Jan with some of the children at Angels' Place
I first traveled to India in 2001, and it did not take long for me to see a profound need. So many children live every day in painful circumstances. Many have no families to take care of them, and many live on the streets, sleeping under makeshift shelters every night. They lack so many things that many take for granted – a decent home, a good meal, a chance for education, and a caring community. Just in seeing them, you want to act and make a difference in their lives.
And so we did.
We created the James Connection in order to respond to the needs of destitute children and to give them a chance for a good life. For over 10 years now, I have been telling the story of these children, seeking people of goodwill who could bring the blessing of a good, safe life to children who deserve that. With many generous contributions, we built Angels’ Place, an orphanage that houses and feeds over 150 children. We look forward to expanding this good work, and as our community has grown to over 1,000 donors from 36 states, I am confident that we will.
Recently we celebrated our 10-year anniversary, and I thanked many of the generous sponsors for making these blessings possible. But I also realized something else. It is not just we who share something with these children. These children give us a gift, a gift that just needed a chance to be unlocked and shared. They bless us with days upon days of their young lives lived well.
~ Jan Swensen
