A Christian NGO named Bethanya Vision Ministries Trust has been accused of targeting children from vulnerable communities, particularly those from nomadic tribes in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Children from the Narikuravar and Chenchu communities in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, respectively, were reportedly the targets of Bethanya Vision Trust (BVMT), an FCRA NGO operating out of Tamil Nadu. It also targets families who depend on daily labor and cannot afford to care for their children at home or send them to school. It operates 2 “children’s homes” in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
On its website, BVMT describes itself as a Christian ministry. It states that its mission statement is to “bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Savior and of the advantages of knowing and following Him.”
The Gypsy New Life Children’s Home, established in 2015 and run by the FCRA NGO, targets Narikuravar children and currently houses 60 of them, with the local pastor in charge.
Narikuravar is a nomadic tribe that used to hunt in the wild but now makes a living by selling beads and trinkets. They must leave their families for an extended period of time, and children are frequently left in the care of the elders. This community has been largely ignored by the government, and they are unable to access schemes or provide proper education to their children because caste certificates are required. As a result, they are vulnerable to missionary predators. BVMT identifies such children and brings them to their ‘children’s home,’ where they receive a promising education.
Similarly, quarry workers’ children are targeted, and BVMT runs another children’s home in Thiruneermalai. It began operations in 2018 and currently houses 50 inmates, who are cared for by pastor Raj and his wife Layaal.
Thirty children of Chennai Corporation sanitation workers are housed in the St. Thomas Children’s Home.
Additionally, BVMT manages a Tribal Children’s Home in Andhra Pradesh with around 50 members of the local Chenchu tribe under its custody. This home, which opened in 2015, is also run by a local pastor.
For the children of daily laborers, the NGO also operates a community centre in Donakonda, Andhra Pradesh. These kids are forced to attend Christian prayer meetings and pray, as is evident from the images posted on the BVT international and BVT India websites.
The BVMT in Washington, USA, with whom BVT India is affiliated, has a fundraising page on its website for a number of kids whose parents have Christian names but whose names sound Hindu. According to the NGO Darpan portal, it was funded by Crisis Rescue International Ministries, which uses Bharatiya children as pawns on its social media pages to solicit donations.
According to the company’s YouTube channel, India is the epicenter of Child Sex Trafficking, which states that, “we run children’s homes in India, which is known as the world’s epicenter of child sex trafficking.” The purpose of its mission trips is to transport North Americans to “perform evangelical outreach, raise awareness of human trafficking, and provide Christmas celebration with orphaned and rescued children.” Crisis Rescue International Ministries’ mission statement reads, “Provide Rescue, Care, and Housing to Orphans, Abandoned Children and Those Trafficked for the Purpose of Slave Labor or sex in the 10/40 Parallel Window and Promote the Awareness of Human Trafficking Globally through Evangelical Mission Trips.”
The nations that are located between 10° and 40° North of the equator are known as the 10/40 window. Due to the residents’ opposition to Christian proselytizing, The Joshua Project refers to it as the “Resistant Belt.” In relation to this, Legal Rights Protection Forum has discovered violations of the Juvenile Justice Act, SC-ST Act, and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in the BBVMT-run children’s homes. It has complained and asked for the cancellation of its FCRA license by highlighting these violations.
(with inputs from HinduPost)
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