photo: A Chamar woman collects
a basket of dung that she will
form into patties to use for fuel.
Of the approximately 4,000 people groups in
India today, 500 of these are classified as the least
reached. The Evangelical Church of India (ECI), the
OMS-related denomination, has been sending Indian
Missionary Movement (IMM) missionaries into many of
these least-reached groups since 1974. An initial goal was to
reach the Malto tribe in a northern region now known as Jharkhand. All of the first
missionaries to the Maltos died of malaria, but not before they spread the Gospel.
More than 50,000 Maltos responded, and hundreds of churches and a Bible school
now prepare these believers for ministry.
The Maltos are one of the 27 least-reached groups that ECI has reached. Another is the Chamar people who live primarily in the north of India. With a population
of more than 53 million, they are among the largest communities of Dalits (untouchables). They are relegated to the lowest level of Indian society as day laborers in
agriculture and leather workers. The latter requires them to skin the carcasses of
dead cows and to collect dung for fuel. ECI has been workin