India (MNN) — The movie "Slumdog Millionaire" brought light
to the conditions in which thousands of children in India live.
Worldwide Christian Schools works
with these children in the slums of India. For
many of the children who attend, if it weren't for their school, they would not
have a single healthy meal in a day. They would never know kind words or encouragement,
learn to read, or, more importantly, be introduced to the hope of Jesus Christ.
Even in government schools where
teaching was going on, rote learning still
dominates the classroom. Even in terms
of reading, writing and arithmetic, learning achievements are low. The
government found that 80% of the children in grades 4 or 5 could do simple
addition and 60% could do simple subtraction. However, when it came to even
single digit multiplication, the proportion dropped to 55%. And only half could
do a simple division by 5.
A large proportion of children are unable to read and write or answer simple questions, even after 4 or 5
years at school. Unfortunately, years of schooling and grades completed
continue to remain an unreliable guide to what children learn and know.
Their literacy levels will likely
prevent them from being able to get out of the slums. WWCS has been working to change that. They've already launched several schools
that are offering Christ-centered education, but the needs are much greater
than the schools can handle. Meeting those needs requires funding and prayer
support–a task which requires people to catch the vision.
That's why WWCS launched "The
Slumschool Project," a campaign using Facebook, the online social networking Web site.
They're trying to raise funds and
awareness to build and support three schools that would provide a Christian
education to children in the slums of India.
The goal is to raise a network of
one million supporters and one million dollars by December 2009. To help achieve this goal, the team sought
the services of a talented artist to create an image that would help spread the
message of hope that supporters like you are bringing to India's
children.
This image, printed on a t-shirt
from U.S.-based company American Apparel, is available when you donate or raise
$100. Click here for more details on how
you can get involved with the project.
