old is said to have a special gifting from God together with a real passion for Him, and she has been regularly opening in prayer at Pastor Nadeem’s
church in Charan, Bangkok. This is remarkable for any 9 year old, but made all the more so in Sabrina’s case since she was
born deaf. Sabrina communicates in sign language, but does not have speech, a fact that does not deter her from praying fervently
and confidently in church.
Pastor Nadeem said:
“Sabrina is an adorable child filled with the spirit of God. Her remarkable talents have encouraged us all through our suffering.”
Sabrina is proficient in sign language because of the efforts of her parents to learn to sign and communicate with her. They were
taught this by Christian charities in Pakistan.
Despite her obvious needs Sabrina is receiving no support for special education from UNHCR or any of its affiliate organisations. Her siblings are
also finding it difficult to communicate with her, as are other children in the condominium in which they all reside. However the BPCA has recently
started up a free school in the condo and we hope to add sign language to the curriculum as Sabrina’s mother Shazia is a teacher and is already involved
in teaching Maths and English to primary aged children.
Until the BPCA started the school the parents could not find the usual exploitive illegal work that other asylum seekers find, due to a need to be
around Sabrina 24 hours a day. The family are relying on food stipends given by churches and NGOs such as BPCA, but now the father earns a small wage
for teaching at our school thanks to a grant from Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. We still need funds to continue the school for
longevity and would like to be able to offer school lunches to these deprived children whose families struggle to feed them on a daily basis, due to
the illegal nature of asylum seekers in a country refusing to ratify UN conventions for asylum.
Sabrina has an extremely a high IQ level and already knows her ABC and counting in sign language. Sabrina can use Whatsapp and can also type an email
which enables her to communicate more widely. All of this is remarkable considering she has not been in school or had the continuing
tuition in sign that she needs, but without further special education she will not reach her potential.
Sadly, despite the obvious difficulties and increased vulnerability of this family the UNHCR has not expedited their case. The family have been advised
that they will have to wait for their Resettlement Status Determination interview in 2017.
Wilson Chowdhry said:
“Meeting Sabrina was a special moment. She has a cheeky grin and great love in spite of her squalid situation and the struggles that being deaf has presented . She has learnt to adapt and praises God daily. She will continue to inspire many with her sheer determination”.
Please help us to help our suffering brothers and sisters.
Please Pray:
That Pak-Christians would be safe and find shelter in Thailand without fear of arrest or mistreatment
For their daily food and shelter and for medical needs to be met
That God would intervene and that Thai authorities would recognise Pakistani Christians asylum seekers
For education to be available to the children and the teachers to be safe from arrest
If you feel led to help these suffering brothers and sisters in Thailand, then please use these bank details:
Sort Code: 20-44-22
Account number: 43163318
Bank: Barclays
Ref: Love for brothers and sisters in Thailand
If you would like to donate via PayPal our email address is: info@britishpakistanichristians.co.uk.
Any cheques should be made payable to the BPCA to our address: 57 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1XG.
