Winter Without Warmth is Tough for Those Who Minister in Asia

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Growing up in North Texas, one of the rarest sights must be snow. Even when it happens to snow, it lasts barely a day. A veritable blizzard to come roaring through is among the oddest of occasions. Looking back, I remember one winter day, as a boy when I watched the snow fall and the ice harden outside the walls of my family’s home. With the roads effectively closed, school was not an option. As Texas tends to not prepare for major snow events, it took three days until the roads were somewhat safe to drive on. In 2016, more than 170,000 blankets were distributed at GFA-supported events like this one. Each time I and my family would go outside to play in the snow there was always the house, warm and cozy, waiting for us when we were done. Even to this day, I have a place of warmth to return to. During our ventures out into the cold, we always bundled up. Hats, gloves and coats aplenty—there was no shortage of warm clothing. Protection Against the Biting Cold Severe cold in Texas is an o...
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Technology Shares Christ’s Love with a Village

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Often times, people will argue the pros and cons of different methods of sharing Christ’s love. I used to be that way, but after reading articles from various missionary organizations, I’ve learned there is no method that is effective for every individual. For many people in other countries, illiteracy is a problem. In India more than 34 percent of the population is illiterate. [1] Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have a literacy rate higher than 75 percent, but that still leaves portions of the population illiterate. [2] This is why digital media, such as films, are such great tools. It shares the Good News with those who can’t read a Bible or literature. Plus, who doesn’t like a good movie, especially when the good guy ultimately wins? Struggling with Sweat on Their Way GFA-supported film teams often travel on foot, from village to village, with sweat running down their faces. Unless they travel by bus or have their own vehicle, they have no other way to haul the projector and generator, ...
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Seeking Justice & Defending Human Rights (Part 3 by Gospel for Asia)

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Wills Point, Texas – GFA Special Report ( Gospel for Asia ) – Discussing the large and small scale efforts and solutions to end inequality, social injustice, grinding poverty, human rights violations, that continues to exist, affecting millions of women, men and even children. Small Steps, Big Change In the face of such enormous inequalities, it can be difficult to know how to respond and where to start. But just as the problem of social injustice is not really a single, abstract issue so much as the many individuals it affects, so ending inequality is about changing personal circumstances as well as addressing the structures that allow inequality to continue. That sort of action is taking place on large and small scales. At one end of the spectrum, the World Bank is supporting a $63 million empowerment project in Jharkhand, India, which aims to help adolescent girls and young women complete secondary-level education and acquire job skills. Another way of improving the situation for po...
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Seeking Justice & Defending Human Rights (Part 2 by Gospel for Asia)

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Wills Point, Texas – GFA Special Report ( Gospel for Asia ) – Discussing the human rights injustice and violations, modern-day oppression, extreme poverty, that continues to exist, affecting millions of women, men and even children. Human Rights Injustice in Social Structures For those who are considered “Untouchables”—that’s some 300 million Dalits who fall at the bottom of the societal ladder—discrimination typically leaves them with only menial work no one else wants to do. The Indian government took affirmative action to enforce policies about caste discrimination “reserving a certain percentage of government jobs and admission to educational institutions, as also financial support through loans and special schemes, for these castes,” reports the CRG. Some Dalits have managed to break out of their long-time social, religious and economic confinement. Recently launched, The Dalit Enterprise celebrates the rise of entrepreneurs from among the Dalits, among whom are around 50 billion...
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Seeking Justice & Defending Human Rights (Part 1 by Gospel for Asia)

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Wills Point, Texas – GFA Special Report ( Gospel for Asia ) – Discussing the extreme poverty that globally creates modern-day slaves, affecting millions of women, men and even children. More than 80 years after George Orwell wrote in his classic Animal Farm that “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others,” his barbed observation on disparity rings ever truer for humankind. According to a 2017 report by Credit Suisse Research Institute , 10 percent of the world’s richest population owns 88 percent of all global wealth, while “3.5 billion individuals—70% of all adults in the world—have wealth below USD 10,000.” That includes some who could be living in grinding poverty in Asia. Despite improvements in some parts of the globe, the World Bank says “extreme poverty remains unacceptably high.” Globally, 1 in 10 is below the poverty line, somehow surviving on less than $1.90 a day. If such staggering inequality doesn’t provoke the rich to concern for reasons of the heart, it...
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Gospel for Asia Shares: For Those Who Ran — For Those Abandoned

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Wills Point, Texas – GFA ( Gospel for Asia ) – Discussing the innumerable children, abused and abandoned, and the impact Bridge of Hope centers make to transform their lives with God’s love. The innocence of a child is one of the most beautiful things this world has to offer. For most people, once they reach a certain age, that innocence and naiveté is lost—merely a thing of the past. Nostalgia rules supreme among the elderly, and adults sometimes wish they could return to the time of their youth where there seemed to be no troubles and no cares in the world. Unfortunately, some children today do not have the innocence and naiveté they should. Some have been brutally and carelessly robbed of their childhood. UNICEF reported that 13 percent of Asia’s total labor force in 2011 was composed of children. [1] These children had lost one or both parents. With no other way to take care of themselves, these children are forced to then take to the streets. Some children are either pushed into ...
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