I had the opportunity to spend time with a very special young girl named Muskan. Her mother who lives in a slum just a short walk from our Joshua Mercy Centre school brought Muskan to our school five years ago. Our team immediately recognized that Muskan was different than the other children. She had both physical and mental handicaps as a result of a birth defect. She was still crawling at an age when other children were running and playing. She also had not developed in areas of speech and reading. Our team began to pray for her and work every day with her.
Fast forward five years, Muskan is able to walk to school on her own and she is continuing to learn and develop along with her classmates. Muskan loves school so much that she doesn’t want to leave in the afternoon.
We recently received a donation of school uniforms for this particular school location and we gave the very first uniform to Muskan. We were also able to buy her new shoes for school and play. Her parents are unable to pay tuition fees and other school expenses for their children and are so grateful for the support of the Joshua Tree. They never dreamed that Muskan would ever be anything other than an invalid that required constant care but now through faith, hope, love and the power of Jesus they are watching their daughter grow up with the hope of a productive life and future.
Muskan still has a number of challenges ahead of her. It's our plan to send her to a specialist to evaluate issues with her neck and back which prevent her from walking properly and will also look into some mental health evaluations to determine the extent of her birth defects.
It is an honor and privilege to serve Muskan and the rest of the children that attend our slum and leper schools. Each child is unique and deserves the very best help that we can provide.
As always, we rely on the generous prayer and financial support of our Joshua Tree partners and our dedicated staff in India who work so hard to serve these children in need.
On behalf of Muskan and all of our Joshua students and staff we say thank you for your support!
CLIFF WHITE
CO-FOUNDER