We reported on the impact of a great deluge that destroyed thousands of homes and killed hundreds in Pakistan during August 2015 (click here).
Our immediate response was to provide food and water to victims whilst assessing any further needs (click here).
We discovered villages here whose inhabitants were almost entirely Christian and surviving by the skin of their teeth. Homes made of mud had been completely
washed away, structural damage on other homes required immediate repair, and families were suffering with tummy bugs, flu and dengue fever due to the
unclean stagnant water and lack of clean water. Lack of a church left worshippers with mass illiteracy believing in Christ without the ability
to know the bible for themselves or develop their understanding of God’s desire for their lives. We have been able to begin to address those
needs following the receipt of much needed generous donors from our growing list of supporters. Our work included an outreach programme and free
medical camp meaning many of the villagers were meeting with a medical professional for the first time (click here).
Thanks to your help and the sizeable donations received we were also able to enact our largest restoration programme yet when we rebuilt 7 homes from
scratch including 2ft high plinths that would place the homes above flood level in future. The severity of the inundation meant that despite a spend
of close to £8000 for our relief project, we had to focus on one particular community and we chose the Christian community of Bikiwind in Kasur, mainly
because beleaguered Christian villagers here had been ignored by all other charities and the government. Members of this deprived community had
even sold themselves into the prevailing illegal modern day slavery contracts (bonded labour) that are rife amongst the local brick kilns and carpet
manufacturers (click here).
We reported back on the initiation of our building work with images of the foundations and plinths that were being built to help stave off the worst
affects of the flooding in future years. For the seven families whose homes we rebuilt, transformation from mud homes to brick homes was a dream
come true that would not only improve their comfort but also their hygiene and safety. Moreover our installation of a pump at the beginning of
our project meant clean water was now accessible to villagers, preventing the need for travel to rivers or drinking from the irrigation fields of farmers,
a gift we believe will improve the woefully low life expectancy in this community (55 years) as a result of improved health and hygiene. You can remind
yourselves of this report (click here).
We completed our rebuild project in November and villagers have settled into their new and restored homes. Moreover we held a special Christmas
outreach for this community where we shared clothes, food and free audio bibles. The community here have expressed a renewed vigour in the word
of God and have asked us to help develop a school and church for them. In the meanwhile the community elders are strengthening their faith by
organising Sunday services at a home in the local village, using our audio bibles for the reading of scripture. The audio bibles also contain urdu
Zabor (hymns) by which they lead worship and a series of children’s and adult bible studies which are being used as learning tools.
Sadly the children in the community are largely illiterate and desperately in need of a school. We hope to empower this community through education
by purchasing a building that could be used as a school and church for the community and hiring qualified staff. To make this a reality we need to
raise close to £25000. This amount will allow us to build a purpose built school for 50 children, with the facilities required to register with
the education board and would include wages for the first year.
Please join us in prayer to see this dream become a reality for these children and if you feel led to give, we would be very grateful on their behalf.
Below we include Images of the wonderful new homes built by the BPCA and some images of repaired floors and walls of restored properties.
