The Current Violence in Manipur
When violence erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023, over 60,000 officially (100,000 unofficial) Kuki people fled their villages, leaving behind homes, farmland, and livelihoods. Manipur, India's northeastern state, consists mostly of the Meitei majority (predominantly Hindus) living in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki and Naga tribal communities (predominantly Christians) living in the surrounding hills. The outbreak of violence between militant groups of Meiteis and Kukis have affected civilians, leading to 175 deaths and 1,118 injuries, and the burning of 254 churches, 132 temples, 300 villages, and over 4,700 houses.their faith.
Our Connection to Manipur
Hemanth Vadlapudi had the opportunity in January to accompany a team to visit and provide aid to 11 relief camps in Manipur. Hemanth is currently enrolled at ASU and finishing his Masters in Computer Science. He also serves as an Oasis intern with the Leadership Training Institute at the Tempe Church of Christ. Hemanth is coordinating another aid mission to Manipur. The team he went with will return to Manipur in April and provide the supplies we are able to donate to families in the relief camps.
Giving to Mission Manipur
Faith in Action Ministries will take another trip to Manipur to bring aid to the relief camp families in April 2024. They will purchase all the donated supplies, identify which families will get each resource, distribute resources, provide training, and set up the teachers and tailoring instructors in the 11 relief camps they visited in January. FIAM will also work with local pastors and volunteers to help organize all of the resources and help families utilize the animals, land, food, skills, and educational resources we provide. Thank you for your generous support of the Kuki people and for partnering with God to provide hope and practical assistance in rebuilding life.
Immediate Aid
Children are in immediate need of nutritious food. $1/day would provide a child with the nutritional supplements needed to add to their current diet of rice and dahl. This includes eggs, vegetables, and milk powder. There are currently 600 children in the 11 relief camps we are aiming to help. It would cost $18,000 to feed all of the children for 1 month. Food will be purchased with the funds we are able to provide and distributed evenly to the children in the camps.
Sustainable Community Aid
Desiring to help the Kuki community recover and become self-sufficient again, we aim to provide resources that help families develop a livelihood and sustainable food source. Hemanth and the FIAM team have determined what resources would be best suited to these purposes. Below you will find a list of the desired resources and the quantity that would allow each of the 400 families in the 11 relief camps to engage an occupation and work towards self-sufficiency.
Farming
Children Education
Animal Husbandry
Farming is the primary occupation of many Kuki families. Near the relief camps is farmable land that can be leased.
The land is usually used as rice paddy fields, which can then be harvested and sold for family income. A smaller section of the land can also be used as a vegetable garden for personal use.
Animal Husbandry
Children Education
Animal Husbandry
Families can also produce income and sustainable food sources through care for animals. A family would need two goats, two pigs, or 10 hens to start their animal farming business.
Children Education
Children Education
Children Education
Since children do not currently have access to their schools, their education has been halted for nearly a year. In order to get the children back on track educationally, two teachers will be hired in each camp to educate the children.
There are currently about 14 individuals who had been pursuing graduate degrees before the violence erupt
Since children do not currently have access to their schools, their education has been halted for nearly a year. In order to get the children back on track educationally, two teachers will be hired in each camp to educate the children.
There are currently about 14 individuals who had been pursuing graduate degrees before the violence erupted. Those individuals, plus others qualified to serve as teachers, will be paid a salary to teach the children.
his will contribute income to the teachers families and free their time to focus on the children’s education.
Tailoring Center
Children Education
Children Education
A tailoring business provides for the needs of the community and serves as a solid livelihood. In each of the relief camps two families will be trained as tailors and receive sewing machines.
Additionally, two tailing teachers will be hired to teach tailoring. The teachers will travel to each of the 11 camps, teach people to be tailors, and leave two sewing machines for the new tailors.
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