"We are committed to feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison, providing clean water and showing the love and compassion of Jesus Christ."
Where it all began......
Haven Home was started by an Indian Christian couple, Benjibab and Krupa Yelchuri. In 1996, Krupa needed some surgery and, whilst on the operating table she heard Jesus who told her to 'take care of orphans and the needy'. Once she recovered, Krupa, Benjibab, and their four children did as they were instructed. They took in some orphans to their home but were unable to meet a growing demand.
Friends in England raised funds which enabled them to purchase some cheap land with no access road. They tried on numerous occasions to negotiate with people in the village to sell them land for access. They refused them because the village head man had told them not to sell the land. Benjibab and Krupa prayed and fasted and, eventually Krupa confronted the head man and explained that they wanted to build a children's home for the needy and a school. The head man relented and asked farmers to clear the land for access.
Thanks to supporters in England, Benjibab and Krupa were able to build two dormitories - one for boys and one for girls. They sank bore wells so that the children could have clean water for the first time in their lives. Haven Home was born.
Since buting the land, Benjibab, Krupa, and their family had nowhere to live themselves, so they were staying in a run down building on the site. Some money was donated specifically to build them a house on the site, which is now the family home and regularly used to accommodate visitors.
Initially, the dormitories doubled as classrooms during the day, with the children sleeping on the floor at night. A homeless lady, named Martha, was recruited to do the cooking for the children, and she is still there today, cooking for the children using a specially made industrial-sized pressure cooker on a wood fire outside.
Benjibab was given a return air ticket to the UK so that he could encourage others to become sponsors. As a result, teams from England began to visit at their own expense to help in any way they could. This led to some great leaps forward; as wood gets eaten by termites, metal play equipment was designed and built - something the children (and adults!) were amazed by as they had not seen anything like it before. Next, funding was given to build bunk beds as the children were being bitten by snakes. This meant that the children has to be taught in the open air. This was not good due to both the heat and the monsoons. Funding from people in England raised enough money to build and equip a seven classroom school and provide the children with school uniforms. The school has gone on to achieve great academic results. Being educated means that the children, and their subsequent families, can be lifted out of poverty. For those children who are not academic, they have the ability to learn to sow and be provided with a sowing machine so that they can earn a living in the village.
More recently, a medical centre and church has been built, again funded by donors from the UK. This is used both by the children and villagers from the surrounding area. The 'oasis' that is Haven Home is now surrounded by a boundary wall that keeps the children safe from snakes and the threat of abduction for their body parts. The latest work has been to turn three storerooms into additional classrooms, and to build a staff room.
These days, with Benjibab not enjoying good health, he and Krupa are taking more of a back seat role with the day to day running of Haven Home, with much of the work now being carried out by one of their sons, Prasant, and his wife Grace. The Yelchuri family continue to honour God through their work and the blessings keep coming in answer to their prayers. A visitor to Haven Home once described Haven Home as 'the nearest thing to Heaven on earth', and, anyone visiting, cannot fail to be touched by the love poured out by this family in the name of Jesus Christ.
Read Benjibab's amazing story in his own words...
Where it all began......
Haven Home was started by an Indian Christian couple, Benjibab and Krupa Yelchuri. In 1996, Krupa needed some surgery and, whilst on the operating table she heard Jesus who told her to 'take care of orphans and the needy'. Once she recovered, Krupa, Benjibab, and their four children did as they were instructed. They took in some orphans to their home but were unable to meet a growing demand.
Friends in England raised funds which enabled them to purchase some cheap land with no access road. They tried on numerous occasions to negotiate with people in the village to sell them land for access. They refused them because the village head man had told them not to sell the land. Benjibab and Krupa prayed and fasted and, eventually Krupa confronted the head man and explained that they wanted to build a children's home for the needy and a school. The head man relented and asked farmers to clear the land for access.
Thanks to supporters in England, Benjibab and Krupa were able to build two dormitories - one for boys and one for girls. They sank bore wells so that the children could have clean water for the first time in their lives. Haven Home was born.
Since buting the land, Benjibab, Krupa, and their family had nowhere to live themselves, so they were staying in a run down building on the site. Some money was donated specifically to build them a house on the site, which is now the family home and regularly used to accommodate visitors.
Initially, the dormitories doubled as classrooms during the day, with the children sleeping on the floor at night. A homeless lady, named Martha, was recruited to do the cooking for the children, and she is still there today, cooking for the children using a specially made industrial-sized pressure cooker on a wood fire outside.
Benjibab was given a return air ticket to the UK so that he could encourage others to become sponsors. As a result, teams from England began to visit at their own expense to help in any way they could. This led to some great leaps forward; as wood gets eaten by termites, metal play equipment was designed and built - something the children (and adults!) were amazed by as they had not seen anything like it before. Next, funding was given to build bunk beds as the children were being bitten by snakes. This meant that the children has to be taught in the open air. This was not good due to both the heat and the monsoons. Funding from people in England raised enough money to build and equip a seven classroom school and provide the children with school uniforms. The school has gone on to achieve great academic results. Being educated means that the children, and their subsequent families, can be lifted out of poverty. For those children who are not academic, they have the ability to learn to sow and be provided with a sowing machine so that they can earn a living in the village.
More recently, a medical centre and church has been built, again funded by donors from the UK. This is used both by the children and villagers from the surrounding area. The 'oasis' that is Haven Home is now surrounded by a boundary wall that keeps the children safe from snakes and the threat of abduction for their body parts. The latest work has been to turn three storerooms into additional classrooms, and to build a staff room.
These days, with Benjibab not enjoying good health, he and Krupa are taking more of a back seat role with the day to day running of Haven Home, with much of the work now being carried out by one of their sons, Prasant, and his wife Grace. The Yelchuri family continue to honour God through their work and the blessings keep coming in answer to their prayers. A visitor to Haven Home once described Haven Home as 'the nearest thing to Heaven on earth', and, anyone visiting, cannot fail to be touched by the love poured out by this family in the name of Jesus Christ.
Read Benjibab's amazing story in his own words...
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