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Widows Ministry

Widows Ministry :

Good Shepherd Gospel Ministries is regularly helping helpless widows by meeting their needs with true love of God as much as God enable us to do.

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit Widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” - (James 1 : 26 - 27)

Every country has widows. As India has a population as well as 100 nations, it is 100 times more than other countries. In addition to poverty, the unavailability of medicine, the increase in alcoholism, terrorism and natural calamities like Tsunami’s, have caused many deaths. When we see the number of widows in India it is unbelievable.

India, people don’t like a widow to cross the path in front of them when they are beginning a journey on foot, bicycle or car. It is considered bad luck and a sign of future failure. Unfortunately, most Indian cultures consider widows as a sign of misfortune and bad luck.
A widow must wear only white sarees and fully cover her face. The widows must also stay aloof and alone from the ordinary family, and should not show their face to the ordinary public.  There are also families who blame the widow for the death of her husband, saying that her bad luck has killed the husband and made the children orphans.  For instance, if a husband has AIDS and dies, he leaves the widow and her family victims of that disease, by no mistake of their own, but she is blamed.

India is a poor country.  When women marry they will leave their families and join their husband. Unfortunately, if she becomes a widow most of the time she carries on the responsibilities of taking care of children.  On average, a widow works all day and is paid 50 to 100 daily wages (which is $1 – $2).

There were days in history when wives were burned along with their husband’s funeral pyre. But, thanks be to God for sending William Carey, a missionary from England who brought legislation against this atrocity along with many other blind beliefs of this kind.

Though it is against the law, women face the problem of dowry (payment or property given to the man in marriage). Many families do not prefer to have daughters because of dowry. It is often found in the news, stories of those who kill their female children or abandon them. In some cases the women are forced to marry a man who they do not like, or one who is much older in age because of this cost. This is another reason why a woman may become widowed at a young age.

In most cases it is hard for a widow to get married, and have a new happy life, especially if she has children. To see a young widow with many children, to be married again is one of the greatest challenges of today.

As a mother of her children she cannot forget her duties. Sometimes she must go to work all day leaving her children unattended. One widow left her three children at home and went to work. One of the young boys poked a stick into the eye of his sister and she lost her eye.

The children did not have proper education as the widow cannot concentrate on them.  It is hard for them to get good food once a week.  It is hard for them to buy clothes once a year.


Some widows are forced to lead the life of a beggar. Some sleep under trees or on plat-forms made for pedestrians beside the road.  They also sleep on the floors of railway stations during a severe winter and are without a blanket. Some pick the plastic and waste material thrown on the road and sell them for a living.

The widows who have many daughters, face an uphill task in getting them married as they have to pay dowry.  A lot of people do not desire having female children in the family.   Even for a poor family with both parents it is hard to see their daughters married.  How much more difficult it is for a widow to do this.

Many widows live without hope. You can bring hope into their lives by presenting the true love of God. We want you to stand with us and help our Ministry to take care of as many widows as possible.

Here is a blessing from the Bible for the people who take care of widows:
“Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken his kindness to the living and the dead.”   - Ruth  2 : 20.
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