The Chai 3:16 Story
‘Chai‘ (pronounced Hai ) stands for Life in Hebrew and 316 refers to ‘John 3: 16’, the most popular Bible verse that speaks about ‘Eternal Life.’ There are 808 million young people below the age of 35 in India. Sadly, Bengaluru ( where Chai 3:16 is located), has been the suicide capital of India for quite sometime.
One of the main reasons is because of the educational and parental pressures. Most of the time the value of the child in our culture is based on their academic report, hence these days a lot them are not able to keep up to the expectations of their families, resulting in suicidal tendencies. We hardly have any counseling centers but every corner has a tuition center. This shows that education is valued more than life itself.
So, where does Chai 3:16 come in ?
Chai 3:16 is a non-commercial, vibrant, 400-seater café and interactive community space, founded by Benny Prasad, where only chai is served , the price of which is decided by the students. Volunteers from different spheres of the society from all over the world come here to serve as waiters and waitresses. Our goal here is – 80% listening and 20% talking, if needed. They become the unconditional, non-intrusive, caring sounding boards for all who visit Chai 3:16, as they listen to the problems of the students. At Chai 3:16, our goal is to value them, and love them, the way Jesus loves us.
About Benny Prasad – Founder
Benny Prasad is a gospel musician and instrumental guitarist from India. After travelling for 13 years to 257 nations & breaking 6 World Records, God gave Benny Prasad a new direction to end his world travels in 2015, and build a 400-seater Cafe and community space in Bengaluru (India) to reach out to the college students who are depressed, lonely & suicidal.The culmination of this objective was Chai 3:16
There is More to Chai 3:16
The Chai 3:16 Cafe’
The vibrant, interactive and warm hangout for youngistan in North Bengaluru
Our Facilities
There is more to Chai 3:16 than the popular 400-seater Cafe’.
Our Volunteers
To us, you are always the focus. You are unique. You are worthy.