Covid Hits Home
In some ways perhaps, it was a matter of time. And considering the surrounding conditions and the many villagers and displaced tribal neighbors who have come through our gates to find refuge and help during the pandemic, it could have been so much worse.
At the beginning of May, our staff, like millions of fellow Indians, fell victim to the effects of the coronavirus. As the pandemic surged throughout the country, our small oasis in the midst of a vast country also fought to find treatments, oxygen and other necessities needed to fight off the deadly virus. During this time, a few of the boys who had stayed on campus throughout the entirety of the pandemic also began to feel ill. All around our campus people, friends, were dying due in large part to the shortage of oxygen and other treatments. There became a huge black market for medicines, injections, and oxygen which caused further distress for many who could not find the help they needed desperately. There became a shortage of beds in the hospitals. As a matter of fact, many began to choose to stay in their homes as the virus struck because hospitals became a place of certain death. What we could read about on various news platforms about the crisis in India was playing out on our campus as well.
By God's grace, our story ends much happier than the 1.3 to possible 5 million fellow Indians who lost their lives as the pandemic ravaged the country. Every one of our staff and children have recovered from their initial illness and are doing much better. For some, there are still lingering effects, but none that are life threatening. We are beyond thankful for your prayers, and for the hospital workers who helped find the necessary injections and treatments that were needed for our BGCH family. God used you to protect the future of BGCH. Their willingness to help and sacrifice can never be repaid.
Donations of cots, hygiene kits and oxygen were made by Habitat for Humanity and Indigenous Ministries for Humanity to BGCH.