My Mission Trip to the Dalit Slum / Bro Peter Lim

On 23 October, 2018 I flew to Chennai with Asian Outreach Executive Director, Rev Eric Fung to visit the ministry there. I have always wanted to go on a mission trip and India has always been my first choice. Many years ago I entered a child-sponsored program and supported a child in India so I always had a heart for the children in India. I spent 8 days there and every memory of this trip and of what I saw and experienced is deeply etched in my mind. 

Chennai is a city of approximately 9 million people. More than 80% are Hindus, with Muslims and Christians making up the rest. It is estimated on an average there are about 2.7% of Christians. There are approximately more than 2 million slum dwellers within this sprawling city. These slum areas are next to 5-star hotels, neighbourhoods of the rich on one side and a sewage channel on the other side.

The slum dwellers are mainly the Dalit peoples group or the ‘untouchables’ as they are often called. They are considered the outcast of society, rejected even by the prevailing religions and not even allowed to go into temples to worship. The caste system is very prevalent in India and the Dalits are considered the lowest caste. The Dalits live in abject poverty and suffer many atrocities rising from the caste system. The Dalits being at the very bottom of this caste system continue to bear the brunt of violence and discrimination. Generally they are illiterate and the government has started to increase the rate of literary among them by providing welfare schooling from ages 5 to 14.

Ps Prabhu and his wife, Jabapriyam who are Dalits themselves live in the slums. They run a Day Care Centre from 4.30pm (the children are in school until 4pm) until 7pm where the children are given a meal (for majority their only meal in the day), and also given free tuition. They are also taught biblical and moral values and the centres stresses on education as this is the only way for these children to break free from the poverty their parents have had to endure being illiterate.

English is taught as a second language and I was impressed with the children’s ability to understand and converse in English. They are taught to pray before their meals and usually a short devotion is given. I saw that they are being taught good values for the building up of their character at the centres and also kept away from the streets where danger (drugs, gangs, human trafficking) lurks for these children.

At the suburban slum centre that I visited, I noticed how well the children behaved and they seem so happy to come to the centre. There used to be 75 children here but they have had to cut down to 40 children due to financial constraint. I could see how it hurt Ps Yesudass and his wife, Amutha to have to let some of the children go.

Even though their Hindu parents allow them to attend the Day Care Centre, it does not necessarily mean they are open to conversion of their children. Once, Ps Prabu was beaten up because one of the children became a Christian. Gangsters were sent to inflict damage to the property which they rented to house the day care as well as the church service on weekends.

It is no secret to the community that these centres are run by Christians and that there is a chance that their children may believe in Jesus. I understand that the parents send their children for the following reasons: because they themselves are unable to help them in their studies, being illiterate, to stop the children from roaming the streets, the government schools don’t give personal attention, for the children to learn discipline and good manners and to have a free meal.

The Day Care Centres are a small work in a very large community. The pastors have to work hard to gain acceptance. It is slow but the positive impacts on the children will be felt as the work progresses. Once a month the pastors will visit the children’s parents to discuss the progress of their children and once in two months the parents will come for a meeting. The personal care and concern of the pastors and their team are certainly felt and there are many opportunities to demonstrate the love of God. Through the years, some parents have become Christians as a result of the work of these centres.  I am told the parents themselves testify to the positive changes they see in their children, and the free meals they received are the best meals the children get in the week.

At this stage the biggest challenge would be finance. It takes 30 rupee to feed a child a meal per day. That’s INR660 per month and INR7920 per year (equivalent to RM450). For a day care of 40 children, that amounts to RM18,000/= per year. Then there are payment of teachers’ allowance, rental of premise and the purchase of a bag and two school uniforms annually for each of the children. The pastors themselves are sent out by a church in Chennai under Pastor Paul after undergoing training at the Bible school and partially supported by the said church and they must source for the rest to support themselves and their family. Asian Outreach is involved in providing support as well.

Personally, I am of the view that this work among the children is an awesome opportunity to change and elevate a community in society and to bring them to the knowledge of Christ through experiencing the love of God. It is a very effective channel of outreach, like a bridge into these young lives and their communities. Seeds sown into these young lives will bear fruit one day. These young hearts are very receptive. In a world where they are rejected, they are taught and shown that there is a God who loves them for who they are. It is a work worth sponsoring and investing in. The impact will be felt now and through eternity.

This trip has been very enriching for me personally. I have been blessed to be able to witness the sacrifices made by these pastors to reach out to the lost and their determination and perseverance. There is no glamour here. My perspective has broadened, from the little community of Seremban where I come from, to include at least a few communities in India. We have so much in comparison. Some things are best felt and experienced than taught. I believe that through this experience I have experienced the spirit of giving, of faith, of prayer and zeal for the lost from the pastors in the field, Ps Paul and especially from Ps Eric Fung, a tireless and faithful servant of the Lord even at 74 years of age.

In those few days I was given the opportunity to preach and teach at a village open air gathering, a leper colony, a young church and a city church. It was a time of giving - to share from all the things I have learned and experienced back home. These few days in Chennai, India has impacted me, I know, and the effects of which I will discover in the course of time. I am certainly looking forward to another mission trip with Asian Outreach, perhaps in another part of Asia. I would challenge anyone reading this article, to go on a mission trip and experience for yourself what God can do through you and what He wants to do in you and you will discover that you have so much to offer.

Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcised has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”