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India, India Mission Trip
June 3, 2007 to August 4, 2007
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Age Group: 18-22 year old individuals
Program:
Real Life Mission Teams (About)
Application Deadline: 4/2/2007
Status:
Past application deadline
Cost (US$): $4,390 (Includes food, housing, leadership, ministry opportunities, discipleship and training, and airfare from the training camp in the U.S. to the mission location and back)
View Reports From Current / Past Trips
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| Ministry Detail |
Ministry Description:
Culture and/or State Information
The subcontinent of India lies in south Asia, between Pakistan, China and Nepal. To the north it is bordered by the world's highest mountain chain, where foothill valleys cover the northernmost of the country's 26 states. Further south, plateaus, tropical rain forests and sandy deserts are bordered by palm fringed beaches. Side by side with the country's staggering topographical variations is its cultural diversity, the result of the coexistence of a number of religions as well as local tradition. Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated in India, providing a difficult challenge in sharing God’s truth within the country.
Since its independence, the issue of poverty within India has remained a prevalent concern. Its estimated that about a third of the global poor now reside in India, suffering from the effects of illiteracy, malnutrition, and disease. Indian residents living in slums amid squalor face serious deficiencies in basic needs like clean water, sanitation, medical care, and education. More than 40 per cent of the population is illiterate, and India has a higher rate of malnutrition among children under the age of three than any other country in the world.
Ministry Description
India is a land of extreme contrasts, mystery and beauty, but its greatest asset is its people. On this adventure, you will have the opportunity to build relationships with some of India's locals who are in dire need of a our time and energy. Much of your focus will be spending time with orphans who have spent so much of their life being neglected and abandoned by their own community. Other opportunities to minister will likely include spending time and pouring into the locals, showing Christ’s love to lepers who may otherwise be ignored, and completely giving yourself away to the most desperate and destitute members of Indian society.
Recommended Prayer
- Pray that God will open up opportunities to share his love and truth with the people of India.
- Pray that God will provide the destitute Indian people with a sense of hope, despite the overwhelming poverty that surrounds them.
- Pray that God will go before you and soften the hearts of the Indian people who have rejected the gospel or might be resistant to your message of hope.
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| Travel Information |
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Shots & Vaccinations:
An updated Tetanus shot is Strongly Recommended for ALL projects.
All of these are recommended:
Malaria
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Typhoid
As needed, booster for teanus-diphtheria and measles
Polio
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Suggested Travel Agency:
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Angie Lepley, CTC
Tangerine Travel, Ltd.
16017 Juanita Woodinville Way NE, #201
Bothell, WA 98011
Phone (800) 678-8202
Direct (425) 354-6910
Email Angie@tangerinetravel.com
www.tangerinetravel.com
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Suggested Travel Insurance:
We highly recommend all program participants have health insurance coverage for international trips. It is important to know that most regular health insurance plans do not cover you overseas. Health coverage is not a requirement for domestic trips, but still recommended.
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| Location Information
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Location Description:
India has 1 million square miles and the geography of India can be divided into three regions: the Himalayas, the Gangetic Plain and Peninsular India. The Himalayan Range is the northern most region and the tallest mountain range in the world. It has the 2nd and 3rd tallest peaks in the world, K2 and Kanchenjunga. The Gangetic Plain is located south of the Himalayas and is the middle region. The Gangetic Plain is some of the most productive farmland in India. South of the plains region lies peninsular India. The northern peninsula has a series of mountain ranges and plateaus. The Indian Peninsula is bordered by fertile seashore. The West Coast of the Peninsula also supports substantial populations of farmers and fishermen.
www.encarta.msn.com
Weather:
Most of India has a tropical or subtropical climate. However, the northern plains, have cooler winters and hotter summers. The mountain areas also have cold winters and cool summers. During India’s hot and dry season, which is heaviest in May, temperatures are known to reach as high as 120 degrees F. in the northern plains. However, the summer monsoon season arrives in June and the heat cools down.
www.encarta.msn.com
Area Attractions:
Delhi is the capital of India, and it's also the travel hub of northern India. It's an excellent base for visiting Agra and the Taj Mahal, and the Rajasthani colour of Jaipur is less than five hours away.
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal have good beaches and boast India's only diving and snorkelling opportunities.
Camel treks can be arranged in the deserts around Jaisalmer and Pushkar in Rajasthan. Treks last anywhere between a few hours and a few days. The best season is between October and February. If camel trekking leaves you feeling scorched and sore, try white-water rafting on the Indus. Trips can be organised in Leh.
www.lonelyplanet.com
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| People, Culture and Religion
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Four thousand five hundred years before India ever gained its independence, people were already journeying to India. Alexander the Great, the Mongols under Genghis Khan, the British and other Europeans were some of those people. Europeans initially visited the country for trading and Britain eventually colonized the region. Then in 1947 the people of India gained their independence.
Indian’s lives are also very much centered around family. Extended families many times live together going as far back as two or more adult generations in the same house. Men work primarily in the fields and the entire family will help during the harvest. Women fetch water, prepare the food, clean and take care of milking animals. Young girls help with women’s work as well as caring for their younger siblings. Then once they marry they will leave their home and village and rarely ever visit again. Boys are expected to do less but they often herd livestock and goats to and from the fields. The seniors of the family usually exercise the power in the family.
