Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
About K.P. Yohannan Metropolitan
Publications
Links
Social Media
- Facebook
- Instagram
- Twitter
- Pinterest
Archives
FREE NEWSLETTER

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
I Was Glad When PM Narendra Modi Began His Swachh Bharat Campaign

I Was Glad When PM Narendra Modi Began His Swachh Bharat Campaign

Last updated on: April 7, 2018 at 9:36 pm by KP Yohannan

I Was Glad When PM Narendra Modi Began His Swachh Bharat Campaign 2018-04-07T21:36:07+00:00 KP Yohannan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Imagine a scenario with me.

Today, as you are going about your early morning routine, you feel the need to relieve yourself. You wait until the sun comes up and then you go and knock on your neighbor’s door. Once they answer, the two of you venture quietly and carefully to a safe place outside where you can answer nature’s call. This is the most dangerous part of your day.

These girls live in a rural village in Asia.

This situation sounds strange, I know. But imagine if there were no indoor toilets in your house, or even in your community, and so your only option was to wander out into the woods or a nearby field to find a place of seclusion, while at the same time hoping no one would take advantage of your defenseless situation.

For many in South Asia, this fear is a daily reality. Earlier this year, I read a heartbreaking story in the news about two young girls, ages 5 and 9, who had gone out to relieve themselves when some men grabbed them and raped them. These two children were left hospitalized, simply because they had no safe place to defecate in private.

The danger of being attacked while vulnerable is not the only risk that the lack of access to a toilet presents. According to UNICEF, “Open defecation puts the health of women and girls at risk. It remains a major cause of child malnutrition, disease and death in many parts of [South Asia].”

And this issue is not isolated; it’s a worldwide problem. The UN recently stated, “around 60% of the global population—4.5 billion people—either have no toilet at home or one that doesn’t safely manage excreta.”

This family received a toilet facility - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia

This family received a toilet facility in their area through Gospel for Asia-supported work. For the first time they could use the restroom in a private, safe place—not in the woods or out in an open field.

I was so glad when Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his campaign in 2014 for a Swachh Bharat (“Clean India”). As of this weekend, the campaign has installed over 4,000,000 individual toilets and nearly a quarter million community and public toilets. This is an incredible gift to the nation and has improved the lives for millions of individuals already.

Several years ago, the Lord opened the door for Gospel for Asia to get involved with constructing and installing toilets throughout Asia. By the grace of God, we have since been able to provide thousands of enclosed toilets to families in need. Providing these toilets is an ongoing effort that will continue for years to come.

What an amazing thing to be loved by a God who cares so much for people that He even considers and provides for needs such as a toilet. He who reigns in the heavens is the same One who sees each one of us and comes alongside us in our day-to-day lives. He sees our struggles. He hears our cries. He is intimately aware of our needs, often knowing them better than we do ourselves.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus told His followers, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

The question is, do we notice when His hand is intervening in our lives? For me, I find that I too often fail to recognize He is there with me, taking care of me and going before me. Our lives are not happening by chance.

One of the most powerful ways to see the Lord on a consistent basis is to recognize Him at work in the little things that happen every single day: the email or phone call you receive, a letter or a word of encouragement, a song you hear or something you read.

Perhaps you were driving on the road and switched lanes, only to realize that that change of lanes spared your life from a terrible car accident. The Lord orchestrates the circumstance of our lives with His own hand. We need to develop a habit of seeing the invisible with the heart’s eye.

Washing their clothes in this dirty river - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia

Washing their clothes in this dirty river is normal for many slum dwellers.

A couple of years ago, my wife, Gisela, was sitting at her desk in our bedroom, writing as she often does, when she felt an urge to get up from her chair and go to the kitchen to get a drink. She walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Suddenly she heard a loud explosion, as if someone had dropped a bomb into our bedroom. She ran back to see what had happened and discovered a large SUV in the middle of our bedroom.

Two teenagers had been driving on the road in front of our house and had lost control of the vehicle. The SUV crashed into our house at full speed, completely demolishing the brick wall and totaling the vehicle. Can you imagine what would have happened if Gisela had been sitting at her desk for just a few minutes longer? It would have been a whole different story.

How wonderful it is to know that the Lord is watching over us. But we should ask ourselves: Do we simply receive the blessing we have been given and move on with our lives?

Put yourself once more in the shoes of those that have no access to a clean toilet. At first, this may not seem like a major issue. But when you come to realize that it could mean the death of your child from diarrhea due to contamination, it suddenly becomes a much more serious problem.

This past year, GFA was able to help bless 10,512 needy communities with new toilets. One of the great joys for our brothers and sisters during times like these is to let those they are serving know that they are there because of the God who loves them. They do it all in the name of Jesus.

Maybe when this year began, some of those communities had never even considered that there was a God watching out for them. But today, they are able to rejoice because they now know they are loved by the God of the universe and He is taking care of their needs.

So what does this mean for us? It’s a reminder not to forget the ways God has taken care of us; to be grateful even for those things in our lives—like toilets—that we take for granted, not realizing what a blessing they are. If we pause to remember all He has done for us, we will soon realize He has been right beside us all along. And that changes everything.

Today, as the world recognizes World Toilet Day, let us take time to acknowledge and give thanks for the Lord’s faithfulness in watching over us and in caring about even the smallest details in our lives.

Keep your eyes and ears open—for Him. For He Himself has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). And He always keeps His promises.

To learn more about GFA’s Outdoor Toilet initiative, go here.

=====

Click here, to read more articles on Patheos by Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan.

Go here to know ore about Dr. KP Yohannan: SourceWatch | Wiki | Flickr

Uncategorized

Dr KP Yohannan

KP Yohannan

Previous Post

November 16, 2017

Are You Willing to Listen and Surrender So He Can Have His Way?

Next Post

November 20, 2017 My Heart Broke Into a Million Pieces When I Heard Their Stories, Says Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Current Events Devotionals Field Stories From My Books Guest Writer Inspirational Personal Life Spiritual Growth Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2025 June 2024 May 2024 December 2023 October 2023 May 2023 April 2023 December 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 May 2021 March 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz