About Us
I have been incredibly fortunate in my life to never have to experience the difficulties I see in the world every day. I can’t imagine what it’s like to go hungry - and I think it’s a shame that in a country as great as ours, anyone should.
With that desire in my heart, I preside over Open Heart. We’re all looking to make a difference in our world and I believe that by focusing on communities, we’re going to make the most substantial impact. The world is made up of these important social connections and if you foster them positively, they’ll pay huge dividends - in love, care, and a better world.
In 1975 Miss Betty Shelton was lecturing at the Hinduston Bible Institute in South India. She would often accompany students when they went on outreach teams. On one occasion they were delayed in the village of Valathi and managed to obtain permission from the headman to hold an open-air meeting, which was well received. From this small beginning has grown the work which has become Valathi Outreach.
In the beginning
In 1975 Miss Betty Shelton was lecturing at the Hindustan Bible Institute in South India. She would often accompany students when they went on outreach teams. On one occasion they were delayed in the village of Valathi and managed to obtain permission from the headman to hold an open-air meeting, which was well received. From this small beginning has grown the work which has become Valathi Outreach
Background information
Valathi is a village in rural Tamil Nadu, South India, an area rated in the lowest category by Government standards for project, educational and employment opportunities. The village houses some 5,000 adults and 2,500 children of mixed Hindu castes, with Muslim, Jain and Christian communities–fairly typical of the villages in the region.
VO-Church Ministries
Churches are groups of living people, wherever they meet, and all VOCM prayer halls are multi-purpose. VOCM currently serves 18 churches with outreach to 60 other villages, each of which will eventually need its own prayer hall. Prayer halls cater primarily to church needs, but also to necessary social uplift activities through sewing and hand work, literacy and community health projects, school and early learning centres and supervised school prep, with coaching help where needed for school youngsters.
All these activities are tied up with small ‘Prayer and Bible Study’ sessions for the groups involved. Other
Outreach activities take place in village homes, in a small rented shop en under a village tree!.
VO–Bible Training Centre :
The Bible Training Centre gives opportunity for training those called by God to village ministry.. Since Thomas came to India, the village-to-city drift has consistently left 80% of India without the Gospel for nearly 2,000 years. The BTC being in the village area prevents this loss of village pastor-evangelists to the better-supplied cities. Emphasis on evangelic al Bible truthresults in born-again believers as the basis for church plating in the village context. All BTC studentshelp shoulder ministry in VO CM churches and outreaches, under supervision.
Supporting senior citizens
HSC extends home visits, counselling, general practical help, and sometimes food, for elderly and sick members without families to care for them. Out of 18 members, 11 of them died, Noah is always staying atthe Valathi Church; Chinnappa is at Thorapadi church and Mrs. Solomon is in her daughter’s house, so the rooms are in use temporarily for school purposes.
Valathi Outreach Matriculation School :
The main Valathi school, with total strength of about 400 pupils, including boys & girls from K.G to X, started in 1992, and has been growing steadily. It has recently got its recognition from the government. We plan
+1, +2, classes in future.
Our school children play an important role in the lives of their parents. Some from more primitive cultures are becoming more civilized and learn to keep their children in a more hygienic way. They are happy to see them growing best and smart in our school uniform and cherish the hope of their children becoming good and able citizens with a better future.
It is every working day a pleasant sight to see our children cheerily walking in strict discipline towards their respective classrooms after morning assembly.
Our VOMS students have computer studies, and we eagerly await links for classes on internet - which along with an increasing emphasis on a Montessori type approach could result in hitherto unheard of transformations in the educational world, and most certainly in our VOMS.
Neelampoondi branch school, English medium, classes KG to 5, c atering to 120 + c hildren of neo-literate coolie-labourer parents, the products of our Adult Literacy project reaching 1,500 illiterates in a cluster of 7 neglected villages centering on Neelampoondi. W hen prepared and old enough to travel, these youngsters continue from class 6 in Valathi
‘RR’ Middle School - Tamil medium classes 1 - 8, - an old “Govt. Aided” school, with contacts to 40 small surrounding villages of the thatched-house type The school, which we were asked to take over for the sake of its 900 pupils , would also open up our minis try in surrounding 40 villages.
