CHRISTIAN

interview by Andy Crouch VISION

PROJECT

qwering
Down**
World Vision India head Jayakumar Christian on how the poor become
movers and shakers, and movers and shakers become poor.
NINE YEARS AGO. World Vision Staff discovered pervasive honded child labor in the district of
Gudiyatham in India: parents indenturing their children to moneylenders, in payment of debts as
small as $20. The children rolled cigarettes, tanned hides, or made matches without freedom to go to
schooland with little prospect of ever repaying loans made at ruinous interest rates.
Today, according to World Vision's extensive house-to-house sui-veys. child labor in the Gudiy-
atham district has heen reduced by more than 80 percent. Children out of school can be counted in
the dozens, rather than the hundreds.
Jayakumar Christian oversees this and other projects that serve the poor. One would think that all
Indians would welcome such efforts. Not quite. One of Christian's jobs is to encourage the 12 World
Vision staff memhers based in Gudiyatham, who, like many of their colleagues, have faced increasing
opposition. World Vision India has developed a citizenship-training program, and a few weeks before
this inter\'iew, local fundamentalists had orchestrated a police raid on one of tbe training sessions,
threatening force and seizing the training materialsall with cameras rolling from local media wbo
had been tipped off to the raid in advance.
Such harassment is typical of what Chri.^tians in India increasingly endure, even vi'hen, as witb
World Vision, the progi-ams they offer are carefiilly designed to strengthen India's pluralistic democ-
rac\' rather than to proselytize. Tbe staff endured a tense negotiation with police before local officials
concluded tbat there was nothing objectionable in World Vision's materials. But Cbristian was still
distressed. "I was asking God. bow long can we take tbis? Tbe fimdamentalists just walk away having
done the damage. It's hard."
Christiaii took me to visit tbis project, and when we arrived, the staff was upbeat about the recent
harassment- "It bas actually worked to our advantage," the project director told Christian. "Tbe com-
munity is now behind us. Wben we first came bere. many of the villagers were very suspicious of us.
But during tbis incident, they rallied to us. We bave more support tban ever now."
Indeed, from the warm welcomes that awaited Christian in Gudiyatham, you would never know
tbat World Vision faces opposition. Nearly 20 women leaders of self-help groups presented him witb
a fragrant garland of fiowers. A dozen schoolchildren ages 10 to 15, released from school for luncb,
told him their stories of being sold to moneylenders and tben released from bondageand several
told bim about neighboring children they are now working to release. At one village, nearly tbe entire
population crowded under a tent to tell animated stories of how their lives bad changed since tbey
committed to educating tbeir children rather than sending them to work. Tbe president of one pan-
chayat, or local council, greeted Christian warmly. Everyone we met displayed confidence and delight
in the ebanges in their villages. It was hard to i m ^ n e tbat tbese families were recently selling tbeir
cbildren into servitude. To an outsider, tbey did not seem poor. As the day went on, it beeame clear

