Odisha, India
Luke Society Odisha
The Luke Society Odisha is a holistic ministry, which includes: teaching community health, healing the sick and exemplifying the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Rev. Prem and Dr. Pushpa Rout are a part of a five-employee team that helps teach basic health practices and provides encouragement to a number of remote Indian villages.
“We teach the underserved villages to practice good hygiene and to take precautions to remain protected from commonly communicable disease,” Dr. Pushpa said.
Healthy hygienic practices are taught repeatedly, including the use of disinfectants, sanitizers, safe drinking water and immunizations. They also regularly provide mosquito nets to protect villagers from tropical diseases like malaria and dengue.
While they are not permitted to preach directly, they display their Christian faith through loving health care, behavior, prayers and living their lives as testimonies for Jesus Christ.
Dr. Pushpa and Rev. Prem Rout
About the ministry:
Name: Luke Society Odisha
Location: Odisha, India
Directors: Rev. Prem and Dr. Pushpa Rout
Partnership: 2000-present
Staff: 6
Alumni PMT: Dr. Alex and Sandee De Jong; Marty Ozinga.
Our mission:
“Our mission is to follow the Lord’s calling through our medical care to the ignorant, sick and sufferers — regardless of cast and creeds — at remote villages in our regions. We desire to touch the lives of people, offering physical healing but also bringing them into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ the Savior.”
Why We love being directors:
“We love building relationships with the ignorant, simple villagers and watching them grow in their faith. We also enjoy being a witness to our community through evangelism and seeing the Lord’s kingdom grow among these non-Christian villagers in the dark in our region.”
About India:
Population: 1.3 billion
Size: 3.3 million sq. km, or about one-third the size of the United States.
Capital: New Delhi
Borders: Pakistan to the northwest; China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh to the north; Indian Ocean to the south.
Religious groups: Hindu, 79.8%; Muslim, 14.2%; Christian, 2.3%
Primary language: Hindi
Literacy (age 15+): 74.4%
Physician density: 0.86 doctors per 1,000 people.
Population below international poverty line: 29.9%
Life expectancy: 70.0 years
Infant mortality rate: 39.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Major exports: Petroleum products, precious stones, vehicles, metals; pharmaceutical products.
Climate: Varies from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north.
Terrain: Upland plains in the south; flat to rolling plains along the Ganges River; deserts in the west; Himalayan mountains in the north.
