In 2011 we made our first visit to India and fell in love with the culture. We became interested in the remote tribal life style. As we traveled throughout the forest region to visit these remote and off the beaten path tribal camps and give the children candy we noticed a need for nutritious food. In some areas we found out that 40% of the children die of malnutrition. (OUR HEARTS BROKE) At that time we bought as much beans and rice as we could for those precious children. Upon returning home we shared photos of what we did and found that other people wanted to help too. Through simple word of mouth, as of January 2020, we now feed 500 + children on a daily basis in 9 feeding centers spread across 3 different states.
The more time we spend in India, the more we want to spend time in India. Every visit is an adventure and another opportunity to help. On one of our visits it was 128 degrees. All of the existing wells had gone dry, there was a devastating lack of water. In one village we discovered that 52 elderly people and two children had died in one day from dehydration. We hired a drilling rig and dug a well deep enough to hit water. Words cannot express the joy in this village and in our hearts. (we were saving lives!) Once again, upon returning home, we shared our stories and photos and discovered that you wanted to save lives too. As of now, January 2020, we have dug 11 wells, with 5 more on the drawing board!
Over 1 billion people live in India. The Government can only do so much when it comes to health care. Millions of these people live in the forests and jungles miles away from civilization and don’t have the means or the finances to receive proper medical treatment. Malaria, typhoid fever, skin and bone disease run rampant in these primitive tribal camps. People with bad teeth learn to live with the pain. When we went to the Indian Government and asked if we could sponsor free medical care for these extremely poor people, their response was overwhelming. Not only did they send 60 doctors, nurses, lab technicians, dentists, etc. to assist us, they sent the chief medical officer of Telengana to cut the ribbon on our first medical camp to show their appreciation. For us in the US going to the doctor is a way of life. The majority of the people you see in these photos have never seen a doctor. One more opportunity to help people that really need it and receive approval and recognition by the Indian Government.
These things did not happen all at once, everything seems to unfold automatically as we travel from place to place, enjoying a pure and simple people that don’t complain about having nothing. Because of the medical camps we found out about the dengue virus that was plaguing young children. It’s deadly and there is no cure for it. We also found out in India if a child can’t afford school supplies they are not allowed to go to school. This was a really big one for my beautiful wife since she is a school teacher in the states and loves young children. Next on the list, was dengue preventative medication and school supplies.
Remember… MATC has a heart for India. When we went to visit a real leper colony our heart broke again. It was truly a tear jerking moment. Dressed in rags, sick, mutilated hands and feet. Words cannot describe the reality of this disease. It would have been impossible to drive away and do nothing. We are not a huge million dollar organization, we are two working people that have fallen in love with India. Only because of your faithfulness and your heart to help the less fortunate people of India can we do these things. We have adopted this leper colony, supplying them with clothes, beans and rice. It takes so little to help so much. The clothes you see them wearing, and the food you see them eating are sponsored by you.
Another remote tribal camp.
When coming across this camp we discovered they had no electricity, no well, no stable source of food, no school, no school supplies and no teacher.
We opened our first MATC school for young children and feeding center #8! These babies only ate 1-3 meals per week and had not eaten for 2 days when we showed up. Now they eat every day and are learning to read and write! We hired a live-in school teacher, bought school supplies, and will continue to provide for these precious little ones . . . They now have a future!
