This shows the beginning of construction on the widows home property. This will be the administrative building while the home itself will be much larger and built on the large area shown in the property photos.
This shows the beginning of construction on the widows home property. This will be the administrative building while the home itself will be much larger and built on the large area shown in the property photos.
We have a beautiful piece of land, donated to us to build a widow’s home. Now we need to start building the home itself. We need foundations, walls, doors, and windows, but first of all bricks. Are you willing to help us see this vision come true?
In 1997 God spoke to us about the widows of Varanasi. He told us to build a home for them where they can live in dignity and where others can come and earn a living by doing income generating projects like sewing, pickle and jam making.
The widows home property is located in Sarnath, just outside of Varanasi. Varanasi is one of India’s most holy cities. Thousands of pilgrims come to this city to bathe in the river Ganges, to wash away their sins. The belief is that if you die in this city, you will go straight to heaven. This is one of the reasons why so many widows are here.
Another reason is that many of those who come here on pilgrimage leave their widows behind, so that they don’t have to take care of them anymore. Because of this the city is filled with widows living on the streets, having no one to care for them. There is an estimated 10,000 of them. They earn a living by begging, working as “maids” or by prostitution.
Some widows have lost their sanity due to the desperate situation they are in. Consequently, the city is defiling itself, because it is not doing the will of God. He wants us to take care of the widows, so they can lead peaceful lives.
Our vision is to help these widows. In the next 10 years we want to employ 1500 widows. We want to house 50 widows who are in desperate circumstances, and provide for them and their children often accompany them. We will equip them with skills so that they can earn a decent income and experience the hope that they never had. This will take time. We need a lot of staff, finances and knowledge. To begin with, we want to run seminars and Christian training courses alongside our regular activities in the home, until it is ‘full’ of widows and our vision is completed.
Widows Home & Surrounding Area - Information and Photos
Poor widows of Varanasi
Widows Home – Property (2003 photos)
Widows Home property and construction – March 2005 (part 2)
Widows Home property and construction – March 2005 (part 1)
Widows Home construction – dirt transport work - March 2005 (part 1)
Widows Home construction – dirt transport work - March 2005 (part 2)
Vision, Goals & Objectives for the Widows Home
Widows Home - Current Financial Need
Card making
Cards Available From the Widows Home Ministry
Sarnath Photo Tour Links
Photos of Sarnath Town & Zoo
Sarnath Ancient Ruins
Dhamekh Stupa by the ruins
Varanasi Photo Tour Links
Varanasi (Old City) Traffic & People
More Varanasi old city photos
Narrow Alleyways in the Old City of Varanasi
Varanasi Bathing Ghats on the Ganges River (part 1)
Varanasi Bathing Ghats on the Ganges River (part 2)
Photos of Flooding in Varanasi by the Ganges River
Sales of Hindu Idols in Varanasi
Sadhus on the Ghats
Water Buffalo bathing at the Ghats
Varanasi Cantonment Area