Because of extreme poverty, children are sold on the streets of Hyderabad, India for $10-15 and used as laborers in fields and factories, prostitutes in brothels, and human sacrifices in Hindu temples. The male/female ratio is off because parents kill their infant daughters rather than face paying a wedding dowry in the future. The Banjara Tribe is particularly vulnerable, as they are considered "untouchables" in the culture, 90% of them are illiterate, and most are born into the debt bondage that has enslaved their ancestors for generations. Banjara Tribal Ministries (BTM) Orphanage began in 1994 when Christopher and Rambai Boda, a Banjara couple, took five abandoned children into their home to feed, educate, and minister to them. Today they care for more than 1950 children, and they turn away hundreds each year. Banjara Tribal Ministries is working to pull their entire tribe out of their desperate conditions by rescuing, loving, educating, and training thousands of youth to change their world.

Lifeblood is a student group at Bryan College in Dayton, TN that has partnered with Banjara Tribal Ministries and ZLB Plasma Services in Chattanooga, TN to provide financial support for as many orphans as possible. It costs $25 to provide food, clothing, education, safety, and discipleship for a child at the BTM orphanage. Lifeblood transports students donate blood plasma at ZLB Plasma, ZLB reimburses the students, and Lifeblood sends the money to India. 1 BLOOD plasma donation = $25 = 1 month of LIFE That's Lifeblood. We encourage and empower students to make a difference around the world RIGHT NOW while they are still broke, and we help them form a lifelong habit of sacrificial giving.

Go to our website and contact us for ideas on how to start Lifeblood at your own school or community.