The India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) partnered with Wheat Ridge Ministries to provide a milking cow to widows in their congregations and preaching stations. The enthusiastic response of congregations who participated in the project led to the creation of the “Moosletter”, sharing fundraising stories from around the country. The generous funding has enabled Wheat Ridge to extend the project into Cambodia.

Most of the IELC membership comes from the poorest levels of society and congregations are in conservative, rural areas. Men are the major breadwinners, leaving their widow to face considerable financial difficulties. It is Indian custom that widows do not remarry. Among the rural poor, it is very difficult for people to care properly for a widow's family as well as their own. Widows who receive cows sell the cow's milk to pay for educational expenses for her children and other needs. When the children have grown up, the widow is encouraged to donate the cow to another needy widow.

Anything done to serve the widows' families is a great encouragement to the congregations and a powerful witness to the rest of the community. The situation is very similar to the New Testament church, in which care for the widows was a crucial part of life in and witness to the Gospel. (c.f. Acts 4:34-35, 1 Tim. 5:3, Jas. 1:27). As widows are served, people in the community know the Church cares and members of the congregation are bolstered in their faith that God cares and acts.

Read CNN's story on the plight of widows in India (July 2007).

Meet the widows who have received a cow:

• Distribution Archive