“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27
This photo shows the beginning of construction on the widows home property around 2005. This (now completed) is the administrative building while the home itself is be much larger and built on the large area shown in the property photos.
The widows home is located in Sarnath, just outside of Varanasi. Varanasi is one of India’s most holy cities. Thousands of pilgrims come to this city to bathe in the river Ganges, to wash away their sins. The belief is that if you die in this city, you will go straight to heaven. This is one of the reasons why so many widows are here.
Another reason is that many of those who come here on pilgrimage leave their widows behind, so that they don’t have to take care of them anymore. Because of this the city is filled with widows living on the streets, having no one to care for them. There is an estimated 10,000 of them. They earn a living by begging, working as “maids” or by prostitution.
Some widows have lost their sanity due to the desperate situation they are in. Consequently, the city is defiling itself, because it is not doing the will of God. He wants us to take care of the widows, so they can lead peaceful lives.
Our vision is to help these widows. We are housing widows who are in desperate circumstances, and providing for them and their children often accompany them. We are working to equip them with skills so that they can earn a decent income and experience the hope that they never had. This will take time. We need a lot of staff, finances and knowledge.
For more up to date information on the Widows home, please visit the main website:
www.widows-varanasi.info
Widows Home & Surrounding Area - Photos
Poor widows of Varanasi
Widows Home – Property (2003 photos)
Widows Home property and construction – March 2005 (part 2)
Widows Home property and construction – March 2005 (part 1)
Widows Home construction – dirt transport work - March 2005 (part 1)
Widows Home construction – dirt transport work - March 2005 (part 2)
Sarnath Photo Tour Links
Photos of Sarnath Town & Zoo
Sarnath Ancient Ruins
Dhamekh Stupa by the ruins
Varanasi Photo Tour Links
Varanasi (Old City) Traffic & People
More Varanasi old city photos
Narrow Alleyways in the Old City of Varanasi
Varanasi Bathing Ghats on the Ganges River (part 1)
Varanasi Bathing Ghats on the Ganges River (part 2)
Photos of Flooding in Varanasi by the Ganges River
Sales of Hindu Idols in Varanasi
Sadhus on the Ghats
Water Buffalo bathing at the Ghats
Varanasi Cantonment Area
Main Staines Widows Home website
