Where communities live in poverty around the world, it is often necessary to meet people's immediate needs in the form of food, shelter, and clothes. But the long-term goal is always restoration — equipping people to use tools that allow them meet basic human needs.
We believe one of the most strategic ways to help people thrive is through education. Around the world, many families don’t have access to education and remain illiterate for generations. Through education, we’re empowering communities for the future and sharing the Good News of the Gospel with students and families.
OM has teachers or schools in many of our countries. In Bangladesh, OM operates 27 primary schools where children are prepared to enter government schools. We also operate schools in India, where for centuries the Dalit people have endured bigotry and the denial of basic human rights. As a result of this discrimination, Dalits lack access to education and are forced to take low-paying jobs that provide minimal income. They suffer ongoing social and economic challenges.
Recently, Dalit leadership invited Indian Christians to give their children an English-based education in the Christian worldview — a worldview based on the principles of human dignity, equality, and God-given self-worth. They want education that serves the whole person and includes community and spiritual development. Indian Christians enthusiastically accepted this invitation and pledged their solidarity with the Dalits.
In India, OM has developed a unique model to transform lives and communities. In 107 schools, quality Christian teachers are currently educating more than 26,000 Dalit and underprivileged children, both in English and native languages. Staff members maintain high academic standards and teach a state-sponsored curriculum, but base their teaching methods in the Christian worldview of God, human dignity, human salvation, and social equality.
OM is transforming communities through education and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thank You, God, for the ability to learn and the skills of those who teach. Thank You for revealing Yourself in creation, in Your Word, and through Jesus Christ, and for commanding us to gain knowledge and understanding through careful study. Please extend the blessing of education and its transforming power to the forgotten and show Yourself to those who have never heard. Let one generation declare to the next that You are God.