Community Kitchen Gardens
Life Light has partnered with MARS (Missionary Agricultural Resource Services) to implement twenty community kitchen gardens as a way to help suicide-prone farmers in India.
Some Statistics:
- More than 100,000 farmers committed suicide in the last ten years
- 86% were financially indebted
- The average debt of each farmer was about $835
- On average, there has been one farmer’s suicide every 32 minutes since 2002
Most of these suicides were because farmers could not pay back loans and were simply unable to continue to support or feed themselves or their families. Because of the recent droughts in the state, many farmers have lost all hope. This is a massive ministry challenge for Christians in India, as the prevailing worldview is that suicide is a form of religious mukti (salvation) that is actually encouraged by traditional Indian mythological scriptures.
This despair can only be filled with the hope that is found in Christ. Life Light helps to train pastors to care for the young farmers and their families. These farmers need counseling, prayers and encouragement to fight this situation. The community kitchen gardens offer a way for farmers to provide for their families even during unpredictable monsoons or droughts.
Through these community kitchen gardens and the local pastors, Life Light is able to share the hope of the gospel with these suicide-prone farmers.