A long-time donor shared several reasons why she and her husband give every month:

• BAF was formed by people we know and trust.
• As a teacher, I am particularly drawn to education as a means of enabling those in need to become self-sustaining and able to help others in need.
• I feel great compassion for mothers who are trying to raise their children in difficult circumstances.
• BAF has probably the highest donation/expense ratio anywhere. (Note: In 2019 and 2020, over 97% of the money donated was given to the needy; less than 3% went to credit card and wire fees, cost of the website, and other administrative expenses.)

A local custom is to buy new clothes at Christmastime. Just $30 can provide needed clothing for one person. We would love to send $2,100 by December 20, so that the 70 men, women, and children we serve can all celebrate the Lord’s coming in new apparel.

You can make your tax-deductible Christmas gift at our donation page.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel.

(Philippians 1:3-5)

We are grateful to all our donors for what you have provided this year, including:

• three semesters of doctoral schooling for Fr. John Chen from China;
• three semesters of tuition for Iffy, a medical student from India;
• $36,000 for computers, education, and assistance to needy families in India;
• prayers for all God’s “little ones.”

Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.

(Psalm 30:4)

“God has helped me through you to fulfill my dream of studying medicine and helping people. I thank God and everyone who has helped me pursue this course.

Now I attend classes online. The laptop that I got by your help enables me to attend and to do my exams.

I pray and thank God for moving his people to do this for me. I send my special love and thanks to you all.

Your loving Indian child,
Rabisha”

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“This morning I received $6,000 to add the second story to my house. I cannot thank enough all my amazing BAF family for being in my life: for your kindness, for your thoughtfulness, for your generosity, for making me smile.

With prayers from Kala”

Note from the Barnabas Fund: There are five more houses to be built. Your help is appreciated.

In 2017 the Barnabas Almsgiving Fund helped our friend Kala rebuild her home after a tree fell on it. You can see below the beautiful new home, where Kala’s sister, Augustina, lives with her two daughters. Now we would like to help add a second floor for Kala, her husband, and their daughter.

You can make a tax-deductible gift through the Barnabas Almsgiving Fund donation page. Thanks for whatever you are able to do!

On top of all the sufferings India’s poor experience comes the coronavirus. The number of new cases has been increasing since April, reaching over 60,000 daily in August and over three million cases total with 60,000 deaths.

Of particular concern to the Barnabas Alms Project, three of the sisters in Sr. Anne’s community have tested positive for the illness. Please pray that the Lord heal the sick and protect everyone.

For the last eight years, the Barnabas Almsgiving Fund has helped meet the needs of a loosely knit community of about seventy Catholics in southern India. (See a five-minute video history of this project.)  Our highest priority has been to pay for the educational needs of the children, since this is the best means to both form them in Christian faith and enable them to escape from generational poverty. In serving this community, we are blessed to have the collaboration of Sr. Anne Antony and a devout laywoman, Kala Kelley.

The total annual cost of tuition for primary and secondary Catholic education and university studies for the fifty students we serve is normally about $20,000 per year. But this year it will cost more due to the necessity of acquiring laptops or tablets so students can do their studies online amid Covid 19. (Covid cases are numerous among India’s urban poor.)

In previous years one generous couple paid a large share of the tuition expenses; this year they are not able to do so. Nevertheless, God has helped us. Beginning with a $6,000 gift in February, we have received about $15,000 for children’s tuition, leaving a shortfall of about $10,000 in tuition bills and money for computers.

Please pray that the entire need will be met very soon, and give whatever you are able. We have so much, and they have so little! And the Lord knows how to repay generously! “Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully…. God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6, 7).

You can make a tax-deductible gift through the Barnabas Almsgiving Fund. Thanks for whatever you are able to do!

Thanks be to God and to your generous support, Fr. Chen is in the fourth year of his doctoral program at St. Paul University in Ottawa, having received his tuition through donations to the Barnabas Almsgiving.  Fr. Chen has completed his coursework, passed his comprehensive exams, and has been informed that his dissertation proposal was approved.

He is now researching and writing. His topic of study is “Honoring Parents in the World of Apostle Paul and Its Theological Implications in 1 Corinthians 4:14-21.” While Fr. Chen would like very much to finish in this academic year, it will probably take a bit longer, so our financial support for tuition is still needed.

Meanwhile, governmental restrictions on religion in China are increasing.  His diocese has informed him that there is no opportunity for him to serve there at this time and will write him a recommendation letter to enable him to serve in another diocese.  Please pray that the Lord help Fr. Chen with his dissertation and guide him where to go when his studies are complete.

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