One thing that has been very prominent in India’s history is their use of the caste system. The caste system is a social ranking system that a person is born into. People usually marry within their social caste. And each caste is ranked against other castes, usually perceived by purity and pollution. The lowest of all people were the people of no caste, referred to as the Untouchables. They performed the tasks that were polluting, like slaughtering animals or leatherworking. Physical contact with this caste was viewed as defiling. When India got its own constitution, it outlawed this labeling system, however for many of these people getting work and housing is still difficult.
Eighty-one point three percent are Hindu, 12% are Muslim, 2.3% are Christians, 1.9% are Sikh, 2.5% are of other groups including Buddhist, Jain, Parsi (est.2000).
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
www.encarta.msn.com
Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease)
The information written below is intended to be used only as a guide for answering the questions of potential participants, participants and parents of participants with Adventures In Missions. It should not be considered an all inclusive report, and is not intended to be used for the diagnosis of leprosy.
The following information taken from: http://www.who.int/lep/disease/Microbiology/micro.htm
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Leprosy is caused by a bacterium called M. Leprae. The disease was discovered in 1873 and was the first bacterium to be identified as causing disease in man. While it was discovered very early, treatment for this mutilating disease only appeared in the late 1940s.
There are two types of leprosy. One is called lepromatous leprosy and the other, non-lepromatous leprosy. In lepromatous leprosy the obvious signs of leprosy are present. This is what you see when you look at someone in a leper colony.
Leprosy is known to occur at all ages ranging from early infancy to very old age. The youngest age reported for occurrence of leprosy is three weeks in Martinique (Montestruc & Berdonneau, 1954). The youngest case seen by the author was in an infant of two-and-a-half months, where the diagnosis of leprosy was confirmed by histopathology. Occurrence of leprosy, presumably for the first time, is not uncommon even after the age of seventy.
The most widely held belief on the transmission of leprosy is by the respiratory route, although microbiologists are not ruling out transmission by insect. The portal of entry for the bacterium is not known. However, the two portals most seriously considered are that of the skin and upper respiratory tract. The belief that leprosy is transmitted by way of the respiratory tract is gaining favor due to the fact that scientists are not readily able to find the bacterium on the surface of the skin, only in the lower layers of the skin. They are, however, finding it in large amounts in the nasal passages of infected persons.
The initial signs of leprosy are reddish or copper colored skin lesions that can be flat or raised. The lesion will look obviously different than the surrounding skin. These lesions will have definite sensory loss. Another diagnostic tool is a simple skin smear, performed by a physician, which returns a positive result for the bacterium. This is only seen in a very small proportion of cases, as the bacterium is not generally found on the skin.
There is sufficient evidence in leprosy that all people who get infected do not get the disease. One must consider genetic factors, which have proven to play a large role in infection, the route of infection, and re-infection, among other things.
Leprosy is 100% curable. Using a mixture of 3 drugs recommend by the World Health Organization, leprosy can be cured. The medications recommended have been used by the WHO in treatment and curing the disease since 1982.
In a nutshell, Leprosy is still being researched. While we may never know the exact transmission route, we can know that it is 100% curable and does not result is physical deformation until its late stages.
For more information please visit:
http://www.who.int/lep/disease/disease.htm (last update 04 July 2003)
There are additional websites that have helpful information regarding leprosy. Feel free to look at them, but keep in mind that the World Health Organization is the leading authority on health concerns and endemic eradication and is a subdivision of the United Nations. Information found on other websites may vary as this is a disease that is still undergoing research.
Other Websites that may be of interest:
American Leprosy Mission: http://www.leprosy.org/LEPinfo.html
The Leprosy Mission: http://www.leprosymission.org/
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| Government and Economy
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India gained its independence on August 15, 1947 from the UK. They now have a federal republic that is based on English common law. There are three executive branches of government, one legislative branch and one judicial branch. The chief of state, the head of government, and the cabinet make up the executive branches. The President is the chief of state, the Prime Minister is the head of government and the cabinet is Council of Ministers appointed by the President through recommendations of the prime minister. The legislative branch consists of a Parliament of no more than 250 seats. The judicial branch is a Supreme Court of judges nominated by the President. The judges serve until they reach teh age of 65.
Sixty-seven percent of the Indian workforce is employed by their agricultural system. Twenty-percent work in services and 13% work in industry. In the year 2000, India’s exports totaled $43.1 billion and India’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) was $457 billion. The unit of currency is the Indian rupee. There are 46.540 rupees to one US dollar.
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
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| Statistics
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Population:
There are 1,029,991,145 people living in India. Thirty-seven point one million of those people are living with AIDS.
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ |
Poverty Rate:
Thirty-five percent of the population is below the poverty line.
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ |
Literacy Rate:
Fifty-two percent of the total population over the age 15 can read and write. Sixty-five point five percent of males and 37.7% of females.
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
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Average Annual Income:
460 US dollars/year |
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