“This is a historical moment because it is quite likely the first time in history that a local Y and a church came together to build a YMCA facility in a third world country,” said David Newman, Pastor of Antioch Church.
The life center will offer many of the same functions as a YMCA, but also serve as a church, a community center, an educational facility and a health clinic, said Mike Carroll, Co0untrside YMCA CEO.
Antioch Church meets in the YMCA every Sunday and has funded a few other life centers, Newman said. This year, the YMCA offered to partner with them on the project.
“In India, the YMCA is really ministering to people and meeting practical needs like providing education and nutrition for kids,” Newman said. “This facility will transform lives. It gives families a safe place to come and meets practical community needs.”
The two organizations contributed a combined total of $8,000 to build the structure. Newman and associate pastor Chris Johnson traveled to Salem for the opening of the facility.
“It’s really an amazing feat,” Carroll said. “We pour the foundation but then the community becomes responsible for building the facility. We plant the seed and they grow the crop.”
Carroll said the building was self-sustaining so it would not need additional funds from the YMCA or Antioch church to continue.
“It’s great because next year, we can build another life center somewhere else where there’s a need for it,” Carroll said.
The life center was important to Countryside YMCA’s board because it met with the organizations need to foster social responsibility and outreach, Carroll said.
“The YMCA’s mission statement is to build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all and we interpret that to reflect contemporary realities,” Carroll said. “The life center reflects the global commitment of the Y to advocate for and promote the rights of women, to uphold the rights of children, and to work in solidarity with the poor.”
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