Think Again Before Buying Firecrackers

(Article Posted in the India Times October 13, 1998) For anyone with a conscience...One can't perhaps imagine a Diwali without the glitter and noise of firecrackers. But how many of us know that with each cracker that we light, we help destroy a child? This year, before we buy crackers or burn those gifted to us, we may like to consider the following: Most crackers are manufactured in the Sivakashi area in Tamil Nadu. The factories here employ children as young as three and a half years. Some surveys report even two-and-a-half-year-old tots being recruited for the job. A majority of the children employed in the firecracker factories are girls. The proportion of girls to boys is reportedly 3:1. At any given time 45,000 to 60,000 children are employed in these factories. Parents of child-laborers employed in the firecracker factory are extremely poor and live in villages around the factory towns. The factory owners have agents stationed in the village to recruit children as laborers. It is common practice to give parents advances against work by their children. This not only helps the child-labur market to flourish but also motivates parents to have more children, pushing them further into the depths of poverty and deprivation. It is unbelievable but true that such transactions take place even against babies in their mother's wombs! The children in a way are rendered bonded laborers even before they are born. The factories send out buses to collect the laborers early in the morning. The agent sees to it that the children pile into these buses. They are awakened by 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. and are half asleep when they board the bus. They return at 6 or 7 p.m. Most of these children have never known a school. They work in conditions that are hazardous to health. They handle dangerous chemicals for a minimum of 12 hours a day. They work in poorly ventilated rooms. They have to sit in the same position for long hours, putting a strain on their yet-immature bone structure. Their eyesight and respiratory system suffer as a result of the below-average conditions. They suffer from loss of appetite and consequent malnutrition and growth retardation. All the material used is explosive and inflammable. The fire safety measures are generally absent or very poor. This has caused serious fire accidents maiming and killing several children. Since the payment is on piece rate, the children work longer hours without respite. They get between 6 to Rs.15 per day if they work for 12 hours a day. Their mental development is restricted. There is no opportunity for education, play, recreation, or a simple commodity such as parental love and attention. They return home tired and half asleep. The family atmosphere is rarely good with alcoholic fathers and mothers with poor health striving to make both ends meet. Factory owners continue to make this profit-making venture because there is an ever-growing market for firecrackers. First we used them only during Diwali. Now, no marriage or any other celebration is complete without bursting of crackers. Be it a test-match victory or a minor family celebration, crackers are a must. In fact, a cracker is burst for every four or six runs hit by a batsman - meaning harm to one child at least. It is we who create the market. The more we buy, the greater the number of children pushed into this industry. If our celebrations are incomplete without firecrackers, can we at least insist that those that are manufactured in child labor-free industries clearly say so on the wrappers? The carpet industry was another major employer of young children. This is a largely export-oriented industry. With a growing awareness about children's rights, prospective buyers world-wide now refuse to buy carpets unless accompanied by a "child labor free" label. Can we not insist on child labor-free crackers only? Fun with crackers? Yes. But with crackers manufactured by children? No.

By Anuradha Sahasrabudhe.
Source : Times of India October 13, 1998.

Family Update

Everyone is doing well, and we are very encouraged. It is enjoyable to read the Bible together as a family. A friend of mine showed a great way to do family devotions by reading the Proverbs together daily by each family member taking turns reading a verse. Benjamin loves reading with us, and it really encourages him in practicing reading. When we all read together, it isn't like homework but a bonding experience surrounding the Word of God.

Benjamin has just lost his 3rd tooth, and the dentist said that his teeth are growing perfectly and the new ones should come in just fine. We were starting to get concerned when he didn't lose any teeth until after his 7th birthday.

Janey and I are both helping in our children's church on Wednesday night. I am helping the 1st and 2nd grade boys in Royal Rangers and Janey is helping with the girls Missionette program. It is wonderful to see these children grow in their faith and watch them praise the Lord during the children's services.

Lord willing and funds permitting, we are hoping to travel to Florida next month; Benjamin would like to see the shuttle launch before they retire the fleet next year. I have a lot of church visits that I will need to make, and we will be able to visit my brother along the way so I know it will be a fun experience.

Benjamin is keeping good pace with his home,school and he is moving quickly through his Shurley English 2nd grade and Saxon Math 3rd grade. The challenge is keeping him interested when he is doing repetitive learning. He wants to jump right to calculus but doesn't always realize that he has to learn multiplication and fractions first. Next month Benjamin will begin basketball; he seems to progress really well, and I am cautious about getting him involved in too many sports.

Janey and I were able to celebrate our 29th anniversary of our first date last October 3. Just like in 1980, we went to Pizza Hut; I got her a single rose and a Pepsi, just like back in high school.

Church Without Walls - Only a Tarp

From a young age, mental disease blighted his life, keeping him home from school, even forcing others to physically restrain him. His family, very devout Hindus, regularly worshiped idols, practiced black magic and participated in temple rituals. But temple rituals did not help Amit. Even medical science did not help him. His family, searching for a cure, looked everywhere and tried everything. Fortunately, in the end, the cure found its way to them. While Amit was a teenager, a church formed nearby and his mother and sister became Christians. At the church, Amit’s mother shared about her son, his mental illness, how it blighted their lives, and their search for a cure. The church prayed for Amit and he was healed. Now sane, Amit accepted Jesus and longed to know more about his healer and Savior. He learned to read, which his illness had prevented; he grew in the knowledge of God; he grew in the grace of God. His powerful testimony attracted to the faith many from his community, so many that a group of them began to meet and worship together, a group that now numbers 150 people. Their church “building” is nothing more than a few poles and a tarp, but the Lord is present. Amit is their pastor. One day he took Ebenezer Samuel, who was visiting, along with him to a family he had been witnessing to for several months. That day, the family accepted Jesus as their Savior. Ebenezer felt great joy at seeing one more family added to Amit’s church. Amit is just one example of thousands of independent pastors that the Lord has raised up in India. The mission of Serve India Ministries is to help such pastors plant more churches. Amit, along with twenty other pastors, all in the same region, is now part of a Serve India Ministries Mission Field. Each pastor who joins a Mission Field agrees to a goal of planting five more churches. To facilitate their work, Serve India Ministries puts the pastors through the BILD curriculum (see http://www.bild.org/), valuable weekly training that develops the skills they need for ministry and gives them fellowship with other pastors, which they find to be a joyful source of encouragement and prayer support. The pastors carry back home what they have received, using it to teach children in Stepping Stone Centers and to train elders in their churches, elders who pass on the skills and knowledge to their congregations. There are many ways in which you can become a part of this story. You can support the development of whole new Mission Fields, just like the one Amit is a part of, by giving to the Mission Field Development Fund. You can support individual pastors. Or you can help children by supporting a Stepping Stone Center. Amit’s region is an extremely poor area. Stepping Stone Centers, while teaching the Gospel, assist children with their school work, which helps to lift them up out of poverty. $150 per month provides for 50 children. There is an enormous potential in the Mission Field of which Amit is a part: only 0.01% of the population is Christian. Thousands of churches could be planted. Millions could come to know the Lord. Help us bring in this harvest.