And now abide in faith, hope, love,
these three; but the greatest of these is
LoVe.
-1 Corinthians 13:13
COI
{Cooperative Outreach of India}
Cooperative Outreach of India is an organization that embodies 1 Corinthians 13:13. They hear the call to love and they are answering that call with a mighty force.
The mission of COI is to empower the most vulnerable and marginalized members in a slum community of New Delhi, India. They help individuals and families work towards lives of value, assure access to education, and link them to resources. COI promotes justice, equality and dignity in the community.
The heart behind this blog is to share a glimpse of this amazing organization with you, with the hope of prayer warriors and supporters coming in to help unify the church and enable our brothers and sisters in their Kingdom work.
My teams’ first interaction with COI came through one of it’s members, Ravi Landge, or as we call him, JoJo. JoJo and his family heard that the Golden Girls were coming to New Delhi and immediately offered us a place to stay. As we arrived in the city late in the night, we were able to rest easy knowing we had a place to stay and friends to meet. What we didn’t realize was JoJo and his family had moved out of their home and into their new place a few days earlier than planned, just so our team had a place to rest and live while in New Delhi. JoJo handed us the keys to his home and with a few ground rules, like don’t burn the house down, JoJo left us to rest and enjoy a space of our own for the next week. This is just one example of this family’s generosity, and we experienced many, many more examples throughout the week.
The rest of the team at COI is just as amazing and loving. The founder of COI, Ramesh Landge, JoJo’s father, welcomed us into his home multiple times throughout the week to feed us and make sure we were taken care of. He brought us delicious mangoes, celebrated birthdays with us, and helped us navigate the hospital and doctor visits. Multiple different members of the organization willingly took us around the area to see their schools and women’s centers, so we could witness firsthand what they’re doing as an organization.
The passion and drive this team has to serve and love the community, and really anyone they meet, is so evident.
They clearly love Jesus so much they can’t help but love like he does.
Genesis of Hope
Starting in 2007, COI partnered with Compassion International to bring support to the children and families in the slum community COI served in New Delhi, India. This partnership allowed for sponsors to provide resources and love to a multitude of families. But this past February, the government of India banned Compassion International from the entire country. Over 145,000 children lost that support, including the children and families that COI ministers to.
Over 145,000 children…
Sponsorless.
The vulnerable and marginalized children in this slum community of New Delhi, India… without the resources, support, and love of sponsors.
With this new crisis directly affecting the local community, COI immediately stepped up and began building a solution. They developed a new sponsorship program called Genesis of Hope. The main goal of the Genesis of Hope program is to help as many children as possible have access to their basic needs. These needs include physical, mental, spiritual and educational. When a child gains a sponsor they receive access to medical care, nutritional care, skill development, and other areas of needs that arise within the child’s life.
Genesis of Hope is still growing and establishing itself within the community. But with the team of COI standing firm behind it, we wait eager and expectant to see the amazing impact that will occur in these children, their families, and the Kingdom.
This is where the rally for help from you comes in!
Friends, this team is doing what we are all called to do. They are loving the least of these and laying themselves down to share the Good News of Jesus with everyone they meet. We have been so blown away by this organization and the people who are apart of it. I can only hope to one day reflect Jesus as much as they do everyday of their lives.
There are 250 kids in the sponsorship program but only 50 of those kids have sponsors at this point.
200 Children need Sponsors
For only $1 a day we can help a child receive their everyday, basic needs.
To sponsor a child, go to genesisofhope.org
This is also a call to my prayer warriors to step in and pray for this organization and this team. Please pray for strength and encouragement to surround this team. Pray Genesis of Hope finds its foothold in the community and is immovable. Pray for 200 sponsors to step up and not just give but pray for their sponsor child. Furthermore, pray for the Church, for unity in mind and action for one goal.
There’s a lot more that we want to share about our time with this organization and our experiences with the community and the kids, but it’s too much for one blog! So stay tuned for another blog soon 🙂 Also, below are links to both COI and Genesis of Hope, as well as an article further explaining what happened with Compassion International in India.
Genesis of Hope
https://genesisofhope.reachapp.co/
COI
Compassion International Leaves India
Thank you to my beautiful teammate Dakota for composing the well-written words of this blog post!
Thank you to my amazing teammate Liz for capturing the moments and faces from our time with COI!
Thank you readers for taking the time to read this and join with us in prayer and support!
My heart sincerely echos the plea for your help with such an incredible organization who is serving to further the Kingdom of Heaven…
God Bless.
LoVe,
Cary
Photography Copyright: EB Photography + Artistry