38 C H R I S T I A N I T Y T O D A Y pt em be r 2 0 07
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that they no longer seemed poor to themselves, either.
The next day. I sat down with Christian to discuss the
mission principles behind this extraordinary transforma-
tion. We were back in World Vision's national office in
Chennai, but it was clear that Christian's mind was very
much on the people he had met the day before in Gudiy-
atham district.
What was most significant to you about your visit to
Gudiyatham?
This community has lived with child labor for generations.
It was the norm. Yet we saw a community for whom that
same, age-old practice is now seen as a violation of their
rights. That is a huge transforma-
tion. And it happened in less
than ten years.
The credit for that cer-
tainly doesn't go entire-
ly to World Vision and
other NGOs. The gov-
ernment plays an
important role by giv-
ing us legal backing.
even if the implemen-
tation is inconsistent
at times. But what I
heard yesterday was tiot
mostly about the govern-
ment or World Visionthey
used the word we. "We released
seven children from bonded labor last
month." Not "World Vision released." Not "the govern-
ment." We released thetii. That word we represents a huge
success story.
And they have begun to be committed to educationnot
just for boys, but also for girls. That's a rare thing, for a com-
munity that until very recently was stru^Iing with bonded
labor to say girls and boys both deserve education and
oppoitunity.
That must be related to the women's involvement in
self-help groups.
The women we spoke with very clearly communicated this:
"We used to be afraid to walk into a bank. Now we can walk
into any officethe collector's office, the police station, the
bank. Now no one can stop us!" So the linkages are there
with the government, and they can be sustained. Good
development is about creating sustainable linkages. We
have that in place. Now it is nearly time for World Vision to
withdraw from this area.
They are all so confident and enthusiastic. That sense of
hope is such a contrast from the last time 1 visited, many
years ago. The situation has been turned around, and truly
by God's grace, I think. And did you notice that they were
thanking God for their liberation from bondage? It was not
4O C H R I S T I A N I T Y T O D A V I S e p t e m b e r
POWERING DOWN
simply because of some good strategy or some good pro-
gram. God's role in their lives was very evident. I was really
gratefiil to God that they saw God's hand in it.
This is not a model of development where God is absent,
but one where God is involved. It is not making a hero out of
men or women. They were still God-dependent. For an
Indian, that is natural. You don't need to introduce God to
an Indian community. They will naturally speak about God.
But was seeing God in their liberation a theological
shift for these Hindus?
1 don't think it's a theological shift for the average Hindu Indi-
an. For Indians, God is more involved in day-to-day life than
most Western Christians' theolog>^ would allow. The average
Hindu need not be introduced to God in that sense. They need
to be introduced to the name of that GodJesus. I've said
many times that we do not need to break our heads in
We do not trade our
God to buy relationships.
He is too precious
to be bargained for.
He is not for sale.
India convincing any Indian about the existence of
God. The challenge is, "What is the name of this God -.
who is involved with the poor?" Thaf s where Christian ?
distinctivenessand divisivenessis felt. Our privilege in
World Vision is being able to call attention to the name of God \
as Jesus through our live.s, relationships, and actions, not in a
divisive mannei, but in a distinctive manner.
Is there suspicion that your development work is a
subtext for proselytizing?
There is suspicion in certain quarters. But we insist that in
World Vision India, we do not trade our God for development.
We do not trade our God to buy relationships. He is too pre-
cious for us to be bargainii^ with, too precious to be bai^ined
for. He is not for sale.
So proselytizing, conversion through coercive means, is a
non-issue for us. Not just because we respect the people we
serve. That's one part ofthe story. But also because we value
the God we worship.
You respect freedom in both directionsnot just the
freedom of people, but the freedom of God.
Really, how could we treat the gospel as something to be
traded when we believe it should cost our own lives? We
don't manipulate people's vulnerability, people's pain. We
demonstrate our commitment to the gospel. Then it's up to
people to ask the question about our lives.
Even that level of witness has provoked threats from
2 0 0 7
Hindu fundamentalists.
Absolutely. But I wa.s so encouraged by the
attitude among my colleagues that God is in
control. One of them quoted Romans 8:28.
Ever^-thing has worked together for good,
hecause out of the most recent incident of
fundamentalist opposition, there was a
groundswell of support from people from
all quarters, which would not have hap-
pened if the Hindu Rindamentalists had not
di.sturhed the pond in the first place. Our
last governor general, when the British
were leaving, said, "Leave the Christians
alone. If you leave them alone, they will
naturally die out. If you disturb them, you
will have a problem." He was right: The
more we get disturbed, the more we grow.

You seem to think about poverty iess

in terms of prosperity and more in
terms of access.
The word we use is Imkages. Poverty is the
absence of linkages, the absence of con-
nections with others. So we look for
opportunities to link powerless communi-
ties with people with good intentions,
people with good heartsgovernment
officials, health officials, puncfta^'at presi-
dents, headmasters in schoolswho have
an influence in the local area and who
mean good. We work closely with them.
We also work hard on our own link-
ages. Here in India, there are government
officials in very senior positions who are
most willing to design programs that serve
poor communitiesif we can link with
them and help them understand the needs
and opportunities there.

