Keith: Now there is one exciting feature of our service this morning, um, that we are going to share with you now, and I'm going to sit on this chair over here. And conduct a little bit of an interview, um, for the benefit of our church this morning. And the person that I am going to be interviewing is our very own Vikram Bandari.
So Vikram, please come and join me upfront. Now, the reason that we are speaking to Vikram this morning is… I'm very encouraged from time to time to discover that God is doing things through individuals within our church, um, and he's laying passions and desires on their hearts. He's making needs away to people, and he's giving them the courage and ability.
To simply do something about what God is, is saying and doing. Vikram is the person who has started an organization called Widow's Hope. And Widow's Hope, um, provides support for widows all the way back in India. And I've called, I've asked Vikram if you wouldn't mind just spending some time sharing some of this ministry with us as a church and just sharing opportunities for us to be involved as well.
So, Vikram, welcome and thank you so much for making the time.
Vikram: Thank you for having me here.
Keith: Good. So, Vikram, tell us a little bit more about Widow's Hope. How did you get involved in the work and what inspired you to start this organization?
Vikram: So back in 2020. Um, there was a lockdown in India during the Covid crisis and, uh, talking to my family in India, I was getting the news that a lot of men in that region had died.
I come… north of Delhi and there were families where men had died. All of a sudden there was this thing my family knew there were a lot of women who could not feed their families and they were in, uh, dire need, in support, just to keep alive and, uh, sustain themselves and their children.
So what I did, I started by sending them money to my family, and they made packages of ration and brought it to the families.
Keith: All right. And so what, what needs did you eventually identify, which sort of helped you to develop this vision for Widow's Hope?
Vikram: So the idea was like, um, I sent this money for some time.
I, we gathered money on two occasions, uh, on my birthday. I asked people to just donate for this cause. And then on my wife's birthday as well. And we got together, uh, a good amount of money and I sent it. But then a thought occurred to me, You know, the old saying goes, you give somebody a fish and you feed them for a day, but you teach them how to fish and you can feed them for a lifetime.
So that was the idea behind, I said, I need to do something which will enable them to earn their own income. And that's how it started. We, we wanted to empower women, so, uh, in a way that they could be financially independent. And we thought of starting income generation projects.
Keith: All right. Good. So to this point, you've already helped a few widows, um, already, so why don't you tell us a little bit about that? Who you have you helped and, and what help have you provided them?
Vikram: So we've done diverse, um, kinds of projects so far. In the first family that I visited, there was an old woman and her daughter-in-law, and this family lost both the men in the house within a span of six months. So when I visited them, I saw the old lady knitting and I was like, oh, wow.
She already, I, I got an idea. She, you know, has a skill. And so I asked her, uh, you know, do you love? And she said this is my passion. This is the only thing that keeps me going. And so I said, uh, would you be able to do, if we supply you with, uh, the raw material and everything, you know, she was. Uh, excited about that.
And her daughter-in-law, she knew something about– with the computer. She was even doing a course before the lockdown. And so we decided, okay, we give them, uh, the mother-in-law supply her with the yarn and then she could do, you know, the selling online. So we started with that, and then we open grocery stores for a couple of women. And the last we have a video of that, uh, we started a beauty parlour.
Keith: Alright, excellent. So we are going to give you an opportunity to see what this ministry is actually like. And so Matthias, please cue the video for us.
[The video plays]
Keith: All right. That's awesome. Thank you. So, Vikram, as you've said, the nature of this ministry is to provide capital funds and capital resources for these leaders so that they could start their own businesses and run it themselves. How have you been able to fund this up to this point?
Vikram: So, like I mentioned so far, um, we started with our own savings and then we were really encouraged by two families from this church who said, Vikram, you should go on doing this. Uh, so they started giving a monthly, uh, gift so that we could do, and we've received every now and then some gift. Uh, But as far as monthly contribution goes is just, uh, our family and two other families from this church.
Keith: Alright, What are the ways that others can participate in this together with you?
Vikram: Well, first of all, please remember us in your prayers. Prayer is powerful and pray for us that we have the right approach...so to give us wisdom and of course, um, practically if we want to execute any of these things and go on working, we need donations.
And uh, the third thing that you can do is spread the word and subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated.
Keith: Okay. Awesome. So Vikram will be around after the service. So you are welcome to come and chat with him or to Sabine. Um, and they'd be glad to share information about this ministry with you and the church.
The reason we are doing this, is we want to celebrate what God is doing. Um, the church doesn't always have to be in the form of organized ministry. You know, if God lays something on your heart to pray, he would make you bold enough to take that next step and to fulfill the vision that he gives you.
And I'm, I'm encouraged by, by Vik and, and challenged at the same time as well. And I want to encourage and challenge all of us here today. What has God laid on your heart? What dreams and visions has he given you? It is possible if you obey him and you listen to the word of the Lord and I pray that whatever he has called you to do, you would be faithful to do that.
So Vikram, thanks so much for sharing. We really appreciate you and bless, your efforts and initiative with his wisdom.
Vikram: Thank you Pastor and thank you everyone for listening. Appreciate it.
Keith: Awesome. Thank you so much.
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