On a recent visit to India, our team had the opportunity to spend a lot of time at the Krupa Home, which is a ministry sponsored by Hope & Help (HHI) for women who are old and alone, either because of the death of their husband or because of abandonment. This also means that if they have kids, and all but one of the women at Krupa do have kids, they have also been abandoned by their own flesh and blood. It's a sad situation really and I'm glad that HHI can help at least a few of these women.
We did a Bible study with them and helped them do a craft project. That was a lot of fun! We gave them plain canvas tote bags and used fabric pens, glitter glue, big buttons, mirrors and plastic "gemstones" for decoration. We weren't sure the women would know what to do because "creativity" and "fun" are foreign concepts. These women have been familiar with "necessity" and "struggle to survive" not frivolity. But they totally got the concept and loved it!
On the last night we were with the Krupa women, we gave them a new outfit - a sari with the matching blouse that they wear underneath. As a team member gave the new dress to one of the ladies and then asked her if she like the color, she said through and interpreter, "My own children told me to leave their house and said they wished I would die. But you gave me a new sari and then you worried about whether or not I would like the color." It was hard to choke back the tears, but at the same time we were so happy that we could make her happy and know that she's loved!
