With more than 1.1 billion people, India is the second-most populous country in the world and the most populous democracy. Over the past two decades, India has made significant progress, crossing the threshold from low-income country to lower-middle-income country. With average growth rates of 9 percent over the past four years, it has become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Yet despite the country’s success, Indians still struggle with poverty and hunger. Approximately 75 percent live on less than $2 a day. Of the total population, 21 percent are undernourished. More than 40 percent of children under the age of 5 are underweight, almost 50 percent are short for their age, and 74 percent are anemic (World Bank, World Development Indicators 2009).

In February 2009, Dr. Jim Baucom, Debbie Baucom and Cindy Fisher visited the India Baptist Theological Seminary, with which Virginia Baptists have long had ties. The visit to Kerala, India, coincided with a large conference attended by pastors from across the country. During their visit, they met with Dr. Kunjumon Chacko, chairman of the India Baptist Convention, Dr. B. V. R. Rao, general secretary of the India Baptist Convention, and Rev. Alex Korulla, among others, to discuss a possible project to address hunger in India.

In the weeks following that meeting, Dr. Chacko, Dr. Rao and Rev. Korulla sent proposals for three possible projects. The Spend Yourself leadership team narrowed the projects down to a Child Development Center in a slum of Vijayawada, a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Details of the project are being discussed.

Pray for the people of India who are gripped by the desperate nature of hunger and poverty. Pray for the Spend Yourself leadership team. And pray for our church as we follow God’s lead into India.

For more information, contact Lay Leader Cindy Fisher at 703-273-4254 or Staff Liaison Dr. Jim Baucom at 703-534-5740 x203.