Their people group had never been allowed to go to school before. That’s why the graduation of 17 high school students in February of 2009 made history for the Dalit people. Now a generation could make choices their ancestors could not. One graduate, a young girl, grew up living in “Pipe City,” an area of makeshift homes in huge discarded concrete drainage pipes. Her people group, already considered beneath the entire caste system of India, is called untouchable, or Dalit (pronounced dah-LEET). Traditionally, a Dalit woman could only hope to have a family and perhaps to be reincarnated to a better life. So this young student knew her place as the lowest of the low.

But then she was allowed an education through the Dalit Education Centers in India. Operation Mercy India Foundation (OMIF), a sister organization of OM India, opened the schools, specifically to empower the Dalit people. Their efforts allowed this young girl to graduate, breaking generational curses going back countless years. When asked what she would like to do now, the graduate replies, “I would like to be a doctor and serve the poor.” Praise God for dreams this big! Your prayers and support are allowing more of these stories to be written in young lives. Please consider giving to the work in India using the link below. And pray with us that we will see the end of the caste system in our lifetime.