Azariah started his ministry 1953 in the poor rural town of Khammam, teaching of God's love through Jesus Christ. Believing that evangelism consists of not just telling others of God's love for them, but also exhibiting that love, Azariah started the Christian Service Unit to help the poorest of the poor in the Khammam district. Today, with support from FOCI and several other organizations, the Christian Service Unit serves 400 villages, in which they have built 103 churches and provide nearly every kind of social service.

Child Care Ministry

530 orphaned or disadvantaged children are under the care of The Christian Service Unit, supported by FOCI. 160 of these children are in a hostel on Gollapudi ...

and 110 in a hostel in Nandigama. Both of these villages are in the Khammam district.

New in 2002 is a hostel supported by FOCI in the village of Suryapet. This hostel was started by a woman who wanted to rescue child laborers who were basically living in the streets and working at ages 5-10 for a living. The hostel provides living accommodations and food and sends the children to a nearby government school

Other children, of which there are 260, are living at home but receive financial support in order to be able to stay in school and receive proper nutrition and care, which their families are too poor to provide.

Care For The Elderly

FOCI supports the Faith Home for the Elderly in the village of Gollapudi. Many elderly, and most particularly widows, are left without support in Indian society. The Faith Home for the Elderly provides shelter, food and a warm welcoming community for the 22 people living there.

Church Building And Ministry

FOCI has funded the construction of 14 churches in the Khammam district and provides funds to support the ministers at each. CSU, with other financial support, has built a total of 103 churches.

More than 5,000 people have been baptized.

CSU opened the Asian School of Evangelism in Khammam in the mid-1980's, to train ministers. In a new building completed in 1999, 12 young people completed their training in 2005 and will go to new churches to work as pastors.

A new church in the village of Singaram, funded by
FOCI, was dedicated in January, 2006 in memory
of Greenfield Hill Church member Cecil Semple’s
sister.

Mentally Handicapped

FOCI supports two centers:

• The Khammam Center for Mentally Handicapped
• The Madhira Center for Mentally Handicapped.

Historically, mentally handicapped children in India are not cared for in an institutional setting and no services are provided within the educational system. Such children are kept at home, often alone, while parents work.

The Madhira Center was started by Dr. Vasanthamma, a physician whose son was born mentally handicapped. Madhira is a town in the Khammam district. This center now has 20 resident children and 50 day children and is a beautiful facility receiving some government support. (Dr. Vasanthamma died in 2004 and the center is now run by her daughter and staff).





The Khammam center cares for 160 children who attend on a daily basis. It receives no government support but was given a building by the government several years ago. It is run by a lady who felt called to provide this kind of care to mentally handicapped children.

Medical Assistance

In India, government-provided medical programs are insufficient to meet the needs of the enormous population, and too often medical care is available only to those who can pay for it. FOCI has helped to meet the need for decent medical care for those in need in the Khammam region, through the following:




FOCI has helped support the redevelopment of St. Mary’s Hospital, a 100 year old mission hospital serving the poor of Khammam district. We have helped recruit new doctors, train nurses and improve the facilities.









We support a rural village mobile clinic, which visits rural villages providing primary medical care. Cases requiring hospitalization are then referred to St. Mary’s.

FOCI funds help pay for medical care for the poor, either at St. Mary’s or, if necessary, at other hospitals in Khammam.

FOCI sponsors medical missions and free surgical camps at St. Mary’s.
In January 2006 a medical team of 11 people provided 106 free surgeries in a surgical camp and also saw over 1500 patients in a medical/cardiology clinic.
Drs. George Longstreth and Frank Scarpa conducted surgeries, assisted by nursing staff and aides from the US. Dr. Stuart Zarich led the medical/cardiology clinic.

Micro Loan Program

FOCI funds a micro-loan program which enables women to start small income producing businesses to support their families. Hundreds of women have been able to start or sustain businesses such as dress making, operating small variety stores and teashops, and selling vegetables. Loans are typically for amounts of $50-$100 dollars.

Bore Wells

FOCI has drilled 32 bore wells, providing rural people with access to potable water. Clean drinking water is particularly crucial to the health of young children. It has been shown that infant mortality rates drop significantly just from the introduction of clean water to a community.

Leprosy Village

Leprosy still afflicts people in rural India and generally they must beg for support as they are unable to work due to their disabling disfigurement. FOCI helped fund the construction of a village of over 200 people for lepers and their immediate families in Khammam, to enable these families to have a permanent home and a supportive community. FOCI provides monthly food stipends to each family in the village.

Food For The Poor

In Bornikal and Gollapudi, both villages in the Khammam district, FOCI funds feeding programs to support the elderly. These individuals are provided with two hot meals per day.

In Bornikal approximately 50 people are fed

In Gollapudi, approximately 30 people are fed