Ministry with radio station raises funds as 37 orphanages underway

A not-for-profit trans-denominational ministry in the United States has joined hands with a popular contemporary Christian radio network to raise funds to build church orphanages in India.

The International Cooperating Ministries (ICM) along with Air 1, a Christian music radio network operated by the EMF Broadcasting, will help orphaned street children find comfort and acceptance in the church-run residences under the ministry's Church Builders India project.

ICM Executive Chair, Janice Rosser Allen, will serve as on-air co-host, providing information and sharing the vision about the project.

According to Paul Goldsmith, Brand Manager for Air 1 Radio, the station is glad to be able to help ICM share about the orphanage work. "In addition to creating exposure for their ministry, we are excited to partner with ICM for a special one-day fundraiser on Air 1 to build church-orphanages in India," Goldsmith said.

Currently, each church orphanage costs $18,000 and provides a place of worship for about 200 believers and a home for one dozen children, says ICM.

Since ICM's orphanage work in India began, there has been a growing awareness of the magnitude of the orphan problem and a strengthened resolve to meet that need.

After returning from a trip to India in mid-2007, Burt Reed, Senior ICM Field Director for Asia, reported that children were being sold for as little as $12 into the slave trade.

Reed was shocked to hear that slave traders were often amputating the children's limbs to make them more effective beggars.

Following Reed's report, ICM Founder, Dois Rosser, acknowledged the need to expand the orphanage work. At that time ICM began to implement a two-story church orphanage model to quickly raise church homes for these children. Today, ICM has partnered to build 47 church orphanages in India with another 37 underway.

The number of orphaned street children in India remains a staggering problem, with conservative estimates at 12 million--one million are expected to die within a year. Many of these children are from the lower caste groups considered "untouchables".

The recent movie "Slumdog Millionaire" brought this Indian orphan tragedy to a new level of global awareness, but ICM hopes the Air 1 radio outreach will allow an even greater number of people to join the ministry's thousands of partners who have already taken action in the name of Jesus Christ to assist.