We are a family from Albuquerque, New Mexico that has been
privately funding a school in a highly impoverished area of Pakistan for about
a year. Philanthropy and community issues have always been an important part of
our lives. Over the years we have found ourselves helping in orphanages in
Mexico, our dad is a contractor who went to Kosovo for many months to rebuild
homes after they were bombed, we worked in foster care and adopted two kids
into our home and now we find our hearts longing to help these children in
Pakistan.
Tibba is
located at a distance of 20km towards North of main Okara city. There are about
300 Christian families living in this rural area. In Pakistan, Christians are a minority and
looked down upon. They are often degraded and met with violence and are
not allowed to hold higher positions in government. Because of their choice of
religion they do not receive help. They often walk on eggshells because they
can be prosecuted if someone makes the claim (usually for blackmail or revenge)
that they said something offensive about the Muslim religion. The majority of
the Christians live in misery and are discriminated against on a regular basis.
The area is a rich agricultural part of the country and
different types of products are grown here. Many of the villagers work in
the fields of their landlords for very little pay which is hardly sufficient to
run their families. When they need money for their urgent needs it is borrowed
from their landlords. As it is hard to return the money this debt is
transferred to their children and they remain slaves for generations. All of
them basically belong to a labor class. There has not been a single school in
the area for this huge mass, so the boys and girls have preferred to go and
help their parents in the fields or to nearby market where they lift heavy
loads on their backs to earn extra scraps.
There is no
medical unit working in this area by the government. There is no first aid.
Many women die due to improper medical treatment. The child death rate in infants and newborns is very high
due to lack of any medical help. As the people are very poor, it is hard for
them to get to the city quickly to save their lives without a vehicle. Their
common mode of transportation is a donkey cart.
The
future of a nation is directly linked with the new generation. The children are
the greatest asset of this community. If we can help them get an education we
can give them hope for a better future. Education is the first step to helping
people so that they can better take care of themselves. Their parents would
love for them to get an education but they can't even consider it while they
don't even have food and clothing. It has been our good fortune to identify
that need and be able to fill it, but we are only one family and we need your
help.
The very first picture in our video above is of a little
boy. That particular little boy wandered the streets for weeks playing with
different children during the day before people were able to identify that he
was an orphan and could get him into a home. That is the kind of experience
that is common in this rural village. Christmas, Easter and other Christian
festivals are a dream. Small things that we take for granted on a daily basis
are luxuries for them.
Our goal this Christmas is to give these children coats to
keep them warm in the cold and provide them with a little cake and tea to have
a small celebration. Please help us give to these children something that will
greatly benefit their health and their spirits. Be a part of an act of kindness
that will make an incredible difference in the lives of these young children by
being an example of love, religious tolerance, compassion and faith in their
ability to grow into great men and women who can also make a difference in the
world for good.
If you can not give please share this to all that you know
so that someone who may have the resources and heart for this cause can help.