Caring for our World: Vision Rescue
Valley Church
Now more than ever we have been able to see just how connected we are to people on the other side of the world.
Just as a virus can start in one small town and become global, so the impact of our actions can spread further than we could imagine when we choose to step up and get involved. This is why Valley Church is committed to helping those we may never see but who need to know God’s love and help.
For many years our church has partnered with Vision Rescue, an organisation that makes a practical difference to people of all ages in Mumbai, India. Over half of the 23 million people who live in the city live in slums, and most of the children there are malnourished. Vision Rescue runs programs to provide education, nutrition, healthcare and safe community to as many as possible. Week by week they connect with people to help them invest in a future that has hope, instead of scraping by from day to day.
Several people from Valley Church have had the opportunity to join a team to go and visit the work in Mumbai and see firsthand how our support makes a difference to so many. Here’s what Han has to say about her experience of being there:
It was a huge privilege to get the opportunity to see first hand the amazing work of Vision Rescue. Every volunteer we met lived and breathed the principles of the organisation, one of them being Love in Action.
What I love about Vision Rescue is that they seize every opportunity they can to make a positive change in the lives of the people of Mumbai. They understand the dangers that families face and recognise the fact that if they don’t engage with the children, then others will and their lives could look very different. For those who cannot get out of their communities, the program is taken to them in the form of educational centres, providing a safe place on their doorstep for children to learn and grow into all that God has created them to be.
They don’t just stop at the children, they equip the parents with skills and knowledge to be able to respond to emergencies and look after each other. They enable young girls and women to use their skills of tailoring to become business women so that they can provide for themselves in the future. Pastor Biju said, “We look at every child’s eyes and see the possibility, and the gospel gives us all the reasons to do that. Nobody else will help with the same passion because Jesus gives us the hope”.
In the few days we spent there, we were blown away by the sheer determination and love that was shown in order to help communities flourish.
During the coronavirus crisis, cities with a high population like Mumbai have been extremely hard hit, with social distancing almost an impossibility, and access to basic needs increasingly difficult. Over the last few months the focus of the organisation has had to shift from primarily educating children to stemming large-scale starvation through distributing groceries to those who have lost employment or the source of their food. They have provided food so far to over 17,000 people, resourced local clinics with PPE and sanitation supplies, and helped to provide safe working environments for many of the key workers in the city.
Their tenacity and adaptability during this time has been phenomenal, and we want to make sure that we keep supporting them in their effectiveness during this time more than ever.
For more information about the work of Vision Rescue, and to contribute towards the organisation, visit www.visionrescue.co.uk.