Courage overcomes challenges to get Covid-19 aid to Nepalese Christians

Despite multiple challenges, Open Doors partners in Nepal have been able to distribute vital aid to over 1,300 families severely affected by restrictions and discrimination caused by Covid-19. This support – made possible by your prayers and generosity – has been greeted with much joy and gratitude. 

The pandemic has affected the livelihood of scores of believers and most Christians are left out of government relief distribution. Open Doors partners have been able to serve families left in desperate need of aid

Treacherous roads, long-distance travel, rainfall, intense heat from the sun, fear of catching Covid-19, suspicious eyes – these are the challenges Open Doors partners faced delivering aid to over 1,300 Christian families across Nepal suffering due to the pandemic.

But what kept them going was the joy of serving their brothers and sisters in their time of need. 

There are over 100,000 reported cases of Covid-19 in Nepal, and lockdown has greatly impacted the economy. Many Christians already on low incomes have lost their jobs and do not own land for farming, leaving them in desperate situations. And, as happens in other countries across the world, Christians face the added challenge of being overlooked in the distribution of official government aid. 

Privileged to provide

“It was difficult for me to afford food in this pandemic and I was worried about my children, thinking how I could provide food for them,” shares Hemant*, whose family received emergency food aid. “I asked God to fulfil our needs. As an answer, your team provided us with wonderful and sufficient relief for our family. I thank God and you all. You will be always in our prayers.” Each family received rice, lentils, oil, salt and soap.

Rahul* is an Open Doors partner who helped in the distribution – an activity he sees as more than just delivering food. “When I reached the needy with relief, I felt I am serving my Lord Jesus. For me this was not just a relief distribution but sharing and extending the love and kindness of our God.”

He continues, “Yes, there were some challenges and struggles I faced, taking the risk of going door-to-door to deliver relief aid amid Covid-19. Yet this hardship was nothing compared to the joy and happiness I saw in their faces.”

The support meant many poor families could still meet their needs despite the restrictions and discrimination caused by the pandemic. “I am so privileged and blessed to be a part of this relief distribution to the neediest people in communities in different parts of Nepal. I thank God and this organisation for giving me this opportunity to be a vessel,” says Rahul.

“God is using us to share His love”

Sarah* is another Open Doors local partner. She faced the challenge of travelling long distances and was also fearful about coming into contact with the virus. However, she shares, “I feel so thankful to God that in this pandemic situation God is using us to share His love and serve needy people. I experience happiness and peace in my heart.”

Weather, long distances and Covid-19 aren’t the only concerns, as Sarah explains: “There’s some fear that if other people saw us distributing the relief they may ask some questions which could put the work in trouble, since people are very sceptical when help is provided to churches or Christians. But all glory to God, it has gone well so far, and we have been able to distribute the relief to the believers. The gratitude of the people makes us forget our concerns and challenges.”

Six stories of support

Here are a sample of testimonies from people immensely grateful for your support:

“I would like to thank the team for helping us in such a troublesome situation and risking themselves by travelling. We are so grateful to you for remembering us and being a great source of help and encouragement.” – Disha*

“We praise God for giving a burden to you to serve His children in this pandemic. I am so overwhelmed by the provision as it was difficult to survive with no work and no income and the future looking bleak. May God continue to bless this ministry abundantly so that you may have success in every good work. We will keep you in our prayers.” – Neetu*

“I am unable to do labour work, so I had no food in my house. For many days, my family have remained hungry without food. Some days we survived on a little rice with salt and no curry. But all glory to God who isn’t blind to our situation. With the help of your organisation, now we have food to survive. I am thankful to this organisation.” – Bahadur*

“Although the government and NGOs are carrying out relief distribution, they are found to be biased, so we could not receive the required relief aid. We are thanking God for providing us with more than what we have asked for and we thank Christ for this organisation supporting needy people. Thank you so much.” – Sarika*

“Our God is Yahweh Jireh who provides everything we need. God will never disappoint us, but we need to pray continuously. We need to trust God and He will never let our hope fail. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the people who helped us.” – Soni*

“I'm very much thankful towards the supporters who provided us with great help during this difficult situation, as I was unable to find work to sustain my family. In a helpless state of no income and no help from anywhere I was left worried. I will always pray for you all.” – Rani*

*Name changed for security reasons