I just got back from India. Along with a handful of other folks, I was a guest of Friends Church of Yorba Linda, Calif., on an eight-day journey that included the cities Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai (plus two treks to rural India). The invitation came my way because this fellowship in Southern California has been working on a feature-length motion picture—Not Today, to be released most likely next April. The purpose of this upcoming film is to highlight the plight of India’s Dalit people and how their extreme poverty has resulted in 1.2 million Dalit girls becoming sex slaves—many sold into the trade by their parents. It’s a horrifying practice and although never justified, I saw up close and personal how some Dalit parents, living in unfathomably filthy, fly-infested slums, feel it might be their only option to just survive.
Incidentally, you may know the Dalits by another name—they’re commonly referred to as the Untouchables, a group of 250 million people considered sub-human in India. I used to believe the Untouchables were the lowest caste in India’s egregious caste system. What I discovered is that the Dalits are not even considered to be a caste; they’re actually below the lowest caste. Why? Again, because they’re considered something less than human beings, something millions of Dalits sadly have grown to believe about themselves.
While in India, I was privileged to meet India-native Dr. Joseph D’Souza, the president of the Dalit Freedom Network (DFN). DFN is committed to helping “free” the Dalits, primarily by building schools and vocational training centers. Friends Church senior pastor Matthew Cork was so inspired after his first visit to India that his congregation committed $20 million to build 200 schools for the Dalit people over the next 10 years. That’s 10 percent of the 2,000 schools that Dr. D’Souza is working toward (104 completed thus far). I had a chance to visit several of them. Currently, Friends Church has completed 40-something schools so they’re well on their way.
Why schools? Why not churches or tract distribution? While building churches and handing out tracts are great things, simply providing a quality education for Dalits can revolutionize their lives in outstanding ways … and cause them to be incredibly open to the gospel. I saw that firsthand.
Some reading this blog may wonder why Friends Church would finance a film rather than just use the money toward more schools. I like the way Dr. D’Souza answered it: “We will build more schools, but Not Today can inform people far beyond India of the crisis here; I would rather see the money raise awareness.” I get that. Because Friends Church decided to tell a “parable” of one Dalit girl and her impoverished father via a motion picture (rather than take the “easy” route and do a documentary), I believe the film, when it’s released, will go a long, long way to mobilize people of faith to pray, give and get involved.
I mentioned that the India leaders I met estimate more than 1.2 million young Dalit girls are currently ensnared in sex-trafficking. Fortunately, hundreds have been set free. In fact, about 25% of the women in the picture above escaped the sex trade. One girl who I met shared how she was sold by her father at the age of 5. Why? Because she, at that age, was finding it difficult to gather enough sellable items from the garbage. This girl, now 18, was rescued just last year and told how she used to think about how she might kill her parents in retaliation. Incidentally, the girl’s parents were in the audience that night because of the forgiveness this now Christian young lady extended to her father and mother. It was just one of many incredible stories I heard while in India.
I’m looking forward to the release of Not Today, a film I’ve not only seen, but believe will be an instrument for much needed change. I highly recommend you put it in the back of your mind right now as something to support when it releases next spring.
[Editor’s Note: Because of the film’s theme of sex trafficking, parents should consider the film only for age 12 and up.]
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