President's Blog

In a blog dated January 22, 2013, I told you about Puja and her three sisters. I’d like to tell to tell you the rest of the story. Read on—it will warm your heart:

Puja’s life in 2013

Imagine making a living on the side of a large, dirty, metropolitan street chopping up worthless pieces of wood into ten-centimetre lengths and selling them for ten cents a kilogram. You live under plastic, a blanket, or recycled tin on the side of a road or alley-way. Each morning you must dismantle your home because it’s on a sidewalk or in front of a store. Each evening you quickly reclaim your few square metres of real estate and rebuild your home. 

I visited the slums of Kolkata, India recently and was overwhelmed by the contrasts. Range Rovers and Lexus SUVs slowly passed by the poorest of the poor as they cooked their evening meal on an open fire right in the streets. Scores of children came from everywhere to follow Fellowship International missionary, Jack Chen, Pastor Gus (Carey Baptist Church, Kolkata), Pastor Jonathan Stairs (Temple Baptist, Cambridge, ON), and myself.

Jack and Carey Baptist Church have a ministry to the families in this slum just a few minutes from the church. They minister to 148 families (including over 300 children). Their church hosted a Christmas dinner a week before my arrival, feeding 560 people. These families represent an estimated three million slum dwellers in the city of Kolkata. You see them everywhere—I mean everywhere.

Jack and Lorraine are committed to helping these people. The long-term solution is education for the children. The historic Carey Baptist Church hosts a daily after-school tutorial ministry to help students and there is a desire to find donors willing to support these children as they go to college. One year of tuition costs as little as $1,500. 

While there we met Puja, Kanchan, Radha, and Lelita, sisters who live with an “auntie” on the side of the street and come to Carey Church’s tutorial ministry everyday. They all speak English and were a delight – warm, welcoming, and winsome. We met with them over several days and their smiles and laughter were contagious.

Their joy in the midst of such privations amazed me. They all have come to know Jesus as their Saviour and their spiritual life is vibrant. Puja finishes high school this spring and dreams of college next. Not sure how that will happen when she lives in a slum.

Puja’s Life in 2026

I recently talked to Fellowship International missionary Jack Chen who, along with his wife Lorraine, had a profound impact in Puja’s life while serving in Kolkata, India. Our missionary couple found support through FAIR and through Lorraine’s KHRIS (Kolkata Hope Rising In the Slums) ministries, and the trajectory of these four young women’s lives changed dramatically.

Brother Jack writes: “When my wife Lorraine found Puja literally on the streets, (for that’s where she lived in the slums of Kolkata), she was a young girl who had to drop out of school because she could not afford the school fees. With a little help from private tutors, Puja was able to finish high school through public exams where you just register for the Grade 10 exam and do all the preparations on your own. She came through with flying colours and has since gone on to finish her Bachelor of Arts degree through the Indira Gandhi National Open University distance learning program. Puja later completed her Master of Arts degree and would like to get her Bachelor of Education degree to qualify her for a teaching position.

“Puja’s younger sisters Kanchan and Lelita are also stories of God’s grace and providence. We helped them through their BA studies and both went on to complete a Hotel Management course which landed them entry-level jobs in the growing hospitality world of India. However, after seeing the limitations of their prospects in the work place, both sisters have decided to enroll in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program should the funds be available. It costs approximately $3,225 each for the two-year MBA program which is way out of reach for these girls who earn probably less than $300 per month. Lorraine’s project, KHRIS, will sponsor these two girls should the funds be available. Once complete, both girls could look at getting management positions in the hotel industry.

“God continues to look on this family with favour. In 2022 KHRIS was able to secure a nice one-bedroom apartment with an ensuite bathroom and regular water supply for Puja and her family. This is a HUGE step up from the tiny bamboo and plastic shack that was ‘home’ for Puja and her family for many years. Then in 2023 Puja got married to a young man who loves the Lord. Together, Puja and her husband Vilas founded the Joel Ministry, an organization that conducts evangelistic meetings in the villages!”

Please Give to FAIR’S Journey with a Child

Our current FAIR appeal, Journey with a Child, is raising funds to make a difference in the life of children who, like Puja, have come from extreme poverty and/or precarious background situations.

You’ve seen their faces—children too young to have that weary look of despair and hopelessness. Eyes reflect the soul. Some are empty. Others are full of pain and longing.

Through the Fellowship Child Sponsorship Program, FAIR’s mission is to bring the hope of the Gospel to hundreds of children and youth, always working with local churches, while providing essential support through shelter, food, education, health care, skills training, stability, and belonging, along with crucial spiritual support.

It costs $45 per month to sponsor a child through the Fellowship Child Sponsorship Program. FAIR is seeking to raise $300,000 through this appeal which represents approximately one year’s support for 555 sponsorships. Will you partner with FAIR in bringing hope back into the eyes of a child?

Please consider giving generously this Easter and change the trajectory of a child’s life.