Hysterectomy Surgeries Give New Life

Many of you are familiar with the plight of Nepali women who must work like beasts of burden in mountainous regions just to supply their families with wood and water each day. As a result, so many experience years of misery and humiliation from severely prolapsed uteruses. Frequently, husbands abandon their wives when this happens, making their situations even more serious. Several of our donors have dedicated themselves to relieving the suffering of these women by sponsoring hysterectomy surgeries. You have now given and raised enough money to change the lives of 60 ladies!

She defied the superstitions of her village and had a hysterectomy. Now she says it was as if she was dead, but is alive again.

Rama reports, "I still remember one lady, particularly, and I will never forget her. Her name is Juthi, which means, 'Defiled.' It is not a pleasant name, but her parents gave it to her because they had lost all four of their [other] children. In Nepal they think and believe that god will never want to take away any child with such a name.

"She was given in marriage when she was only 15 years of age and by her 16th birthday she had one child already. It was a long labor and after the fifth day of labor she gave birth. Then she started having dysentery and cough. She says it was because of the cold season she suffered with dysentery for months, and during that first month after delivery she felt the uterus was already out! Now she is 67 and has given birth to seven children.

"At this time the uterus looks horrible, I will never be able to explain the total agony she is in. She says she has been suffering like this for 52 long years. She had visited the hospital previously, but they could never afford to pay such a high price for treatment. So she was just keeping silent and taking this burden within herself. If we could operate on this lady, she would be, I think, the first lady suffering for 52 years."

The number of surgeries performed since this ministry began is 540. Your gift of $300 would end one more woman's pain, suffering, and humiliation.

Gratitude for our Blessings

As we come to the end of our second year there is so much for which to be thankful. Asian Aid USA started in 2001 as a complementary ministry to Asian Aid Australia. Americans contributing to the vision and mission of Asian Aid can now receive the charitable contribution tax deduction benefits that could not otherwise be obtained.

Your donations change lives!

Initially we thought that Asian Aid USA would be small enough to be managed by a few volunteers, but due to the enormous response from viewers of 3ABN and the efforts of volunteer recruiters, we have hundreds of donors contributing to child sponsorships, child gifts, and special projects like the sewing machines for women who are coming out of prostitution, as well as building funds and orphanages.

Asian Aid USA has grown to the point where the Board felt it necessary to contract the services of a full-time worker. A change in the accounting software was also necessary. We have taken on additional expenses, children, and projects in the past year.

So as the year 2002 closes, we wish to express our gratitude for the ministries like 3ABN and our volunteer recruiters. Earl and Rita Owens as well as Jim and Virginia Langston have assisted in expanding the ministry beyond what we even thought to imagine.

At the same time, we would like for our readers to take advantage of the opportunity to assist us in the areas where we are still in need:

	Sponsors are still being sought for 140 of the nearly 800 children who receive a Christian education at the 45 schools that Asian Aid USA is currently supporting through your generosity.
	We are currently assisting 533 disabled and widowed persons per month through the Hungry Money funds.
	Fund-raising for the Sikkim School building project is still in progress.
	And we desperately need unrestricted donations to help cover the additional office expenses incurred. Office expenses are exceeding our monthly unrestricted donations so our cash reserve is dwindling.

None of the sponsorship money or money donated for specific projects is ever used for administrative expenses here in the USA. Please prayerfully consider a donation to help cover office expense.

What Gifts Can I Send to my Sponsored Child?

Children enjoy receiving letters, pictures, and postcards from their sponsors. Sponsors can also send coloring books, crayons, stationery and small garments. The value should not exceed $10 per box.

A Vishak scholar receives her sponsor's gifts

Since the India Post Office officials open all foreign parcels, big or small. Sometimes things are taken out, but other times they are not touched. Customs duty for expensive items is prohibitive and the gift may be stolen.

India does not get Adventist reading material for the children from the conference. Perhaps if your church would like to donate something, for example, My Bible Friends, or the Bible Story books, they would be welcome for a school's library. (Be sure to contact our office for Information on discount mailing if this project interests you.) If you write on the declaration form, "For educational purposes, not for sale," it should reach the India Director's office without any trouble. Books and school supplies are usually given free of duty tax.

