News from Pakistan June 2007

Maxwell Ditta is now if Pakistan helping his brother and father with the ABC schools there. He has sent us a report and pictures.

This is from his report:

I have seen the crowded facilities for children in the hostels. Farooqabad is a small town and there are only small houses that are available for rent and children are living in an un-ideal situation.  In order to make things better for our children, we have thought of renting a big house in a bigger town, which is about 15 kilometers from Farooqabad. Some children will be shifted to this house and I am sure this will ease the situation a bit.  To do this we will either need to transport children to Farooqabad for schooling or transport teachers to this house to run classes on a daily basis. Further thought is being given to this so that practical solutions can be found.  Nevertheless, our own private vehicle for transportation will be necessary. This vehicle will also be very helpful in many other school related activities where students and staff need to travel.

Traffic jam in Pakistan

Saba Younis is a girl who was one of the first students to be taken in to the dormitory because of her terrible situation. When we discovered her she had been bitten in her ear by a rat and had a bad infection. She has now  been in the hostel for sometime.  Her mother (step mother) fell ill (Tuberculosis) and took Saba Younis back home so she could help her out with household work and taking care of her younger siblings.  Many efforts were made to convince the parents to send her back to school but everytime they said they were not yet ready to send her back. I made a couple of visits to their house and talked to the parents, along
with the local pastor, and they have promised to send her back on July 1.  I hope this time it will work.

Saba Younis in her home	Saba Younis with her family

Then there are a few pictures of the girls who live in the hall in Farooqabad school.  They are very happy and enjoy the school environment. These pictures were taken after school.

ABC Children?s Aid - Pakistan

(March 14, 2006)

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

All is well with us, and God is very good to our ABC personnel and students.  I am writing this to share with you a brief report of the work here in Pakistan.

Introduction:

We, the team of ABC Children?s Aid, Pakistan, on behalf of the many lives impacted by you, thank you for your loving support.  While we can?t thank God enough for you all in Iceland, we join you in this noble work.

ABC Children?s Aid has made remarkable breakthrough in the despondent lives of many underprivileged families here in Pakistan.  At the pace which ABC has started its operation in this part of the world, it is anticipated in good faith that ABC and its supporters in Iceland will make an immense impact on the continuing process of improving the quality of life of children in Pakistan.  Through your generous support smiles have been put on many young faces.

While the biological parents of many children proudly become part of creating tiny lives, they are later confronted with the enigma of the difficulties in making choices for their children as they so quickly grow and their needs increase.  The joy of having children turns into a ?regretful burden?.  Parents, who were not able to get education themselves often place low priority to the educational needs of the children; for them, food, shelter, and clothing is all there is to strive for in a society where the rich are very rich and the poor are very poor.  The mere thought of getting the child into a good school is luxury.  Income is meager; parents, out of sheer necessity, have to resort to what in the West is an unforgivable crime ? child labor. 

I could go on and on and cite many stories in which children can be seen playing in the dirty alleys of the villages, turn to cheap drugs, or have to be at work when they should be at school studying and preparing for a tough, competitive life ahead.  But the bottom line of this is that in spite of the tremendous generosity of Icelanders, hundreds of thousand are still waiting for help.

Our hearts weep and are filled with sympathy when my wife and I move about from village to village, city to city, watching with awe the difference between what our children have and many others can?t even dream of.

One may wonder: How can the families where children die of curable diseases like tuberculosis, typhoid, cholera, malaria, due to their inability to pay for the comparatively cheap treatment, think of sending children to school?  How can families where children don?t get a decent, nutritious meal think of sending children to school?  How can families who have not experienced one day of freedom from financial burdens, brought about by heavy borrowings in order to make their ends meet, think of sending children to school?  How can the families that live in constant fear of their ?benefactors? (the rich land-lords who have lent them money for their family needs) consider sending their children to school?

Dormitories:

Currently ABC dormitories in Farooqabad house over 50 children (both boys and girls).  For the start of new school year in April, about a hundred and fifty more children have been registered for the dorm.  These children are expected to arrive in Farooqabad the day after Easter.  And, over a hundred children are on the waiting list.

Regarding the dormitory facilities, we are much concerned and worried as the current situation is far from being ideal.  We have rented four houses for the children, which are at distance from each other.  This increases security risks.  You are aware that we?ve had two break-ins in the winter.  Of course much loss did not occur but the fear factor disturbs the children.  Last week, during a police raid one of our children was picked up by the police and taken to police station by mistake.  Police was after some other boys and saw our child on the roof-top of the dorm, and by mistake took him away causing much scare amongst the children who hid under the beds.  Children have to walk back and forth to school every day through the streets exposing them to danger from the extremists who attack Christian schools, etc.  The current wave of anger over the blasphemous cartoons published in the Western media has caused much tension amongst the Christian community in Pakistan.  We have had to beef up security in the dormitories.

Another problem we face is the lack of space.  The dorms are very crowded which is not very healthy for the children.  Children need place for sports and other activities.  As the number of children increase, we get into a difficult situation.  Parents insist that we take the children and we don´t know how to provide them a better facility than their home.  We are now also, as we constantly are, busy looking for more houses for the children who are to arrive in April. 

We are desperate for new, proper dormitories.  This is a very urgent need; this critical need to erect large dorms for boys and girls can´t be overstated.  I am sure you are currently in the process of fund-raising.  We have prioritized a few sites and are currently negotiating the deals.  One problem with the deals is that not many people want to take payment in long term installments.  Most want the money at once or in two short installments.

