The Church at Brook Hills sponsors 12 Child Survival Programs (CSP's) through Compassion International. We have focused efforts on 11 CSP's in India and 1 in Ethiopia. The Child Survival Program helps save the lives of babies and mothers in poverty utilizing local churches to assist mothers of at-risk infants and toddlers. Every once in a while we receive beautiful reminders of how God is working in the lives of mothers and children throughout India and Ethiopia.

The following is a translated letter from a mother registered in the Bethel Child Survival Program in India sent as a thank you to The Church at Brook Hills.

Dear Sponsor,

[caption id="attachment_1323" align="alignright" width="250"] Rupa and Daughter, Amrita[/caption]

My name is Rupa. I am 25 years old. My husband’s name is Sanjay, and we have two children. The elder one is five years and he is a boy. My younger child is a daughter and her name is Amrita Kumari. Thank you for your support for me and my daughter through this Child Survival Program.

We live in a small village. Our house is made from mud and straw and has two rooms. The neighbors are friendly and quite helpful. The caste system is highly prevalent in our society, and different castes live around our community.

My husband is a daily laborer. He earns little but whatever he earns, he spends to provide for the family. He does not have a steady job so it is difficult for us to manage the household when he has no income. Sometimes he pulls a rickshaw cart and pays rent to the owner. He is not left with much money after paying a share of the income to the owner.

My daughter Amrita is one year and two months. It is my desire that my daughter should study in a good school and become a good citizen. It makes me happy to see the changes in my daughter after she has enrolled in the center because of the nurture and care she gets from here. She is active and loves to go to the center because there are other friends of her age to play with at the center.

I am thankful for your kind help and support that has enabled me to be in the Child Survival Program. I started going to the center a few weeks ago. I am happy that I am in the program because it has helped me to learn many things like good health practices and cleanliness that were unknown to me. I am learning about child care cleanliness, hygiene, and sanitation, and I get nutritious food and hygiene supplies from the center every month.

The Survival Specialists teach us with a lot of patience. They love and care for us and our children. When we are not able to understand something, they teach until we do. They also visit our house, pray for our family members and children, and teach us how to maintain peace and harmony with the neighbors.

I want to thank you once again and I request you to pray for my daughter and my family.

Thanking you,

Rupa