Child and Family Aid

Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Rawalpindi has grown together with Pakistan’s capital city Islamabad and has more than 2 million inhabitants.

For the last 40 years the Pakistani society “Educational Institute Charity” has been active in giving education to children of Christian families. In that time it was noticed how especially destitute are Christian widows or Christian women abandoned by their husbands, as there are no legal regulations for their maintenance and hardly any social security regulations. While there often is a stronger solidarity in Muslim families Christian widows and their children are completely on their own and without having any education they have to make a living as a casual worker in the village or as a servant maid in the city. Often they are exploited shamelessly and harassed by their employers.

30 girls are supported in “House Immanuel”. On the initiative of a staff member and his wife another project was developed which is called “Child and Family Aid”. In this project Christusträger-Waisendienst supports about 220 children and their families.

Besides supplying the widows with the means of subsistence, for example by distributing food items, it is our main aim to give a good school education to their children as this is the only possibility to break the circle of poverty and ignorance in future. Whenever possible the children get educational support in their families, but when the family situation does not allow this the children are admitted in Christian hostels. One of our staff members regularly visits the families not only to control the use of the support but also to counsel and help in case of manifold problems.

Since 2012 Sister Sonja is responsible for the socio-pedagogical work. She is supported by Sister Dr. Chris and Sister Annette, who are mainly active in the medical projects. We are thankful for our native staff-members. It is a great concern to all members of our staff to give a good education to the young people and to assist them in finding a regular work afterwards.

It is the aim of our work in Pakistan to let the people know God’s love and care in a practical manner. In this country shaped by Islam we want to help the poorest of the poor and thus bear witness as Christians, which can only be done here by actions and hardly by words. It is important for us to support the Christian minority, so that their children will be able to live and work as mature and responsible Christians in difficult surroundings.

With a personal sponsorship you make the support and advancement of these children possible.

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