Would you kindly advise us as to how much money will be available to us for the purchase of land and how soon will we be able to start the construction work.  After you instruction we will begin the process of making the building plan and getting quotations for the buildings, etc.

May I reiterate that we are desperate for the solution of this problem?  It is not easy to say: No, to deserving children.  Kindly look into this matter with much kindness and urgency.

To emphasize the pressing need I am going to share a few stories.

Last week my wife and I visited many homes in some villages of District Sheikhupura.  During the interview of a father who brought to us one girl (the local pastor had told them there wasn´t much room in the dorms of ABC at this time) he told us the story of how they were living in the large city of Lahore.  The father lost his job and tried looking for work for some time without any success and spent all the money they had.  In desperation, the family moved to Manawala, hoping to find something to do and shift to a cheaper lifestyle.  Now he is able to find some work off and on.  During the interview we found that he has other children also who are just sitting at home because he can´t afford to send them to school. 

We asked: Would you like your other children to also go to school?

His reply was, Sir, don´t build up our hopes too high and make us dream the impossible, and his eyes filled with tears, he turned around and began to sob. 

But we could not help but ask him to send all his school-going age children to ABC dorm.  And promised to do all we could to help his children get education through ABC.

He literally sat on the ground and held on to my feet and said, Thank you, thank you, thank you.  You´re a god!?

I explained how the Living God was using the ABC team in Pakistan and the many generous people in Iceland to help people like him.  And, I promised to do all we could to get his children in school.  His children will join ABC in April this year.

Moving on to another village, we met a mother who was very keen on having her son, Arif, join the ABC school because she was very anxious to get his son educated.  During the interview we found out that Arif´s sister was out working with the dad.  We asked if we could see her.  She told us how to get to the brick kiln where they were working.

As we approached the brick kiln, we could see adults and some tiny beings at work in such haste as if they had only today to do their work.  On coming close, we asked who Arif´s sister was.  Bashfully, a girl replied, It´s me, Salma.  We got her permission to take some pictures and then talked to her.  Oh! How much she wanted to go to school like the other children.  She said that she must work so her brother can go to school.  We called the father and asked him if ABC could help his daughter study at no cost.  He was happy for that, but the smile that came to Salma´s face was overwhelming.  She has now decided to come to ABC dorm in April.

During this discussion, another child was spotted who also wanted to go to school.  We registered his name also.  Another child´s parents were reluctant but promised to think it over.

While walking back to the car another man kept quietly walking behind us.  As we came close to the car, he began to plead, please help me with my children´s education too.  I am a very poor man.  He thought we only helped people of our own denomination, and said. If joining your denomination will help, I will do that for my children, but I know for certain that you believe in the same Jesus that I believe in.  We assured him that this was not the criteria.  ABC helps irrespective of one´s church affiliation.  He was assured he would be helped no matter what denomination he belonged to.  As soon as we are sure of the space for his children in dorm we will get them. 

Farooqabad High School:

Currently the school is being operated in two different buildings.  As has already been reported, the land has been purchased and the construction work of the school building has begun.  Once (hopefully in two to three months) the building is ready for use, school will run in two different shifts so that more children can be accommodated in the facility.  The new facility will include classrooms, a science laboratory, computer laboratory, a nurse?s room, an office, a kitchen, adequate toilet facility, and a small playing place.

Peshawar High School:

As you are aware of the purchase of land, now the deal is almost complete.  There was some delay in the start of the construction work due to the much unrest that had gripped the Peshawar city.  Schools are still closed in the city.  We have our school open as it is in a rented house and is not so obvious to the people.  Plans have been finalized and hopefully the school building will be ready for use by the end of the summer vacation.  We have 78 children in the school now and about a hundred more will join at the start of the school year in April.

Chak 96 R/B Elementary School:

The construction work in Chak 96 R/B of the school building has started.  During my next visit I will get some pictures to share with you. 

Over hundred and fifty students are now studying in the village school in two rented houses.  The excitement in the village and in the nearby villages is overwhelming.  Soon the children will be able to move into the new building which will have classrooms, kitchen and adequate toilet facilities.

Jaranwala School Plan:

You may remember me mentioning about the need to have an elementary school in Jaranwala, where Major Nazir Masih moved some time ago.  We have visited the area with Maxwell as well.  There is a large poverty-ridden Christian community in the area which needs the kind of support ABC offers.  We have visited a few times the area and many families.  A list of over 150 children has also been compiled.  This is also another area we need to concentrate on as soon as we can.  Maxwell also can share some information on the area which he has visited during his visit last December.

Conclusion:

Most of the generous people in Iceland can´t even begin to realize the immense difference they make in the lives of the underprivileged children of Pakistan.  While many do know that their financial support is making a child go to school, they may not realize that what they are doing is actually shaping lives.  These children in Pakistan may not be your biological children, but what you are doing for them is so immense, they will be indebted in perpetual gratitude.

At the end of this report, on behalf of all the families of children being helped by ABC, I would like to express sincere gratitude to you all for your hard work and generous support. 

It is our prayer that God bless you at the ABC office and all the sponsors of the children.  We specially want show gratitude for the hard work of Gunna Magga, Thorunn, Maxwell and Audunn.  Hope some of you can visit us for the inauguration of these school buildings.

Look forward to your continued support.

Report Prepared by:

Michael Ditta, MPH, MBA