Southern Baptist Give Aid to Orissa Persecuted Christians
December 18, 2008
Posted by
The Voice of the Martyrs
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The Baptist Press website is reporting today that Southern Baptists have raised money to help aid the persecuted church in Orissa, India.
BHUBANESWAR, India (BP)--About 2,100 Christian families driven from
their homes in India's Orissa state are receiving badly needed relief
supplies from Southern Baptists' world hunger and general relief funds.
...
The Christians receiving the aid have fled to camps operated by the government, police officials and private groups. Even in the camps, they have found themselves subject to extremist attacks. More than $38,000 has been released from the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund and general relief funds to distribute a month's worth of basic food items to 2,135 families, representing a total of about 12,810 people, said Francis Horton, who with his wife Angie directs work in Central and South Asia for Baptist Global Response, an international relief and development organization that is coordinating the effort.
The director of the Orissa project, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, said the effort seeks "to bring some relief to Christians who have suffered loss at the hands of persecutors in the state of Orissa. These brothers and sisters have nowhere to go. Many are afraid to go back to their homes. At present they are unable to go home unless they convert to Hinduism."
...
The Christians receiving the aid have fled to camps operated by the government, police officials and private groups. Even in the camps, they have found themselves subject to extremist attacks. More than $38,000 has been released from the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund and general relief funds to distribute a month's worth of basic food items to 2,135 families, representing a total of about 12,810 people, said Francis Horton, who with his wife Angie directs work in Central and South Asia for Baptist Global Response, an international relief and development organization that is coordinating the effort.
The director of the Orissa project, whose name has been withheld for security reasons, said the effort seeks "to bring some relief to Christians who have suffered loss at the hands of persecutors in the state of Orissa. These brothers and sisters have nowhere to go. Many are afraid to go back to their homes. At present they are unable to go home unless they convert to Hinduism."