Will you hold a church collection?
A collection in your church could help mothers use their God-given gifts to build new lives for themselves and their families – just like Ranjita, pictured above.
Ranjita used to earn just a few rupees and a piece of stale bread in return for hours of degrading work cleaning human excrement by hand, also known as manual scavenging.
But with your support, our partner in India helped Ranjita learn about her rights and apply for a government compensation grant.
Feeling empowered, Ranjita used her God-given gifts of strength and determination to train as a tailor instead. Now she can work with dignity and provide for her family.
Around the world, more women are raising children in the toughest circumstances due to poverty and prejudice. With the support of your church, we could provide more opportunities for mothers to break free from poverty.
![Geeta is 26 years old and has one daughter, four-year-old Priyanka. She is from Shamsabad, Farrukhabad District, India.](/sites/default/files/styles/image_block_md_x1/public/2022-10/rs1369_l1020852.jpeg?itok=AWqz2k0Z)
Geeta's story
Geeta also lives in India and is a single mother. Like Ranjita, she was forced into the same dirty work of manual scavenging. Unlike Ranjita, she is still doing it.
‘We have to do it to fill our stomachs,’ Geeta explains. ‘We have to do it.’
Manual scavenging is technically outlawed in India but there are still around 1.2 million manual scavengers like Geeta, of which 95% are women. It is reserved for the poorest and most marginalised in Indian society – the people from the lowest caste who are known as Dalit.
Geeta’s mother was a manual scavenger before her. She is determined to break the cycle and provide her daughter with an education and a different future.
‘I don’t want my daughter to do this. I hope she will have a chance to go to school,’ she said.
Empowering women like Geeta can help them build new lives for themselves and their families. Will you help?