India, Asia

IND22 - Key Person Development

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Key Partnership Information:

• Partnership Ref.: IND22

• Commenced: 25/05/2023

• Funding Status: No Current Donor

• Partnership Type: Evangelism / Church Planting, Micro-enterprise / Micro-loans, Community / Agriculture Development

• Funding Size: $3,000 - $7,999

• Annual Budget: US$ 792

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Current Partnership Impact:

• 2 families are being assisted

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Other Partnership Information:

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• Email us about supporting this partnership

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Partnership Overview

A group of local men are working along the Bhutan border establishing small groups of Christian believers. They visit small communities and go from house to house talking about the Gospel. As they travel, they find many very poor families and have discovered several boys who have been abandoned. They have brought some of these boys together into a home to care for them. Of course, this creates an ongoing need for finance.

None of these men have regular support so the cost of keeping their families and all these children as well is putting a lot of stress on them. Thadeus and his team want to establish several small farms with goats and pigs to support the men and their families as well as supporting their various ministries including the boys in the "home."  

History of Partnership

BHW's New Partnership Facilitator has known Thadeus for several years. He first met him in 2015 at BBTI in Jamtara. His sister was on the staff there and he was visiting. Since then, they have communicated on several occasions. They tried to connect in January 2023 when BHW's New Partnership Facilitator was in India, but unfortunately Thadeus was just passing through Kolkata on a day we were out of the city. They did talk on the phone and agreed to continue developing the relationship. 

While we have not visited the area, the strong relationship Thadeus has with other BHW partners makes it possible for us to begin partnering with him. A BHW team plans to visit the area later in 2023, meet all the people and see what is happening on the ground. We imagine that there may be more projects develop out of this in the future as their ministry impact grows. 

Beneficiaries

The primary beneficiaries will be the families of the full-time workers and the boys they take under their care from the community.  

What We Like About The Partnership

These guys are really good men. They are in the brethren network and are well known by several of our existing partners. 

They are doing a hard work amongst their own people and are developing a good presence in the area, despite opposition. 

It is based in an area that really needs the Good News and people with a holistic understanding of the Good News. They demonstrate this by the way they are currently operating. 

The work is amongst Hindu people living along the border and also into Bhutan, a country that is very closed to the Gospel of Jesus. These are very unreached people. 

 

Key People

Leadership Profile

Thadeus is married to Jyotshna Dhan, and they have two children. The elder is a son born in 2017. The younger is a daughter who was born in 2020. His elderly mother stays with them. They are all Christians. 

They also have two boys staying with them, one is studying in class 4 and the other in class 3.

Other People Involved

In addition to Thadeus and Jyotshna, there are another four people on the organising committee. 

 

Vision And Annual Strategy

Vision 

To see the ministry become self-sufficient for ongoing ministry expenses. 

Strategy

The strategy is to establish several small-scale farms to help support the work. For the first two, Panchami Oraon, Thadeus's sister-in-law, will take care of the pigs and Rajkumar Oraon, a church member, will take care of the goats, both are very capable of doing the job. There are some other people in their network who are successfully breeding animals with whom they can talk. In Jaigaon there is a veterinary doctor who is a Christian, and on very good terms with them who will help.

Over time the number of people in the team will grow and the number of farms as well. Note that the farms are only small pieces of land. 

 

Annual Budget
In 2023 a one-off amount of US$2,684 was required here to fund:
1) The construction of concrete houses for pigs and wooden houses for goats
2) The purchase of 5 goats and 5 pigs  

In 2024, further funds were required to purchase another two pigs. 

 

Personal Testimony

Real "Life Change" Stories

Since the team has begun working in this area, several small groups have been formed. The short bio of the two boys they are currently caring for are included here (see photo at top). 

Devid Oraon is 15 years old and in class 9. His father has died, and his mother was taking care of four children. Devid is the youngest. The oldest sister got married a year ago. His mother is a daily wage labourer, and it is extremely difficult for her to look after all the children.

Aryan Oraon is 8 years old and in class 3. He comes from a very poor family. His parents are there but cannot provide him with proper food and clothing as his father drinks whatever he earns. His mother is a housewife but has to work to take care of her three children. It is extremely difficult for her to nurture them without elementary education, without basic needs, and without Christ.  

Thadeus writes, "Now by God's grace we go to their families and share the word of God, and many got saved...our primary joy and job."