History

History - Search & Rescue International 

A young girl wearing earrings and a necklace smiles for the camera

Search and Rescue International (S&R) was formed in 2012 as a means of bringing hope to the hopeless, the broken hearted, the fatherless, the oppressed, the poor, and those facing overwhelming circumstances. If these goals are yours as well and if you are willing to help, S&R invites you to partner with us in this venture. 


HOW WE STARTED


S&R’s roots were started by a group of men who had visited and were impressed by the work of a specific orphanage, Jesus Loves Children Home (JLCH), in Bestavaripeta, Prakasam Andhra Pradesh, India. These men who had visited there had already begun to help this orphanage with supplies, financial support, and encouragement, as it met the needs of children in the south central rural villages of India. Those who operate this orphanage are taking Indian children from a world of despair, hunger, pain, and hopelessness with the goal of providing for their complete emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual needs. It is a shared foundational belief of those who minister in the orphanage and all those who help support that effort that every child has the inalienable right to love, be loved, and to have hope and a clear, defined purpose for their life. S&R was formed to help coordinate an expansion of financial and other support for this mission to orphaned children.
Currently there are, conservatively, over 20 million children on the streets of India without their basic necessities being met.  JLCH has been doing this work for 20 years, much of the time with poor and inadequate resources. Many of these children in JLCH, who are now receiving some help from S&R, have been saved from sex trafficking, slave labor, and death.

Through generous individual and private business donations, and a “grass roots” approach, S&R has already assisted in providing funds for vaccinations, transportation, bedding, educational supplies, medical attention, water wells, housing, clothing and nutritious food for more than 100 children. The four areas of concentration which have been identified for the children of India are as follows:

  • Food: S&R is fighting world hunger one child at a time. We are committed to providing nutritious meals for the children. It's estimated that over 50% of the children of India are malnourished.

  • Health: We are determined to provide medical care to every child that we bring into the orphanage. Good care starts with the basics, and we’ve already raised money to purchase a well that provides our children and caretakers with clean water. In addition to this, we’ve had donors step up and given monies for critical surgeries, and basic medical attention.  Since 2013, all the children under our care have been immunized.

  • Home: We are committed to providing safe housing for as many children as possible. However, a home means much more than just having a bed and a roof for shelter from the weather. We at S&R look at a home as being a place where children, within a structured and disciplined environment, are cared for, educated, and given hope by helpers who treat them as their own. Because S&R is founded on Judeo-Christian principles, we strive to incorporate the greatest thing we can do for someone, and that is to love them without reserve.

  • Safety: In a country with so many orphaned or unwanted children, we want to provide a safe haven from sex trafficking, slave labor, and abuse. Our hope is to provide the proper environment and supplies so that one day these children grow up to be independent working adults who can sustain themselves through the skills and educational training they’ve received.

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