Jhola Children's Home

The Jhola Children’s Home is Helping Point’s most recent major project. It was established in Odisha to provide for families who had been victims of religious violence in 2008. These attacks were devastating and many Christian families were forced to flee their homes after their property was destroyed. Families battling poverty were left with no prospects, as the little they had was taken from them. Many lost friends and family in the violence and spent months hiding in the surrounding forests, trying to survive. While some government assistance was later offered to the survivors, in most cases it was not enough to allow these families to rebuild their lives and provide for their children.

The Jhola Children’s Home was founded based on Helping Point’s conviction that as Christians we are called to share in the suffering of our persecuted brothers and sisters. Jhola is a project designed to provide a home to children who lost their parents in the attacks, or whose parents are no longer able to adequately provide for them. There are currently twenty-five children, ranging in age from 5 to 15 years, living at the home, which operates out of a small church building and is run by the church pastor and his wife. The local government supports the project by providing the children with free education and textbooks at the nearest school. All of these children have witnessed a great deal of violence and lack any sense of stability in their lives. Jhola provides refuge for these children and demonstrates, through care and compassion, the love that Christ has for them. Helping Point’s vision goes beyond meeting the immediate physical needs of these children. Its vision is to restore to these children a sense of their dignity and self-worth in the eyes of their Creator. It is to teach them by word and example that Jesus has welcomed them into His kingdom and wants to bring transformation and healing to their lives.