Blog - Hands of Freedom

Hands of Freedom Handmade Items Available!

One important way we believe that Hands of Freedom can help those we serve is by selling products made by our entrepreneurs. If you are still looking for a special handmade gift for the holidays you can purchase them at Daily Bread Books at Hosanna! in Lakeville. You will find placemat sets (placemats, napkins and coasters), coasters (perhaps even the ones being made in the photo below), Christmas cards, bags, and other handmade items.

Goodsearch to Support Hands of Freedom!

Looking for an easy and free way to support Hands of Freedom? Go to the link below for Goodsearch, select Hands of Freedom and use Goodsearch each time you search for information on the Internet. Search the Internet just like you normally would — the site is powered by Yahoo!, so you’ll get high-quality search results. With 100 supporters making two searches a day, we could receive donations of $730 in one year.

Starting A Business

Jyoti’s husband was the sole bread winner in the house and when his factory closed down he lost his job. Jyoti was an active member of the Hands of Freedom savings group and decided to leverage her cooking skills. Today, Jyoti and her husband run a mini lunch business and serve lunch boxes to 65 men. A lunch box includes vegetable, bread, rice, dal and pickle.

True Freedom!

Sheela has been a victim of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and harassment at home by her husband. Sheela was not able to bear children and was ridiculed by her husband and his family as this is a big insult in Indian culture. As a result, Sheela was deserted by her husband who then married another woman. Sheela was at the point of committing suicide but was directed to one of our prayer meetings.

School Bag Giveaway

Hands of Freedom works to ensure that future generations have hope and the tools needed to learn. Approximately 150 school bags were provided to children in the slums who are unable to afford something many of us take for granted as we prepare to send our kids back to school. Thank you for your support in helping Hands of Freedom provide for those in need.

Hope Centers and Christmas Cards from India!

Many exciting things are underway at Hands of Freedom in these summer months!

Plans are in place to start opening the Hope Centers that will provide food, private tutoring, sports programming and spiritual development. These are targeted to be in place at the end of August. Hope Centers play an important role in helping keep youth out of human trafficking situations after school hours are over.

In addition, Hands of Freedom will be selling Christmas Cards made through our program in India this fall. Watch for more news on this over the coming months! This will be a great way to share with friends the work that Hands of Freedom is doing. If you would like to be contacted once the Christmas Cards have arrived, please fill out the form under “Contact Us” on the website — simply fill out your name, email and put “Christmas Cards” (and anything else you would like to share with us) in the “Other Thoughts” section.

Hands of Freedom appreciates your prayer support and financial contributions. To make an online donation, visit our secure GiveMN.org site: http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Hands-Of-Freedom.

Recent Youth Rally

At a recent youth rally, children were fed by Hands of Freedom. Given the high incidence of malnutrition in India, these meals can be very important.

Malnutrition in India among Children

The World Bank, citing estimates made by the World Health Organization, states “that about 49 per cent of the world’s underweight children, 34 per cent of the world’s stunted children and 46 per cent of the world’s wasted children, live in India.” The World Bank also noted that “[w]hile poverty is often the underlying cause of malnutrition in children, the superior economic growth experienced by South Asian countries compared to those in Sub-Saharan Africa, has not translated into superior nutritional status for the South Asian child.”

A special commission to the Indian Supreme court has noted that the child malnutrition rate in India is twice as great as sub-Saharan Africa.

New Bus!

Hands of Freedom is excited to announce the recent purchase of a bus. The funds for the bus were collected by hundreds of kids and youth at Hosanna! in Lakeville, Minnesota. The bus will be used to transport children and for youth outreaches in India.