Benefit concert for Bangladesh mission

Benefit concert
for Bangladesh
mission

By John Zaprazala

A fund-raising concert for the Bengali Evangelical Association (BEA) took place April 21 at Ambassador Auditorium.

Admission was free with a request for donations at the end. The event raised more than $5,000 to build a clinic for a little under $10,000. When you consider that the average yearly wage of a Bengali worker is only $260, the amount is quite a sum for some of the poorest people in the world.

The clinic will serve about 2,500 poor men and women who live in remote villages. At present, the villagers walk hours to get medical help. Once they arrive they have to wait outside for hours in the sun and frequent rain.

Having a medical facility invites additional help from the West in terms of medical equipment and volunteer health workers.

Sharing the gospel

Bangladesh is 90 percent Muslim, nine percent Hindu and less than one percent Christian. By providing such facilities, gospel workers expose the Bengalis to the Christian message, first through serving them in their physical needs and then by sharing the message of Jesus Christ.

John Biswas, BEA founder and a WCG member, appreciates the involvement of hundreds of people in this work of compassion. Mr. Biswas especially appreciated the concert performers, who offered their services free.

Other goals for 2001

The clinic is just one of the goals for 2001. A self-help goat program is still in operation. The goal this year is to reach 500 poor families by providing them with a goat and encouraging them to take responsibility for their lives. The cost of providing a goat is $40.

Another goal is to train a local missionary. The cost to support a missionary is $360 a year or $30 a month.

Other goals include printing literature and distributing Bibles as well as operating an open-air elementary school.

For more information and a free newsletter please write to the Bengali Evangelical Association, P.O. Box 776, Bryn Mawr, California, 92317, or visit their website at www.wcg.org/bea

AMBASSADOR EVENT—
John Zaprzala (left) and
John Biswas. [Photos by Ron Grove]