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Supporting Christian Ministries in Developing Countries |
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Tender Heart - ministering to the untouchables of Indian society |
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Francis and Alison moved to South West India in August 2007 to help the untouchables of Indian Hindu society, the Dalit people, the poorest of the poor.
To transform lives by presenting them with Gods love through His Word and His Deeds. They have named their charity Tender Heart.
The video on the left introduces this work and shows how God is clearly anointing what this lovely couple are doing in His name.
We have just introduced a new child sponsorship scheme to enable us to give pre-schooling to children from the slums. Please will you help. Email Trish on sponsor@amentrust.co.uk for information. You can download an information leaflet by clicking here .
See below for recent general newsletters: |
Newsletters (click on title to download in pdf format) If you do not have an Adobe Acrobat (PDF format) Reader you can get a free download by clicking here
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| February 2012 | "A recent grant has enabled us to do many things " (NEW) | |
| January 2012 | "A miracle - Joel comes to join the family " | |
| August 2011 | "A new day care centre and great encouragement " | |
| March 2011 | "The ministry continues to grow ... " | |
| September 2010 | "Empowering Dalit children through education " | |
| May 2010 | "God is our refuge and strength " | |
| February 2010 | "Thank you" | |
| January 2010 | "New micro enterprise activities commence" | |
| December 2009 | "Helping the Dalit people with education" | |
| July/August 2009 | "Exciting news of what God is doing" | |
| May 2009 | "Daughter Abigail - born 13th May 2009" | |
| March 2009 | "Thank you for bringing smiles into our lives" | |
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Many Dalit girls are sold into prostitution.
It is not sufficient to tell young women that going into prostitution is wrong, they need to see an alternative and some way of gaining dignity and of earning a living. Stepping Stone is one answer.
Francis and
Alison have opened two tailoring training schools for women and hope to
open a third.
Up
to 17 women at a time attend a 6 month course where they learn how to do
tailoring work . The course is free and the sewing machines are
provided.
When they graduate the girls are able to earn a reasonable living. The girls are not forced to adopt Christianity - but there is a short Bible story and prayer at each lesson - and many find a faith in Jesus.
With the help of AMEN Micro Enterprise Scheme Donations, Francis and Alison have been able to set up a business enterprise scheme where the girls are provided with a sewing machine and equipment so that they can run their own small businesses.
This equipment is a loan and the girls pay off this loan at an agreed monthly rate from their earnings. The money raised can then be reinvested in other tailoring graduates. Click here for pictures of the launch of the scheme.
Since we started this early 2009 nearly 50 young women have been able to become independent earners - and not a single one has defaulted on their repayments of the loan!
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But the most urgent request from all the Dalit parents is for people to give help to their children- so that they will be educated and will not have to put up with the difficulties that they and their ancestors have had to put up with for generations.
HOPE Children's clubs provide an answer - a place where children can learn to play, have help with learning English, have help with homework, and generally be encouraged. They also learn about the God.
Other children are helped back to school by providing them with school bags, notebooks, uniforms, lunch boxes, and so on. The children are always encouraged to give thanks to God for all blessings they receive.
Through donations from AMEN over 240 children have been kitted out for school. Click here for details . Through the AMEN Gift Catalogue AMEN has been blessed with further donations for the "Back to School" activities - we thank everyone for their support.
Through the help of AMEN, Cliffe Mission, and King's Church in the Wirral, Francis and Alison have been able to open their first Day Centre to provide help to parents and preschool education to very young children. Click here for details
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Dalit men and women also have a desire to learn skills and, at this time, learning computer skills can be an opening to a good job.
So a small training school has been set up with support of AMEN.
This opened very successfully on 7th April and already has many students taking advantage of the facilities. The training has been extended to teach English - the students need it to understand the computer and it helps them in other ways as well.
Giving specific training to help the Dalit people to get jobs is both a way of helping the physical needs but also gives opportunities to show the gospel at work. |
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We at AMEN are excited by what God is doing through Francis and Alison and their team to reach out to the poor with the love of God. Please pray for this work which is giving so many people hope. |
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How you can help ...
We would very much appreciate all help you can give to the work of AMEN and our partners - your prayers, a visit, and donations..
Thank you for your generosity.
In both cases, if you are a UK tax payer we would ask you to make a Gift Aid declaration. This will help us to increase the gift which you give to us - courtesy of the UK government - at no cost to yourself. You only need to do this once and it covers all future donations. A declaration is included in each of the forms above - if you are making your donation on line then please select the correct option below.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Even if you are a UK tax payer you can only claim gift aid if you pay an amount of income tax and/or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax that we reclaim on your donations in the tax year (28% of your gift).
If you have any questions about making a gift to AMEN or want to enquire about ways in which you can help please E Mail us via janet@amentrust.co.uk .
Please note that AMEN can be contacted by E mail: janet@amentrust.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1322 226148 Post: 79 North Road, Dartford, Kent DA1 3ND, United Kingdom AMEN is a registered Charity No. 1057626.
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