Faith Features

Anita Edgar has really made a difference to countless lives.

She was born in Plymouth, and is now a resident of Kingsteignton, but she has a huge family thousands of miles away.

It was during a sunshine holiday to India that she received a calling to change other people's lives for the better.

Abandoning plans to retire following her nursing career, she co-founded a charity to rescue street children, and over 13 years later, she's busier than ever.

Anita with one of her children

"I've done quite a bit in my life," said Anita, with characteristic modesty.

"I was a trained nurse. I've also got a license to drive buses and lorries, I had a riding school, and I was the first lady in this country to qualify to shoe horses."

Her nursing career took her to Romania, Albania and Bosnia, where she drove aid trucks.

At the age of 50 she was planning to wind down from that, and went to Goa for a relaxing break with her daughter.

But when she saw what was outside the hotel window, she knew there would be no resting for quite some time.

"I saw little children that had been abandoned, living on their own under plastic sheeting.

"It was that moment I knew I was in India for a reason.

Anita surrounded by children

"I like to pray in the morning, and on the third day, God gave me a vision to open homes for these street children."

That's easier said than done. God sent help though, when Anita went to the beach and met a young man selling lemonade.

"He was reading an NIV study Bible in English, just like mine, and we got talking.

"He was a Christian. He took me to his church that Sunday and I met the pastor, Matthew Kurian, who said it was nice to have a foreigner visiting, and asked me to speak to the congregation. So I shared the vision I'd had.

"The pastor was crying. He said God had given him a vision two years before that someone from England was going to come and open homes for street children."

Matthew Kurian was already working in the slums, but didn't have the money to solve the problems. "Don't worry about that," said Anita, "I will raise the money."

Since then she has toured the world spreading her concern for the social problems in India that see children ending up on the streets.

Anita provides a chance to learn

The reasons why they are homeless are many and varied, but always shocking.

Unwanted girls are abandoned, simply for being girls.

Diseased children are often left to die. Anita has given them a home, and the option to learn and live happily.

"It usually goes back to the Caste system," she explained.

"If they're born at the bottom of the ladder, it means that they've done something wrong in a former life in their religion.

"As Christians we know that's wrong. Local people don't want to help them; they say they're doing a penance. As God's people we have to help them, we're obliged to."

The charity El Shaddai - which means Lord of Comfort, Provider of All - plays a difficult balancing act.

One of El Shaddai's classrooms

They must marry Christian values and the luxury Western facilities with the reality of where the children came from, and will go back to.

"The children in our care all have the Accelerated Christian Education.

"They are taught proper manners. They have running water, television, electricity and so on, but it's important that they know their roots."

Theirs is the first Christian charity in India to be commended officially by the authorities.

"We won the Child Welfare award," said Anita. "Matthew, his wife Julia and I went up to Delhi, and Sonia Gandhi presented the award to Matthew.

"We're very proud that we've reached this far as a Christian charity."

Anita is available to speak about her work, and the charity has a new UK office at the Manor House in Holsworthy.

There is also further information on their official website, which you can access from the link below.