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 vulnerable women and children. Illiteracy and unemployment are a major drawback for these tribal people and so Thadeus and his team desire to empower them by providing a computer training programme, a tailoring training course and a tuition centre. 

Unemployment rates are growing in India and finding work is particularly hard for the poor who are untrained. By providing computer training for young people and tailoring training for women, these skills will increase their opportunities for employment and their ability to financially support themselves. In India the government schools can be a bit hit and miss and children depend on tuition centres to gain an education, but the poor often cannot afford these and so fall behind in their schooling. Thadeus' wife has been running a tuition centre for the past eight years with about 20 children aged 5-18 years old attending, but she is finding that without modern technology like a laptop, projector etc her way of educating the children is outdated. 

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 when he visited. 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 they were out of the city. They did talk on the phone and agreed to continue developing the relationship. 

Despite not having visited the area, the strong relationship Thadeus has with other BHW partners made it possible for us to begin partnering with him in May 2023, assisting to develop several small-scale farms to financially support the full-time workers involved in this ministry. In late 2023 a team from BHW visited and found that work was progressing well. Subsequent to that visit Thadeus asked us to consider three new projects they were keen to commence. These projects were to assist the vulnerable families they were encountering in their work, some of these they had already commenced. The three projects were approved by the BHW Executive and commenced in May 2024. 

Beneficiaries

The three groups of beneficiaries here are the children attending the tuition centres, the young people undertaking computer training, and the women involved in the tailoring course. People of all faiths will be welcomed. Almost all the people they work amongst are Adivasi people who in the past have been forced into Hinduism, but who are really animists. They are treated badly by the majority local population and despised. They are right at the bottom of the social system.  

What We Like About The Partnership

These are really good people leading the programme. They are in the brethren network and are well known by several of our other Indian 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. 
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.
This is aimed at assisting young people and women who are the most teachable and the most vulnerable. 

Key People

Leadership Profile

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

Other People Involved

A lady from their church will do the tailoring tutoring and there are some young people in the area who will run the computer training programme. 

Vision And Annual Strategy 

Vision 

To empower the poor and vulnerable children, young people and women in this area of India and to give them opportunity to hear the Good News.

Strategy

1) To set up a computer training programme for unemployed youth in their community. There are many of them and because of their position in society, they have to compete against others who have privileges. Being trained in computer operations they will gain some advantage. 

2) To run 6-monthly tailoring courses for vulnerable women. Once they have finished the course, they will receive a sewing machine and will be skilled enough to work in a tailoring shop or start their own business from home. They intend to run two courses per year. 

3) To continue the tuition centre which children attend five days a week for two hours a day. There will be around 30 children in the programme initially.

Annual Budget

The initial budget here is US$4,952 which will fund:
- the purchase of 3 computers, room rental and trainer honorarium
- the purchase of 5 sewing machines, room rental and trainer honorarium
- the purchase of a laptop, projector and whiteboard, and room rental

In subsequent years the budget will reduce to US$3,082 as the initial set-up expenses will not be required.