George Fernandes Offering hope to the helpless Sarala

Sarala was 8 months old when her poor parents left her on one of the streets of Bangalore city having diagnosed that she is suffering with chronic asthma and further with the superstitions that first girl-child in not a blessing to the family. Hence they wanted to discard her to avoid unwarranted future. Nearby slum-dwellers found the child as she was bitterly crying with hunger and thirst. They tried to find her parents in that vicinity but their efforts turned futile. Therefore, though their poverty does not allow another baby into their home but they decided keep the child, thinking she would be a little source of income from 6 plus years onwards.

As Sarala turned 6 plus, her adopted parents began to send her to nearby houses for work. Sarla’s work at this tender age was to wash dishes and clean in different homes. In one and half year her health conditions turned pathetic. Spending several hours in water in early hours, her feet cracked and started bleeding, her breathing problems increased and she became weak and hopeless. As a result her ‘situational parents’ were in search to get rid of her permanently.

This was the time George Fernandes, a young theologian from Bangalore undergoing transformation to bring a new hope to disadvantaged children as he was moved by seeing some such children on the streets of Bangalore. Further he read the statistics that

• “India’s population stands at 1.3 billion, among them 5.7 million are children
• 25, 700,000 children ages 0-17 are orphans
• Over 15 million children in India are living as child labourers
• 14 million child labourers in India are between the ages of 5-14 years
• Over 59 million children are not in school in India
• 5,000,000 children are in prostitution in India
• Of every 100 children born in India only 93 survive to be one year olds. Five die of malnutrition and 42 remain underweight for rest of their childhood years and beyond. Only 25 go on to complete primary school”

When slum dwellers came to know that George Fernandes is in interest of sheltering orphan and semi- orphan children, they brought her to him and left her. Sarala was brought in the condition that she was very weak, her feet was with wounds and bleeding, and she was not able to walk and literally crawled on her belly. George received her with love and compassion. He cleaned her wounds, bought her new cloths and gave her first time food of her taste, thus new hope began in her life. This was the humble genesis of the New Hope Children Home in March 2001 in the Metropolitan city of Bangalore with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was God’s will and plan that Dr. Max and Mrs. Mickey Burgin were visiting India. George Fernandes met them in Bangalore Baptist Hospital. Hearing George Fernandes vision and knowing his heart of compassion, they extended their support and helping hands. This gave tremendous encouragement and joy to George to plan to formally begin New Hope Children Home.

Today there are 120 children ages between 3 Years to 22 years, studying in near by schools.