This carpenter was given the tools to rebuild his life
After a landslide in India wiped out a carpenter’s enter livelihood, Tearfund provided him a long-term solution: a new set of tools.
The pounding rain hammered louder and louder against the tin roof.
The monsoon season had been particularly rough this year in southern India, but today felt different. Not willing to risk any chances, Usman fled with his wife, pregnant daughter, and two other children to a relative’s house in a nearby village. They couldn’t carry much with them through the downpour and sludge. They only hoped and prayed that they would make it to the other end safely. When they arrived, they were drenched, exhausted, and unsure. Had they put their wellbeing at risk without reason?
Only hours later did a landslide rush into the village they just were, taking their house, land, and the lives of their neighbours.
“If we had stayed, we wouldn’t have survived,” Usman said, barely a whisper.
For years, 48-year-old Usman had been the village carpenter, finding joy in helping people and crafting with his hands. Life was steady: he had a sturdy home, strong community ties, regular work, and was looking forward to becoming a grandfather.
But after the landslide wiped out everything he had ever known, he and his family were forced to move to a relief camp for a month. Then, the government relocated him and his family to a village a few kilometres north in a small rented house.
In the span of one month, Usman’s world had been completely flipped upside down. Now, he and his family lived in an unfamiliar village, with unfamiliar faces, and none of their belongings. They were forced to completely restart. Without tools or connections, his love of carpentry might as well have been washed away by the landslide, too.
Then, one of Tearfund’s local partners, EFICOR, stepped in to help through the local church. Knowing Usman was a carpenter, they wanted to help him get back on his feet the best way he knew how. They offered emergency relief for his family, but not in the form of food or other short-term aid—no, they gave him tools: a drilling machine and an aluminum cutter. These gifts allowed him to get back into his profession.
With these in his hands, Usman could once again support and provide for his family. These tools not only restored his livelihood, but also gave him a renewed hope and dignity. He was not just given necessary provisions, but was enabled to sustainably acquire his own. Even after loss, God can make all things new.
Now, piece by piece, nail by nail, Usman is rebuilding his life.
Tearfund works to equip people to lift themselves out of poverty in the best way they know how, by providing long-term solutions: tools, equipment, or other materials for people to build up their own livelihood.
We want to see lives transformed through the love of God, demonstrated through practical, long-term solutions. Do you want to join us in making God’s love tangible to those in poverty?