One of the most-well known miracles of the Bible is Jesus’ healing of the leper. A man approaches Jesus and says, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean?” Jesus touches the man and the man is cured of his leprosy.
In India, lepers are shunned and kept clustered in remote colonies. They survive mostly by begging.
Hopewallah -- meaning “one who provides hope” -- seeks to be a modern-day miracle for the leper colonies of Hyderabad.
St. Christopher’s parishioner Dr. Andy Babbali leads an annual medical mission. In doing so, Andy follows the example of his late father, Prabhudass Babbili, who served as Bishop of the Karimnagar Diocese of the Church of South India.
During his lifetime, Andy’s father would walk or bicycle to spread the Gospel to the area’s remote leper colonies. He raised funds to build a small church, permanent housing, shelters, a nursery school and a medical clinic.
The nonprofit, founded in 2007, continues his father’s legacy. It supports a small church, kindergarten, primary school and a lunch program. Andy wants to eventually build a modern clinic and hospital and to employ a permanent medical staff.
Hopewallah holds an annual charity fundraiser at St. Christopher’s to raise money to help carry out its life-saving work. For more about how you can help, click here, http://www.hopewallah.org