CONNECTED CHURCH Sahaara
CHOICES January 2016
Arjun had gotten in with the wrong crowd and was struggling to get out. Most teenagers make bad choices at some point during their teenage-hood. Couple this with living in an overcrowded slum in a red light area, a mother who is a sex worker working late nights, and a father who also works long hours for very little income. The prospects for a 14 year old boy Arjun don’t seem very high. This is the reality for Arjun. Living in Mumbai he has attended Sahaara’s Ghatkopar Educational Centre since 2012. The centre provides food, supplementary education, and skills building activities for children living in and around the red-light area. He was a very quiet child, struggling to make friends, and so it was a bit of a surprise when he turned up at the educational centre with a group of older boys and started behaving badly. It soon became apparent that these boys were taking advantage of him and influencing his behaviour. Arjun became inattentive and badly behaved during classes. He started disturbing the teacher and distracting the other children.
‘As a quiet child it was a shock when Arjun became disruptive’
Arjun realised his mistakes, and began taking steps to change his behaviour. What a blessing it is to see him growing and maturing! The staff of Sahaara continued to work with in him by counselling and encouraging Arjun to make better choices. A few weeks later, Arjun asked to join Sahaara’s English learning classes. As he was counseled, he soon realised that he was behaving badly around the older boys. He decided to make the most of the opportunities that was offering him. What a blessing - to it is to see Arjun a young boy, growing and maturing! Sahaara are so proud of Arjun. He is now studying hard and not afraid to go against the status quo. This is such a big leap from the quiet, shy boy we first met! Sahaara are glad to have guided and helped him along the way.
PRAYER Please pray that Arjun would continue to grow up into a great person, full of the love of God.