India: Children

The reason we went to India was primarily for me to learn more about Bal Vikas Kendra (a school and children's home) and New Life Center (the parent ministry over it). We did visit many schools, but even outside of intentional children's ministries, there are still children EVERYWHERE in India. Just SO many children. Children ages 0-6 make up about 13% of the total population and ages 0-25 make up 50% of India's population. By the way, once you're 33 years old in India, you're essentially over-the-hill. Average life expectancy is 65 years old.
Anyway, here are some children we saw:

at an orphanage in Mussoorie

These boys were distracted by our visit to their school in Rishikesh.

Sandeep is 9 years old and lives very close to the forest. His home is always under threat of wild elephants (100% seriously. He lives in a house made of mud which can easily be broken down by an elephant. He walks daily to the school and is always excited to learn and play. His father is a laborer and his family lives in poverty. Please pray for him and for his family. (I learned this from his school Principal after snapping this picture of his soul-searching eyes and cherubic smile.)
 

Boys taking a dip in the Ganges.

Girls who traipsed over to a gawking passle of Americans just so they could say "hello" and flash us their brilliant grins.

We saw many children, such as the ones in the last two photos, who were completely unattended. I know in America we're super hardcore about always watching kids, being with kids, and never even feeling comfortable with teenagers out unsupervised. However in India, we saw 6-year-olds caring for toddlers as they toddled down busy streets.

I didn't even take pictures of the impoverished children who would tug at our clothing and put their hands to their mouths begging for money. Shin shared food with a pack of about four 5-to-7-year-old boys and a girl. Ugh. In America, you just never see children begging alone in the middle of the street. I feel like I can't even imagine the atrocities some of these children face. I also can't imagine leaving the 4-year-olds to keep each other company after school as their 9-year-old cousin plays with his friends and "babysits" until mom comes home late at night after cleaning houses.

Not everyone in India is impoverished and not every child is uncared for, but it is astoundinglygreater than what we face here. Oh, I have SO MANY more pictures of tiny faces that broke my heart with their unabashed smiles and giggles as they practiced saying "Good Mo'ning Ma'am" at any time of day. I know India (as any country, organization, or person) is incredibly complex, and it cannot and will not be fixed by just funneling money into poor people. However I firmly believe that something must be done. From Job to James, we are commanded to care for widows and orphans; fear and overwhelming need is not a reason to remain inactive.