Location: Nepal
Our Mission ONE partner is working together with the local government to help the indigenous “Cave People” community pursue better lives by building homes, establishing a local economy through a goat livelihood program, and equipping the local church in discipleship trainings.
The Chepang people are an indigenous tribe of about 175 families that live in south-central Nepal. Better known as the “Cave People,” the Chepang community has been homeless for generations, getting their nickname from carving caves in the hillsides for shelter. The Cave People exist at the bottom of the caste system, which still dominates the social fabric in Nepal and is directly correlated to the ability to receive quality jobs and access social services. As a result, the Chepang people live in extreme poverty and are no stranger to sickness, hunger, and hopelessness.
THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION
Mission ONE partners have been serving the Chepang people since 2008 through planting a small church, meeting basic needs, and relocating the Cave People from their caves to livable huts in a small village within the Nepalese jungle. In 2020, during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, their village was unexpectedly wiped out by a flood. The Cave People were displaced and desperately trying to live off of the land in the dangerous jungle without any shelter. Together with our local partners, we helped establish a new village for the Chepang people and also created a farming and goat livelihood program with the aim of allowing them to provide for themselves long-term.
OUR PLAN
After the new village was established, our partner worked side by side with community leaders to launch a livelihood program for the Chepang people to breed and raise their own goats. Goats are in high demand in Nepal for their meat and milk and can be sold at the nearby market for a substantial sum. Our plan is for each partnering family to receive two goats to breed and distribute to other families. In addition, our partner will walk the local church through a five-step discipleship process over the course of a year, covering modules on effective evangelism, discipleship, leadership, women and children, and studying the Bible.
The next phase of this project will be to start a large farm for the village to grow their own food so they don’t have to rely on outside resources in their remote location.
DESIRED IMPACT
The impact of the Christian community has already been deeply felt throughout this village. People are coming to Christ as they see the Lord work and move through his people. Since Mission ONE’s involvement, a second church has been planted on the outskirts of the village, where the majority of the people who live there have not been reached by or connected to the local church.
In addition, our partner intentionally and strategically invited the Nepalese government to witness the work we are doing with the Cave People. While the government is notoriously anti-Christian, God has moved the hearts of the government officials as they were inspired by our efforts to empower the Cave People to be more locally sustained. This ultimately led to the government officially recognizing the Cave People as a legal municipality within their region. They have since started making a road to the village, and even funded the construction of homes and a church building. The government is now also invested in the long-term development of the village.
The hope is that God would continue to bless this holistic ministry to the Cave People so that their village can be locally sustained through the farm, the local church would continue to grow, and that this ministry model can be eventually extended to other Nepalese communities in need.
MEASURABLE GOALS
01.
Within six months, excess goats will be sold to outside markets for families to begin making a profit.
02.
By 2023, our partners in Nepal will begin training more pastors in other communities.
OUR IMPACT
- 125 families received two goats each.
- A system of cooperative goat husbandry is operating.
- 75 families are now church members.
- Two local pastors are trained and are currently running the church.