The fishermen's village is located on the East Coast Road of Chennai. Of the 500 families living in the village, 95 % of them are fishermen. Women in the village sell fish house-to-house. Since the mother is at work, many of the elder girls cannot attend school and are at home caring for the house and younger children. Most of the men are alcoholics and gamblers. The people are very harsh and proud. It was hard for us in the beginning; there was a lot of opposition. We continue to have problems with anti-Christian elements in the village but in the midst of all this God is doing great things there.

In 1999 we started this ministry. We saw so many children in the village who were school dropouts, so we started a tuition program to enable them to continue in school. It began with four children and now we have 85 children coming regularly. Children are very important members in the community but also the most neglected group in the fishermen's community. Most of the parents are not willing to send their children to school. This is mostly due to low family income and education does not hold a high priority. Therefore we provide free tuition every evening from 4 to 7. We also provide school bags and books for them. This has helped the children tremendously and now every year 90% of them pass in their exams. To develop their skills we conduct regular competitions in oration, essay writing, drawing etc. The parents are happy about what we are doing. Through the tuition centre we are building relationship with the parents and now we have many opportunities to visit them in their homes. When we started the ministry there was only one Christian in the community. We started 5 cell groups in the village, and now a local church oversees that ministry. Around 50 people from the community are now going to church. Besides the tuition centre, we also conduct VBS and Sunday school.

The Fishermen Village's Church
Through the various community projects we do in the fisherman's village we have been able to start a church that gathers together every week and is strengthening the lives of the believers who have put their faith in the Lord. This is located in the Besant Nagar Fisherman's village.

Through the church we want to see the long term work of the fishermen colony become established. These believers living in the fishermen village make the best witness and provide the best opportunities to see other fishermen touched by the love of Jesus Christ. We are partnering with a local church called Powerhouse and IID.

Gypsie Ministry
The gypsies can be found in many different places all over Chennai. In one of these places they did not have any shelter but stayed out in the open, hiding from the sun in the shade of trees. Just recently the government provided them with small huts in an area called Mahabalipuram. To provide for their families many of the gypsies collect garbage and recycle whatever they can. Their income is meager to say the least. Others make simple handicraft that they are trying to sell, while still others hunt birds and cats for food. Most of the gypsies worship Kali - the goddess of death. They dress like tribals and the men grow their hair and beards very long. Many of them are alcoholics and their lives are tough. Most of the gypsy children do not have the possibilty to go to school, so they work alongside their parents.
 
YWAM Fishermen's Ministry has a burden to reach out to these people. Currently we minister in two areas - Mahabalipuram and Thiruvanmiyur. In both places we have established prayer groups, and in Mahabalipuram we also hold special meetings for the children. We have tried to help supply each needy family with 5 kg rice. This is something that we would like to do regularly, but for this we would need extra donations.

Mission Statement:
Our purpose is to reach out to the fishermen & the gypsies through meeting their physical, mental and spiritual needs and to bring them to knowledge of Jesus Christ and establish a relationship with Him through a church plant in each community where we work.