{"id":65,"date":"2026-05-28T08:06:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T08:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/?page_id=65"},"modified":"2026-05-28T08:08:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T08:08:36","slug":"ashram-mission","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/?page_id=65","title":{"rendered":"Ashram Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Ashram was founded in 1995 by Pastor Jacob Park, beginning as a small children’s shelter with a clear mission to serve vulnerable children. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

Over the next 30 years, more than 500 young lives were nurtured, including trafficked children, abandoned children, and those with no safe place to go. Pastor Jacob believed that every child deserved more than survival. His work focused on restoring dignity through care, education, and values, equipping them with the skills and character needed to grow into independent adults and break free from cycles of poverty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, this mission faced severe disruptions as the Ashram came under intense scrutiny amidst growing local religious sensitivities and conflicts. Accusations regarding institutional practices, including claims surrounding the teaching of Christian values and allegations of forced conversions, led to a prolonged legal and bureaucratic battle. Pastor Jacob was faced with an impossible choice: to leave or to stand firm for truth. He chose to fight.

For over three years, he was held under house arrest. During that time, he witnessed his life\u2019s work being stripped away. The orphanage was shut down, and children were transferred to state correction centers, a direct consequence of the escalating friction over the ministry’s religious foundation. In the silence of those years, especially during the COVID period from 2020 to 2023, Pastor Jacob turned to prayer. In that season of loss, he received a renewed calling that his work was not yet finished. But this next chapter is not built on calling alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Many of the children who once grew up under Ashram\u2019s care have returned. Today, some stand alongside Pastor Jacob as staff, mentors, and supporters, carrying forward the same mission that once shaped their lives.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Ashram is now preparing for its next chapter as a vocational school, designed to equip vulnerable young adults with practical skills, discipline, and a pathway toward dignified employment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we take this step forward, we are building this foundation intentionally, through partnerships with those who believe in creating lasting change.

This is an opportunity to shape a mission that not only restores lives but also prevents future vulnerability.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ashram was founded in 1995 by Pastor Jacob Park, beginning as a small children’s shelter with a clear mission to serve vulnerable children. Over the next 30 years, more than 500 young lives were nurtured, including trafficked children, abandoned children, and those with no safe place to go. Pastor Jacob believed that every child deserved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-65","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76,"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65\/revisions\/76"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opengrantsfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}