The word, “El’azar”, which finds its origin in Hebrew, translates to “God helps” or “My God has helped”. Rooted in the same definition, Eleazer Trust is a non-profit charitable trust which works towards the empowerment and upliftment of the underprivileged sections of our society. It does so by confronting the issue of illiteracy by creating opportunities for children belonging to the disadvantaged sections. These opportunities are provided to the students through financial aid to supplement their academic fees and school supplies.
Eleazer Trust aims at creating a bridge between the privileged and the underprivileged sections of our society. The Trust seeks to enable willing and able individuals reach out to those in need of help of financial aid as well as other basic necessities (books, uniforms, furniture, food, counselling et cetera).
With boundless support from several philanthropic donors and well-wishers, we are presently functioning across four states- Nagaland, Meghalaya, Assam and Manipur -where we provide financial aid to 135 students.
A few words from our founders
“Three hundred rupees a month is exactly how much the tuition cost is in Samzuiram, Nagaland. Let that sink in for a moment. Everyday, we spend an equal amount, or more, on things that we want but may not necessarily need. All of us have heard about poverty, but since it has never been close to home, it never really made an impact in our lives.
When there is an epidemic out there but it does not affect you, that’s when you know that you are privileged. However once this epidemic touches your life, even in the smallest possible way, the gravity of it creates a paradigm shift in your way of thinking. It dawns upon you then that you must do something to bring a change to whatever extent you can.
This is exactly what Eleazer aims to do. Although it our mission to help educate the underprivileged through financial assistance, we want to do more. We aim to help create and move towards a society where each individual has a vocation they can support themselves with.
I would like to extend my gratitude to all the donors who have helped with the initial push to get things moving, and to those who supported us in their prayers and well wishes.”
~Noel Mathiulungbo Chawang
“Growing up, our mom always taught us to give; giving in the form of our tithes, in the form of helping the poor, the hungry or the sick. And God is gracious. He has never left us lacking in anything, in fact, He has given us much more than what we deserve.
In my case, It didn’t always have to be money or materialistic things. God knew what I needed and always provided accordingly. Whether it just some cheering up I needed from an unexpected source when I was feeling low or strength when I did not know how I was suppose to complete a task. I’ve learnt that by giving, you learn to be content with what you have. Also, you start enjoying the little joys that life has to offer. Seeing another person smile because you could help them, brings you a totally different inner happiness.
I’m so excited to be part of Eleazar Trust because I know that God will do wonders with it. I thank all the donors so far who have helped kick-start the journey beautifully. And also to the any helping hands who support the cause. God bless you all. A little bit of love can go a long long way. And it’s never too late.”
~Hannah Chawang
“The Bible calls us to be Christ-like and Christ has always been excellent. Hence we are to be excellent. Growing up, this was one thing I remember my parents constantly telling us – be excellent, be Christlike! This excellence was to be lived out in every sphere of our life, including academics. And I tried my best. I gave my best wherever I could; I was hard working, resilient and by the grace of God, I got into a good university and am now happily working in an area that I am passionate about and using this talent to minister to others in my field.
But a lot of this is not of my own doing; my parents were there to ensure I had a good education, my family was there to push me to excellence and it was God who provided the opportunity and strength to excel. But what about those who don’t have that opportunity? Can we be that medium which God uses to open doors of opportunity for others to excel? This is the thought that first came to mind when my brother mentioned he wanted to start a trust to help the poor who couldn’t afford an education.
Yes God calls us to be excellent. Could that character of excellence also extend to excellence in kindness, excellence in generosity, excellence in caring or even excellence in obedience? And if God opens opportunities for you to excel in these areas, in helping the downtrodden, will we obey? This is the reason why I decided to support the vision of the Eleazer trust. What about you?”
~Sarah Chawang
“I still remember, years ago, a young Noel saying, “Can we do something for these village kids who don’t go to school?” I looked at him, not sure of what to say. I just replied, “Get to College first, then we’ll talk about it.”
Years later, after he entered college in 2015, in my first visit after his enrolment, he mentioned the same thing again. I knew then, that he is serious and as family, we will support this noble cause and take it forward in whatever way we can. If he has a heart for the underprivileged, we need to make sure that it is legal, clean and transparent. The idea of a registering a Trust came and out of the many names that his sister pulled out, he chose “Eleazer”. So, Eleazer it is.
The trust was registered during his summer break, on the 21st of July, 2016. He had hurdles and hiccups but he was determined. The Trust starts functioning officially in 2017, sponsoring the school fees of 75 children from three states: Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur. Yes, we as family, will work for this trust, with God’s help to create a generation of educated youth out of the lonely and helpless. We are so encouraged with the noble souls, the donors, who believe in us and generously contribute their hard earned money for the children whom they haven’t even seen. It’s my prayer that you will be blessed a thousand-fold.
Jesus said in the Bible in Matthew 18:5, ‘And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’ I believe it is truly an honor to welcome Jesus and what better way to do so, by helping one child go to school. Stay blessed.”
~Lily Chawang
