Author: Editor

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the globe the working-class labouring colonies of Pakistan are hit the hardest as the imposed lockdown bites hard. BACA answered the call of many families of Green Town in Lahore to drop much needed food aid to the desperate starving community, which is made up of mostly of hard working low paid labourers. Before the lockdown the families were surviving on a hand to mouth daily wage. However, when their employment was temporarily terminated due to lockdown restrictions, these families soon realised how bleak their immediate future was. Food parcels were prepared by BACA, each…

As the lockdown in Thailand gets closer to a months duration many Pak-Christian families are feeling the pressure of no income and a reduction in the help received by local charities.  On a daily basis our officer in Thailand, John, is receiving calls from families seeking help with the basic necessity of food and of course rent. Empty Bangkok streets create new set of dangers for asylum seekers. Though we have not begun any grants towards rent which would cost around £60 per month, we have began our food programme. Over 15 families were given supplies including cooking oil, rice…

A desperate plea for help from a teenage Christian boy in the Punjab, led to BACA delivering their second batch of food aid during the Coronavirus pandemic. Saqib Maish, (17 yrs), contacted BACA for help after remembering restoration work that we had completed after the 2017 floods, which devastated his village of Sheikhan and the surrounding Punjab province. This plea was one of many requests for help BACA receives for food throughout Pakistan since the COVID-19 Pandemic, but we were eager to help as this community is one we are already connected with.  Our earlier work included medical camps, clean…

A Christian charity has called for stronger focus on helping the homeless cope with COVID-19, after an Ilford based homeless man named Pritham committed suicide on Thursday. Pritham who had been attending a meals for the homeless project at British Asian Christian Association’s headquarters took his life by jumping from a train, in what his friends have said was increasing depression over self-isolation and a lack of support services. The impact of the death was felt widely creating anguish amongst the homeless community and the charities that support them, many of whom new him well. On Friday 3rd April, Pastor…

British Asian Christian Association has been planning and preparing for a ‘Meals for the Homeless’ project in Ilford for at least two years, but raising finance became an onerous task which caused delay. Our perseverance and belief that it was a calling from God has now been rewarded.  We now heading up three days of hot meals for the financially hard-up and homeless after a local Sikh Gurdwara, Singh Sabha London East based in Seven Kings, have offered the food they used to deliver themselves to us to distribute.  Moreover, Saint Peter’s and Paul’s Church on High Road Ilford who…

Hannah Chowdhry (16 yrs), our youngest regular volunteer for BACA was to have her GCSE’s this year, however they have been postponed. On the day that she received notification that her GCSE exams were cancelled, she immediately decided to drop studying for her GCSE’s and focused on her new A Level subjects instead, to gain some preparedness for when she joins her new school for sixth form. Bizarrely, her school only shared advice that she focuses on A level topics yesterday. Moreover they have only shared notes with students that help with the syllabus attached with their school. As Hannah…

A reduction in the number of groups providing food for the homeless in Ilford has meant that some of them go a day or more without food. Local groups have shut their premises and stop serving for a number of reasons, including fears of being infected and the loss of volunteers who are self-isolating. One local group has been waiting for clearer government guidance and after a conversation with BACA, may be collaborating with us on a feeding project every Sunday.  Our ability to adapt to the new guidelines is proving to be very beneficial locally. To be compliant with…

After Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan introduced a country-wide lockdown on 22nd March, to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.  We predicted that thousands of Christians would die form either starvation, depression or the virus itself (click here).  We immediately set about travelling to poverty-stricken Christian communities across Pakistan to provide food supplies and prayers.  Here are accounts from 8 of the families we have helped so far: British Asian Christian visited the community of Momin Pura a rural area near Wagha Border Lahore to distribute food supplies to cover the next two weeks.  Our aid was in response to families…

Two Christian 12 year-old boys were snatched by a gang of Muslim men on motorbikes and raped. Suneel Naeem and his friend Harry Boota were playing video games along with Harry’s brother Yash when four men on motorbikes took the three Christian boys to a remote location for 30 minutes, where they were stripped and raped. The incident happened at 9.30pm on the 1st March when Suneel (12 yrs) met up with his friends Harry (12 yrs) and Yash (14 yrs) to play video games at a local games arcade and were approached by the gang after 30 minutes. The…

Pak-Christian asylum seekers in Thailand are close to starvation due to a Government lockdown imposed in Bangkok since the 18th of March 2020. So far (26th March) the number of those infected by COVID-19 has reached 1045 cases of which 6 deaths have occurred and 7 people have recovered. All the recreational places, mall, schools and offices are closed and will not be reopened till 12th April.  Thailand’s Ministry of Public health explained today that the sharp rise in confirmed Covid-19 coronavirus cases reported in recent days is due to new testing standards. Men in Thailand are more likely to…