Project Goal: 30,000 Mobile Schools
Content: Bible stories/dramas, pastor training, basic health, basic life skills, and human rights
Languages: Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi, Teluga, and Tamil
Population: 1,129,866,154
Literacy Rate: 61%
Religion: Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%.
Project Summary: Since half of the world?s illiterates live in India, T4 Global has planned multiple projects among different church planting movements. Most of these church planting movements are among the Dalits and Backward Castes in rural areas where illiteracy is high. Several of these church planting movements have started thousands of churches. The rapid rate of growth makes it difficult to provide adequate pastor training and basic discipleship training. Given the widespread poverty, poor health conditions and human rights violations found in the communities where the Dalit and Backward Caste churches exist, holistic training is also needed to bring individual and community transformation.
Current projects are underway in Punjab and West Bengal states. More are planned for Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Adhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu states.
Country Background
With some 1.1 billion people, diverse regions, and a vibrant democracy, India has made significant progress on a number of fronts: maintained electoral democracy, reduced absolute poverty, improved education and literacy, improved health conditions, has become one of the world?s fastest growing economies with average growth rates of 8% in recent years, emerged as a global player in information technology, business outsourcing, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals, and is now the world?s fourth largest economy in purchasing parity terms.
Yet, despite all of this progress, over half of India?s population remains below the poverty line and cannot read. This is primarily because the caste system is still practiced by 80%+ of Indians. The Dalits (Untouchables) and the Backward Castes (lowest castes) make up at least 70% of the population, yet they are routinely discriminated against and are cut off from educational and economic opportunities. They live mainly in rural India and perform hard physical labor such as agriculture and janitorial work. Although the Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms for all Indians, Dalits and Backward Castes are systematically abused by higher castes.