Five Siskiyou County men recently returned from a 10-day trip to India, where they observed the advances made possible by the Good Samaritan’s Home Ministries, a non-profit organization based in Mount Shasta.
Jacob Barr, owner of Ridgecrest Mortgage in Mount Shasta; Jeff Summers, a pastor at Mount Shasta’s Evangelical Free Church; Dr. David Holst of Siskiyou Medical Group and his 16 year-old son, John; as well as Gregg Neitsch, owner of Northstate Land Surveying visited their friend Pastor Joseph Kolamuri, who is the director of Good Samaritan’s Children’s Home in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Barr, who spearheaded the creation of Good Samaritans with his wife, Shawna, and Fred and Frances Poindexter, explained the situation for the poorest of children in India.
“Education is the one thing that can break India’s poverty cycle... no matter a person’s caste, color, or creed, if they have an education, they will be respected. Education is the great equalizer.”
As an example of the importance put on education in India, Barr pointed out that a teacher who possesses the proper educational certificates makes a monthly salary of $600, compared to the $60 per month earned by a laborer working in the rice fields.
The great majority of India’s population is Hindu, while a small percentage are Muslims and Christians.
The relationship between local Christian churches and Kolamuri’s church in India began during the holiday season of 2002, when Fred and Frances Poindexter participated in the Operation Christmas Child program. Kolamuri’s congregation received a box of toys from the Poindexters, who had included their e-mail contact information. Kolamuri responded, and eventually a friendship developed between the two families, who were separated by thousands of miles, yet shared a vision of helping the poor.
As the story of Kolamuri’s work spread through Siskiyou County, the non-profit Good Samaritan’s Home Ministries was born to assist him with his work.
In 2002 Kolamuri had been caring for seven children in his home. With the assistance of the Good Samaritan’s organization, Kolamuri was able to rent a house to establish a children’s home for 20 of the poorest children who had nowhere else to go.
Today, the GSH houses 47 children. “It was amazing to get to see the home first-hand, and to actually meet the kids, to see how they’re thriving,” said Barr.
Before arriving at GSH, the children were uncared for, said Summers. “They were roaming the streets and begging for food, or bound to child labor... the children at GSH not only have their physical needs of food, shelter, clothing, and education met, but they are very well loved.”
The next goal for the organization is to construct a facility which would house 100 children on a recently purchased parcel of land near Rajahmundry. In addition to the home, GSH hopes to build an English medium school, which would offer a good education to the children in their care, as well as the opportunity to become self-sufficient on the tuitions payed by wealthier families who would send their children there.
Summers said that most Indian schools teach lessons in the area’s native language of Telugu, although all of India’s colleges give instruction in English, which can be a large obstacle.
“There are only a handful of English medium schools,” said Barr, “so there would be a demand.”
GSH currently runs on monthly sponsorships of the children. Several churches from south Siskiyou County are involved with the organization, which helps not only India’s orphans, but also widows, lepers, and the very poorest of India’s 600 million people who live in extreme poverty.
To learn more about GSH’s projects, or to make a tax-deductible donation, contact Jacob Barr at 926-6961 or jacob@makemyloan.com.
Mount Shasta, Calif. —
