ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
For years, Chayli Hammond worked with the area Christian radio station KJIL and as the area coordinator of the Operation Christmas Child team.
Later, Hammond would work with the faith-based non-profit Teen Reach, and after adopting an international child, she has now taken her works to the Third World in the continent of Asia.
The Southwest Kansas native’s efforts are now being focused on the not-for-profit Agape Asia, which Hammond said serves and changes the lives of vulnerable children across the continent, empowers communities and offers discipleship through its partners.
“It’s amazing to see the changes of kids,” she said.
Specifically, Hammond is working with a community of refugees residing in the country of India where she said some recently experienced their first access to fresh water.
“There’s lots and lots of women and children who have to travel miles to get access to fresh water, and oftentimes, their water sources are polluted, or when the dry season comes, these wells will give these communities access to fresh water,” she said. “We’ve partnered with another organization called Hope and Equip to put water wells in five of the 10 communities. This initiative started by building trust between our partners and local tribal leaders."
Hammond said tribal leaders were extremely hesitant to allow outsiders into their villages, but Agape Asia’s partners’ kindness and persistence won them over.
“As those relationships deepened, we were able to start weekly Children’s Clubs, providing essential care for dozens of at-risk children in three villages,” she said. “These clubs provided education for children unable to attend school, life-saving medical care for several and hope in dark places.”
Hammond said gaining that trust has been quite the slow process.
“They begin by making an effort to connect with the people,” she said. “Not getting that relationship back right away, it was slowly building into the community and seeing how the Gospel has transformed their lives.”
Agape Asia recently wrapped up a fundraiser for a village India called Kiva, and Hammond said one of the organization’s most inspiring partnerships is with a ministry network in India that works among tribal villages there.
According to the World Health Organization, unsafe water and poor sanitation cause more than 800,000 deaths annually, with India bearing a substantial burden.
“Healthier communities mean reduced medical costs and increased productivity, breaking the cycle of poverty,” Hammond said.
Through the recent fundraiser, Agape Asia was able to raise $8,000 toward the Kiva water well project, and Hammond said this was made possible through donations from people across the U.S.
“We’re a Christian-based not-for-profit,” she said. “For people who are wanting to see advancement of the Gospel, these wells will open the doors for the living water to be shared with these communities. Our partners are building relationships with communities that are very hard to break into because of the smallness of their communities and the ruralness of the community we refer to as Kiva.”
Asia is not known as a prominent place for Christians traditionally, but Hammond said Agape Asia is excited to see how God is moving in the continent.
“We have the opportunity to show them the love of Jesus and share the Father’s love, both through child care and discipleship making an impact on their whole community,” she said.
Hammond said Agape Asia exists to share the Father’s love across Asia through care and discipleship of Asia’s most vulnerable populations.
“Though the work looks different in various ministry contexts, the mission is the same,” she said.
For those who want to donate to Agape Asia, they can go to www.agapeasia.org/donate or through mail at Agape Asia, P.O. Box 4211, Chattanooga, TN 37405. Agape Asia likewise has a newsletter, and to sign up for that newsletter, visit www.agapeasia.org/email/.
“We have ways for people to get involved who are not interested or are not able to give financially as a champion for our organization, and those champions are people who agree to pray for the kids and communities we serve and in addition to that are also willing to do things like follow up on Facebook and share with the people they know the work that’s being done,” Hammond said.
