India (MNN) — In just over a week, mothers across the United States will be honored by their children, grandchildren and husbands on May 13th. Mother's Day is a time to recognize and thank mothers for all they have done.
At the same time Americans are celebrating, however, millions of moms in India will continue to struggle to scrounge enough money to feed their families. More than half of Indian women are illiterate, and most are seen as second-class citizens, causing them to suffer a great deal in pursuit of family provision.
Two of these women are Veera and Ijjana. Veera's husband wasted the family's money on alcohol. Ijjana's husband passed away. Both women had to find new ways to feed their families in regions where women are often forced to work the least desirable and worst-paid jobs of society.
Through a desperate cry out to a church in one case, and prayer in another, both women were led to the India Partners tailoring program.
The tailoring program is rigorous: six hours a day, six days a week of sewing training for six months. After completing the program, however, women not only have the skills needed to start a sewing business, but they are provided with a sewing machine to help them begin a small business from home.
Today, Veera and Ijjana have both grown close to Christ and are both able to provide for their families through new sewing businesses.
As America celebrates the triumphs of their own moms this Mother's Day, it's important to remember Veera and Ijjana in prayer, as well as the many other mothers in India who struggle daily to provide for their children.
This Mother's Day, honor your mom by donating a sewing machine for a woman in need in India, and India Partners will send your mother a handmade Indian card.
$95 will provide one sewing machine. To give a sewing machine in your mom's honor, click here, find "Donate Now," select "sewing machines," and check the box specifying that your gift is in honor of someone special. Once you fill out your mom's information, she'll be sent a handmade Indian card to notify her of the gift in her honor.
