El Shaddai

Ref: DIR13

Type : General

Contact: Email El Shaddai in Goa

When grandmother Anita Edgar took a last minute holiday to India in December 1996, she never dreamt it would change her life so dramatically.

She went on holiday to recover from long hours at work nursing and seventeen journeys driving aid trucks to Albania, Romania and Bosnia.

Three days into her holiday Anita, from Devon, England, was horrified to see hundreds of deprived children, some begging, some rag picking or forced to collect rubbish for recycling just to survive. They had no birth certificates and so were denied education and healthcare, inevitably facing a grim future.

She said,"The poverty really shocked me. I felt I had to do something.”

While praying one morning God gave her a vision to open Homes for deprived children and orphans. Later she met a young Christian on the beach who introduced her to the Faith Community Church and their Pastor, Matthew Kurian. He had started to help the slum children in the area two years previously. Anita proved to be his missing, God given link. Together they set up the El-Shaddai Charitable Trust. This Trust is now an International Registered Charity.

Anita returned to England and set about raising funds for a Children's Home. At first the reaction was disappointing but soon her prayers answered. As the funds started coming in, Anita returned to Goa and set up a school and health clinics in the slums. A search was soon underway for a suitable property for the first Children’s Home.

Anita, Pastor Matthew with his wife Julia worked tirelessly to start the Charity. Anita eventually gave up her home and job in the UK and lives with Matthew and Julia in Goa for seven months every year.

The remaining months she embarks on extensive and exhausting fundraising tours around the UK, Europe and USA. With her Power Point Presentations, video and a huge amount of enthusiasm she presents the Charity to anyone inclined to listen. She is always looking for new venues!