India

Fueled by a deep desire to meet the needs of widows suffering in India, Beauty For Ashes, our widow empowerment program is serving 150 widows as of 2025.

India is the country with the largest widow population in the world. It is estimated there are 40 million widows in India today. It has become home to the "husbandless."

In rural India and some communities, many widows are thrown out of family homes by their children or abandoned by their in-laws. Unfortunately, without a man by her side, a woman has no respect in rural Indian society. It is part of a patriarchal culture where a woman is respected only if she is a mother, daughter and wife.

However affluent the community or the family - widows are uninvited to family functions. She can participate in these rituals only if she has a husband by her side.

The widows are the unacceptable face of India. Many leading agencies, including the Local Governments, have failed them. Politicians, with rare exceptions, have ignored them. Wider society continues to exploit them.

Tragically, for many of India's widows, the pain of loss and grief lays the foundation for continued hardship - a life marked by stigmatization, dehumanization, loneliness, and despair.

Widowed women are sometimes reduced to an 'it,' stripping them of dignity and identity. They may be ostracized in their communities, endure restrictions about their physical appearance, sex lives and even diets, be confined to their homes or expelled from them entirely.

As a result, ILF launched a pilot program in 2023 called "Beauty for Ashes" to serve 50 women. Another 50 women were added in 2024 in various communities, and the number continues to grow. With this program, we strive to provide holistic support to widows, helping them find hope, purpose, and sustainable livelihoods. Our hope is to bring the importance of ensuring widows do not experience tragedy upon tragedy - not only the pain of loss but of social exclusion. We know that addressing this will not be easy. However, ILF's holistic approach to ministry calls us to minister to every dimension of human need and seek wholeness at every level of the individuals and their communities. We value every person as a unique and marvelous creation, bought by Christ.

Click here to empower widows in India through ILF's Beauty for Ashes program.

Got Milk? seeks to provide a renewable source of income to our ILF community in India.

Dairy farming is a vital resource in Indian agriculture. However, individual farmers face fundamental challenges that restrict holistic growth and empowerment.

ILF's holistic vision for this ministry is continued focus on equipping local leadership and community participation.

Starting with 5 buffalo in 2024, Got Milk? now has 11 buffalo! The herd is poised to double naturally within 36-48 months. Once we sustain a core herd of 25 buffalo, surplus calves will become powerful tools for community empowerment - providing further support for widows, flood victims, and families in need.

Click here to donate to the Got Milk? program in India.

Flooding is a real threat to those living in southern India during the four month rainy season - damaging homes, cutting ptople off from food, and endangering lives.

By God's grace and your support, ILF is able to provide rice, provisions and essential aid to those affected.

In the 2025 flood season, ILF funded supplies for 30 families. This means more than 120 people were fed and cared for through holistc ministry.

Your support ensures the timely distribution flood relief. Click here to donate today.

90 ILF supported pastors and female leaders currently serve 51,000 people in India, holistically sharing the hope of the gospel in a place where Hinduism is the major religion. Roughly 80% of the country's population practices Hinduism and Christianity makes up only about 2.3%.

ILF's Holistic Leadership Training is designed to empower participants to be spiritually equipped, biblically rooted and prepared to lead in their communities. Each month ILF leaders in India hold focused training meetings to equip local leaders for ministry among unreached and unengaged people in rural villages. As a result, this team of pastors and leaders is reaching many new communities.

Spiritual development and discipleship are also accomplished through weekly devotionals and lessons from the support of US based pastors, ILF Board of Directors, and requested volunteers. Initial Pastoral support has been accomplished in partnership with the Wesleyan Evangelical College of Theology and continued pastoral mentorship and support is provided.

Click here to financially support holistic leadership empowerment in India.