By Dawa Buthia—Founder and Director of
Himalayan Good News Networking Ministry (GNNM)
God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.” Billy Graham
I am thankful to our hardworking teams who are continuously and selflessly laboring as leaders and team members in the Covid-19 Response action called LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR INITIATIVE by the NGO Branch of HGNM, during these hard times we all are going through as we respond to the needy families who are starving due to the shut-downs. In addition to dealing with our own personal challenges and lacks, we have the joy of reaching out with love and sacrificially serving others in our neighborhoods and communities who are in serious need, as we are all human beings created by God in our communities where we dwell.
Since April 14, we have visited countless communities and met the basic needs of thousands of families, many living in remote communities. We are privileged to serve our fellow brothers and sisters in cooperation with, and under, the central and state government supervision. We are motivated by the many scriptures (more than 300) in the Bible which command us as believers to care for the poor and the least in society.
“Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth…” Psalm 41:1
“Is this not the fast I have chosen… to share your bread with the hungry, and bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him…” Isaiah 58:6-7
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:17-18.
APRIL 12 Today we are able to help very poor villagers who work daily for their basic food in a tea garden in Atal. We also helped some brothers and sisters stuck in Siliguri and living in empty school class rooms. For them it is difficult to even find enough food for one meal a day. We provided cooking utensils, gas burners, and various food items. I encourage each one of you to become partners with us in helping the really needy people like these who are struggling for survival!
APRIL 17 With the help of Siliguri traffic police, provided food items for around 90 families in two different locations. During the next week, we provided liquid sanitizers, safety gloves, and masks to the local police, as well as to the general public. Our NGO HGNM works under the instruction of, and in coordination with the government of India’s Ministry of Home Affairs. We work well together.
APRIL 24 Distributed food items to 200 of the most poverty stricken families in Mangpong Busty, Cha Aikar village, and in Rangdan, and Siliguri locations. We will continue to provide food for the people who have been hardest hit by the Covid-19 lockdown till the closing of workplaces again open up. We thankfully appreciate your prayer support and participation! May God bless you richly and abundantly!
MAY 2 Praises be to God that by His provision we could respond to 79 underprivileged and needy families of Bhuttabari. Thank you to team “Compassionate Care” for your participation and contribution to make this distribution possible.
MAY 12 I learned that a woman was serving people in this pandemic with no distinction among the needy poor people of Daang midwestern Nepal and I felt immediately that I should extend my little weak arms to strengthen her and share what I have. She faithfully reached 106 families of Ward number 5/6 with food distributions for a month.
MAY 14 The love of God has no boundaries, no caste, colors and creed, it simply expresses His heart. The Musahar are considered one of the lowest of the Dalit groups within Nepal and suffer tremendously from their low status in society. Their name is derived from two words meaning “rat catcher” which is attributed to them for their tendency to eat rodents. My friend Indra Shrestha, thanks for distributing food to them in Janakpur Tarai region of the flatland in Nepal bordering to India.
MAY 17 Our friends were feeding people and cleaning the temporary shelter, home to those who have been held up during this lockdown in Nakpur Tarai areas of the flatland in Nepal bordering to India. This was done with the utmost dedication and service, which reminds me of Jesus’ washing of His disciples feet. Through that, He was teaching us humility and service towards our fellow man.
MAY 18 Two outreaches today, one in Eastern Nepal and another in a district of Siliguri. We met the immediate needs of the poor daily wage laborers who are without any food left in their kitchen. We tried to make them smile and have a hope for tomorrow, trusting that God will deploy a good Samaritan to provide a little something more which will sustain them to see another tomorrow.
MAY 21 Today we initiated a successful outreach by feeding our neighbors at Kamlabagan Tea Estate. Praises be to the Almighty that we could shower compassion on this less privileged group in the midst of their traumatic situation while the tea plantation has been closed down. I thank all our volunteers and partners of the ‘Compassionate Care’. without you this wouldn’t be possible. Thanks for your sacrifices and love for the people.
MAY 31 Yesterday, our team visited two small, very remote villages, Maisirang and Kutsing in the Chepang community with total of 48 homes. Some of them had walked nearly 3 hours to collect the food we had for them. Their food shortage is so desperate, they hardly have any rice to eat, let alone the variety of food we normally eat in abundance daily.
JUNE 7 From T.E. Mirik Kharbari: We feel so privileged to have served these needy families during the hardest time of their lives. The pandemic has taken away their daily work which was the only means by which they were able to bring home food to their spouses and kids. We were looking for someone who could help us reach them and help provide their daily needs. So, we teamed up with HGNM. Through their provision, we brought small packets with big love to the people which they accepted with great smiles on their fearful faces.Community service gives me a valuable opportunity to enter different communities which are less familiar to me, but they are just as colorful and valuable, and most importantly… they are in great need!
“When you’re giving to charity picture yourself helping Christ because by serving others you are serving Jesus”.
From R.K.’s Corner
Four years ago, I met Dawa S. Bhutia at a mission conference in Norway. Dawa is an ethnic Tibetan and former Buddhist from Bhutan, who is founder and leader of Himalayan Good News Networking Ministry, India having raised up and trained scores of leaders serving the Lord in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Tibet, and in some of the most remote places in the Himalayan mountains. You can find his fascinating testimony and ministry information at
https://www.bridgeinternational.org/2016/09/
The Covid-19 is ravaging the globe with its deadly disease; not a single country in the world has been able to avoid its devastating effect on their people’s very way of life. Nowhere has it had a worse impact than among the poor. In wealthier Western countries, governments are assisting their population with medical and financial help, but in the third world, people have to fend for themselves. Before the pandemic, among India’s 1.4 bill. people, 300 million lived under the poverty level. Imagine how many there are today!!
Dawa and his team are making a difference among the most needy. They risk their own health by reaching out to those suffering from the shut down, but they follow Jesus’ command to feed the poor! Here you will find a few samples of the many places they visited with love, hope, and provision during April and May, and into June, when India opened up the country.