When John Peter Kirubagaran, a salesman with a paint company, met with an accident and survived he pledged to devote his life to serve the people of India and to bring about social awareness and transformation. Thus United Evangelical Mission came into existence on 23 April 1988.
India has a population of over 1.3 billion people in 29 states and seven union territories. India occupies only 2.4% of the world’s land area but it supports over 16% of the world’s population. It is the world’s youngest nation with 70% of the population is below 35 years of age. There are 234 languages in India, each of which is spoken by at least 10,000 people. Constitutionally there are 22 official languages. India has the largest English speaking population in the world. 70% live in 550,000 villages. 400 million people are middle class who are the basis for public opinion that influences government decisions. There are nearly 150 mega people groups with a population of more than one million.
The mission of UEM is to raise awareness through advocacy. UEM engages in caring for people and to bring about a transformation among India’s needy. We care for the poor and destitute and empower people to transform their families and communities. The approach is to reach one individual, one family and one community at a time.
The vision is to empower the grassroots and to bring about a holistic transformation among the uncared communities in a given geographic area through the Community, Children and women empowerment programs. These services are provided to all sections of the society irrespective of caste, creed, language, religion and socio – economic conditions.
UEM as an organization is committed to empower the grassroots in the socio and economic areas with the passion to bring about a holistic transformation among the unreached and neglected communities in a given geographic area.
Records show that every 26 minutes a woman is molested, every 34 minutes a rape takes place, every 42 minutes a sexual harassment incident occurs, every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped, every 93 minutes a woman is burnt to death over dowry. 44.5% of girls are married before the age of 18. 40% of married women suffer physical abuse every day. Female foeticide; infanticide and human trafficking are rampant.
The Need for Education in India
The children of today are the future of tomorrow. This statement assumes special significance in Indian context as children between the age group of 0-14 years comprise 1/3rd of the total population in India. This means close to 400 million of India are children, the largest number for any country in the world. 18 million street children scavenge for food in the garbage every day. Many children do not go home in the evenings