All parcels and letters should have the child's ID number (not the sponsor's ID number) and should be sent airmail.

Do not send money directly to the school as it will be sent back to you. Money sent to our Asian Aid USA office designated as "gift money" will be pooled and all the children will receive a gift at Christmas time (a new outfit of non-uniform clothes). For their birthdays they receive a small treat that will be shared with their classmates.

Please mail parcels directly to the country where your child is. Contact us at the office if you need the address.

Many thanks to "Morning Time Ministries" for donating several sets of Janice's Attic, Series A, Vols. 1-4.

What Has God Done Through You This Year?

God has accomplished some amazing things through you this year. With your help God has provided the following:

	an education for 739 students in 45 schools.
	kept 533 people from starving.
	contributed US$10,000 to purchase land for the new school for the deaf.
	provided total support for a school for prostitutes in Vishhak.
	contributed total support for a new boarding school in Chittode.
	provided total support for Sunrise Orphanage in Bobbili.
	donated enough money to provide life-changing operations for 60 women in Nepal.
	provided US$1660 assistance for lepers who cannot provide for themselves.
	provided US$1515 evangelism money to pay lay pastors. These 30 pastors have an average of 600 baptisms per year.
	provided money to buy 7 sewing machines for women who live in the red light district in Vishak.
	contributed US$696 to buy blankets for poor people.
	donated US$25,170 to help build a school in Sikkim. US$20,000 of this came from an anonymous donor.

God has accomplished great work this year through you! Thank you for letting God use you to do His work. Please prayerfully consider allowing God to continue using you throughout 2003. Our students and Hungry Money people need you!

Save a Life This Year

Hungry Money helps people who have no other source of money for food.

Several parts of India have endured severe droughts this year. With many people depending on harvesting plants for survival, hundreds of thousands are going hungry.Through your generosity, 533 of those in need have been sponsored this year.

Just US$3 per month provides the security of a meal every day. For many, this is merely a dream.

For the lepers, disabled and abandoned elderly on the Hungry Money Program, this meal is the difference between life and death. With over a thousand waiting to be added to the program, won't you consider saving a life this year?

"Thank You!" —From Yesugi Village

Because of the generosity of a single donor contributing through Asian Aid USA, construction of a new church has been completed at Yesugi village in the Bidar District of north Karnataka state, India. Shown at left is the original SDA Church which had served the faithful members for 24 years.

Update on Deaf School in Kollegal

Due to the generosity of donors in Australia, the Deaf School in Kollegal had enough funding to complete the first phase of the new school building project. By the time school started in June, 2002, the first floor was complete and ready for the students.

Kollegal students on dedication day

After US$30,000 has been raised, the second floor will be added. Plans for the structure consist of 10 classrooms, a study hall, three rooms for the unmarried staff, two hostels with bathrooms for the boys and the girls, a kitchen, dining hall, guest room, office, and the principal's residence.

Other construction projects include a security wall (to keep poisonous snakes out), a well drilled to a depth of approximately 150 feet, and a submersible pump, which will provide water for the school and the large garden. Thank you for your contributions for this project.

Read further details of the Opening Day Ceremonies at Kollegal.

A Special Tribute for a Special Lady

Maisie Fook—the founder of Asian Aid

Maisie Fook, founder of Asian Aid. passed away July 26, 2002. Asian Aid Australia was organized and registered in 1966 through the vision and efforts of Maisie, her husband, and other family members.

From the small beginnings of packing and shipping clothing and blankets to war-torn Korea, it quickly grew to include sponsorship of orphan children in Korea, and then in Vietnam until the close of that conflict.

After Vietnam, Asian Aid ministered to orphans in Bangladesh, then India, and Nepal. Under Maisie's tireless efforts and leadership, Asian Aid soon included projects such as the building of schools, hostels, orphanages, restrooms, digging and drilling wells, and providing medical care and food to those unable to afford necessary operations, treatment, or proper care.

Only the record books of Heaven can reveal the number of lives blessed by this angel of mercy. She will be greatly missed, but the blessings she passed on will continue to bring about a harvest for the Lord.