Annual Virginia Banquet Recap

Ms. Deep began the evening by sharing her testimony of how the Lord called her out of idolatry to worship the One True God. Though born into a Brahmin caste, she grew up in a poor family and struggled to see why a god would not see her or provide for her. As a young woman, she followed Hindu tradition by offering food to idols and then sharing that food with people who came into her office. One young man refused to partake of the food offered to idols and, several conversations later, challenged her from the book of Isaiah, pointing out the folly of making a god and then bowing down to it and asking it to save you. The Lord used this conversation and Scripture to open her eyes, and a few months later, she turned to Christ in repentance and faith.

When she came to Sugandh a few years later, she was given the job of translating into Hindi, but she longed to have more opportunities to share the good news with the lowest of the low, the untouchables of their society. The Lord began to bring slum children to her, also fulfilling her desire to be a mother. In addition to several boys who came through her home, Ms. Deep and her husband have raised 15 girls, several of whom have gone on to graduate high school and pursue higher education and are on track to be able to support themselves and their families.

Satish Moses (Oakseed Ministry Coordinator and Liaison to India) interviews Maheshwari Deep of Sugandh

Large families are crammed into tiny rooms and have no money or means of education. Because they don’t have papers, the law doesn’t protect them from abuse or theft. Sugandh’s various ministries have arisen out of the seen needs in the slum communities, and they seek to bring the gospel into every facet of these endeavors.

Self-Help Groups : Slum houses are made of plastic and do not have doors, so anyone can come in and grab anything they want. It’s not a secure place to store the hard-earned funds necessary for housing and food, but there are no other options, as these people don’t have the papers that banks require. Sugandh has entered this void by becoming a bank for over 11,000 women in these communities. The women deposit their money with Sugandh, and they receive it back with interest when they need it to pay expenses. Currently, they have over 90 of these self-help groups.