FAVOR, India

A Gap in Faith | United by Love 

Meghalaya — a hilly state where clouds love to reside, where rain in Mawsynram sings through the year, where the Umiam River reflects the sun by day and the moon by night. A matrilineal society, home to the Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo tribes.

Within this breathtaking creation, a silent burden grows — one that raises the death toll year after year. Cancer creeps through the hills, its roots mainly nourished by the widespread use of tobacco and betel nut — habits tied to culture and tradition.

Across the hills, voices speak of loss and struggle. In remote villages, new ways meet old beliefs. Even when care is near, some turn to traditional healers — not out of disbelief in modern medicine, but because of financial hardship and the long, distant journey.

Many avoid the path of screening — not from shame, stigma, or neglect, but out of fear.
Fear of diagnosis.
Fear of judgement.
Fear that no cure exists.
Behind that fear stands denial — a quiet wall keeping people from seeking early diagnosis. But the fear of death invades denial and drives the hidden towards care.
And in that fragile moment, hope breathes — searching for someone who will listen with empathy.

Those who sympathize and empathize rise each morning — to plant, to teach, to heal.
Through education, explanation, compassion, and the simple act of listening longer than required, they build a bridge of trust between community and care.
And then trust inspires the bravest to rise — to travel miles in search of treatment.

Truth plans, cuts, and wounds — then balms the wound to heal.
Faith pushes the warriors forward — to fight and to endure until the end.
Love whispers: “Trust the hands that mould, hold, and care for you — and remember how brave we have been.”

In the hush between rain and mist, faith breathes — unseen, yet alive.
From the silent hills flows a river of love, resuscitating every heart that refuses to give up.

Written by Dr Favour Rubyson Kharnaior