In 2012 ADI continued to grow and expand our ministry in Odisha state to care for families affected by riots in 2008.

One of the highlights of our work in India last year was establishing an exciting new project, the Dorcas Centre for widows. The Dorcas Centre will be a boarding house and training facility for widows who have lost their husbands and homes through violence.  There is a tremendous need for this facility. Many of the women who will benefit from the centre only have a primary level education and have had great difficulty obtaining employment. One of the few jobs available is gruelling manual labour breaking rocks apart on dirt roads. In return, they may earn less than $1 a day. The Dorcas Centre will have the capacity to support 12 women (and their children) at a time, providing them with a home where they can complete a sewing and tailoring training program. When they graduate, they will receive a sewing machine from ADI and assistance to start a micro-business in their community.

The centre will have beds, a kitchen, a training room with 12 sewing machines, and a medical centre operated full time by a qualified nurse. Women will have the opportunity to form close friendships with one another as they live and study together. The facility is currently under construction and is due for completion in 2013.