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Whenever you have helped the least of these my brothers, you have helped me."
-- Matthew 25:40
JELA is about people – people caring, people helping, people reaching out to others. Click on the links below to read the personal stories of the lives JELA has touched.
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Hiroki Taniguchi: Experiencing IndiaHiroki Taniguchi wanted to know India. That is why he joined the 2007 JELA Artificial Limb Work Camp in Jamkhed. “But I’ve notice a change in myself,” he said, speaking near the end of his one-week experience. “I’ve changed from wanting to visit India to wanting to do something to help. |
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Yoh Kikuchi - The Meaning of a Wealthy LifeOne reason why Yoh Kikuchi decided to take part in the 2007 JELA Artificial Limb Work Camp in Jamkhed, India is that she wanted to experience a non-wealthy lifestyle. Yet in Jamkhed, Kikuchi learned that there are many kinds of “wealth” and that money alone may not be the best of measurements. |
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Ratnamala – CRHP’s Garland of DiamondsIn Malarathi, the name “Ratnamala” means “Garland of Diamonds”. Yet, CRHP’s youthful farm manager, Ratnamala Chavan was unwanted at birth. She later suffered the deaths of both her husband and her infant daughter and she fell victim to HIV. She later attempted suicide. Yet, see now how the diamonds shine. |
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Empowering Women: CRHP and the Mayor of JawalkaBabai Sathe speaks with the grace and poise of natural leadership. “God has given me a chance to serve, but I do not feel great. I myself have tasted poverty so I must do what I can to help.” Born into the lowest caste and never taught to read, no one would have guessed she would rise to become mayor of her village. |
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Dr. Seiichiro Kawano: Comprehensive Lessons from JamkhedDr. Seiichiro Kawano learned of 2007 JELA Artificial Limb Work Camp in Jamkhed, India through posters at Hakozaki Lutheran Church, where he is a member. In Japan, he has often felt the limitations of medicine and therefore yearned to see the grassroots approach of the Comprehensive Rural Health Program in Jamkhed. |
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Artificial Limb Work Camp: You Can’t Walk Away Unchanged“You can’t walk away from an experience like this unchanged, even superficially.” The speaker is ELCA missionary Jackie Bencke, a volunteer at JELA’s 2007 Artificial Limb Work Camp at the Comprehensive Rural Health Project in Jamkhed, India. |
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