If you have read many of my blogs over the last few months, you may have noticed many of them were about a group of rural elderly widows near Gumma, India. These ladies have varying degrees of health challenges, but they all have one thing in common; unfortunately, that commonality is a sense of hopelessness.
Today I wanted to share the story of another new friend I met earlier this year during a trip to India. Would you like to meet her?
The lady in the photograph above is Marthama Pani. We know she is over 65 years old, but we are not exactly sure of her age. Her story is a sad one for us to hear, but it must be a heart crushing one to live through.
In the local culture, the oldest son should take of his widowed mother. Unfortunately, there are not many consistent employment opportunities in the area, so many guys are day laborers. The expense of having his mother in his home was more than the son could afford; so when he kicked his mother out of his house, he gave her a bowl and said, “here is a bowl, now go and beg the rest of your life!”
Global Partners in Life is in the process of building a facility in Gumma, India to provide housing for 20 elderly widows! We have actually broken ground in July, and the progress is continuing. This facility will have an industrial kitchen, which will provide three meals a day for the ladies, and it will have clean running water and restrooms for them. Additionally, the facility will have a dining hall, sick room, bedrooms, and a conference room for meetings and counseling.
If you would like to help us complete the facility, please visit our website at https://globalpartnersinlife.org/ and make a much needed donation. I would be extremely grateful for any support you could give for this worthy project for these truly needy elderly widows!