How do you understand the role of

the powerful in developing poor com-
munities?
We need to influence the powerful on
behalf of the poor. That can include chal-
lenging the powerfulraising uncomfort- At Talbot, you'll gain a deeper understgi
ahle questions, and frequently more than
just questions. When the poor are of God's Word, develop Christlike character
oppressed or children are raped or abused,
we have taken a stand with the poor and and learn how to relate the truths of the
helped to put some of these powerful peo-
ple behind bars.
Gospel to the world you seek to impact.
But we also need to remember that the
powerful have a place at the Cross. They
cannot become our enemies. I remind
myself that I have the same elements of
continued on page 42
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Powering Down
continued from page 4 1
fallenness in me that they have. We who
seek to be agents of transformation are in
need of transformation as much as the
poor and the powerful.
The truth is that hoth the powerful
and agents of transformation need to
transform our understanding of power. It
is not enough to simply play the power
game better or more humbly. We need to
come deeply to believe that our basis of
power is not our professionalism or con-
nections or resources. Those are only
tools to be used. The basis for our power
is our dependence on God. If we do not
remember these fundamentals, it is so
easy for us in World Vision to play God
i n the lives of the poor.
What form does 'playing God' take in
mission?
You have to understand that my assump-
tion is that the poor are poor because some-
one else is trying to play God in their lives.
Human beings were designed to submit
their spirit only to the Creator. Any attempt
to take the place ofthe Creator leads to
poverty. I talked about this with the com-
munity yesterday several times, and you
could see heads nodding. Only God can
direct how I should live my life, when my
child should go to work, what my child
should be doing. But others had taken that
role of control in the lives of men, women,
and children in that community.
In the very process of breaking the
human tendency to play God, though, I
can begin to play God. Because I have sim-
ilar power. I have the power to approve or
not approve development programs; I
have the power of connections; I know
people in high places. For the agent of
transformation to refuse to play God
requires great strengtli of character.
So how does one use one's power
without playing God?
We constantly remind ourselves that our
organization is dependent on God. We
might have budgets, strategies, profession-
alism, and sophistication in organizational
practices, but those do not explain our
effectiveness. Our effectiveness is explained
by our dependence on God,
42 C H R I S T I A N I T Y T O D A Y
I remember talking to one of my col-
leagues just three weeks ago. An elderly
Hindu lady in his community came and
handed a small wooden cross to him. She
said, "I have figured out that this is the
secret of your success." She said she had
kept another cross for herself. I thought to
myself. Who told her this? She must have
observed his life. I was so grateful to God
when I heard that.
What are you learning or unlearning
in your work?
One thing I think we are learning is that
we are small players in the transformation
we have been able to see. We cannot
attribute all ofthe changes we have seen
to World Vision. The NGO industry invests
a lot in counting and measuring attribu-
tion. But our experience in thefieldclearly
tells us we are a small piece ofthe picture.
Explaining this to a cause-and-effect-
oriented donor base is a huge challenge.
"You can see change, but did we do it, with
your money? No." [He laughs.] Yes, we did
one plus two, but the results are seven-
foldwe do not know how to communi-
cate tbe mystery of development. How did
the attitude ofthe men in this village
change toward the women in the village?
How do we explain the enthusiasm of a lit-
tle girl named Jeevita, who just a year ago
was making matches every day, who is
now encouraging other girls to come to
school and stay in school? We can't explain
it without the hand of God.
Inevitably, then, we are learning how
much we need to be transformed our-
selves. As mucb as tbe poor are in need of
transformation. World Vision is in need of
real, desperate transformation: in our
understanding of power, our tendency to
play God, our tendency to become the
spectacular "savior." We need to be con-
tinuously confronted with those brutal
facts. It is the transformed quality of our
lives that will ultimately make the differ-
ence. Not our strategies, not our money
we must constantly ask ourselves whether
these tools get in the way of investing our
lives.
So my business as a team leader is to
pray for my colleagues, to provide prayer
cover, to spend time with them, and to
seek that gift of transformation. That is
why my desk is clean; My work is easy.
S e p i e m b e r 2 00 7