Category — Pakistan flood relief fund

Canon Yaqub has now returned from pakistan after taking 17.000 pounds for the victims of the floods, here is a selection of photos of his trip.

FLOOD VICTIMS GO BACK TO SCHOOL THANKS TO THE CHURCH IN WAKEFIELD
CHILDREN in flood-ravaged Pakistan went back to school this week thanks to the generosity of churchgoers in the Wakefield diocese.

Money raised by churches in Halifax, Huddersfield, Barnsley, Pontefract and Wakefield helped clean up two schools in the Noshera district – one of the worst hit areas of Pakistan – and gave the children 550 new desk-chairs to work from.

Canon Yaqub Masih has just returned from an eight-day mercy- mission to Pakistan where he helped distribute £17,500 raised in the diocese and saw first-hand the impact the new chairs and the clean-up campaign was having on the schoolchildren.

He said: “These children could never imagine their school could be so different after all they have been through and I wanted them to know and understand that it is the generosity of Christians in Wakefield who have taken them from the floors and put them on chairs.

“If only one in 10 of those young children remember that in the future, then it will build bridges between Christians and Muslims in that part of the world,” he added.

Yaqub, of Pakistan Christian Concern is also general secretary of the UK Asian Christian network and a lay Canon at Wakefield Cathedral. He visited three different dioceses in Pakistan to help with the flood aid including Faisalabad with which the diocese of Wakefield is linked.

The money was used to clean up a middle school and a primary school in Noshera district and was distributed to give much needed financial help to over 200 families – both Muslim and Christian.

“I wanted to show we treat everyone as equal regardless of their faith,” said Yaqub.

“The devastation is so widespread and has brought illness and despair to young and old, Christian and Muslim – all we can do is watch and observe the story and be ready to help,” he added.

According to the UN an overwhelming 15-20 million people in Pakistan are in need of food, water and shelter.

Many thousands of Christians are also caught up in the disaster. For some, the only place of refuge is their local mosque, where extremist strongholds are strongest and Christians could become very vulnerable.

It has been identified in Pakistan there is 1500 Christian families being the most vulnerable. Many of these believers have lost everything. And now they are looking to us for help in their moment of dire need.

The situation is critical and urgent. Your prayerful generosity now will ensure assistance, supplies and support reach Christians.

Christians and other minority groups face Aid discrimination, reports Vatican. Christians are facing “Systematic discrimination” says dawn. About 200,000 Christian refugees in the Punjab province and about 600,000 Christians and Hindus in the Sindh province are affected by the phenomenon, Fides said, citing NGO sources… on the ground. The government and local clerics refused to shelter around 500 flood-affected families belonging to the Ahmadiya community in South Punjab’s relief camps.

Shin of DCS & King G. Mall supporting the Floods Appeal in Pakistan

The Diocese of Wakefield in conjunction with the Pakistan Christian Concern is appealing for donations to aid the relief effort in Pakistan as the situation caused by the floods continues to deteriorate.
Yaqub Masih, secretary of the Asian Christians Fellowship, was honoured last year by the diocese and made a lay canon of Wakefield Cathedral. Mr Masih is well known in local Asian congregations and has been raising awareness of the problems arising from the Pakistan Floods. He is also Chair of the organization Pakistan Christian Concern (PCC). PCC exists to uplift the Christian community in Pakistan and to provide up to date information on various issues that the nation is facing today (pakistanchristian Concern).
The Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten, told local clergy: ‘The situation is dire and Yaqub and I would like to ask for your prayers and to ask you to please continue to highlight the situation in your parishes.’
The situation in Pakistan is deteriorating. The Disasters Emergency Committee have reported that the monsoon floods intensified last Saturday hitting the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa the hardest. Millions have lost homes or livelihoods. Waters have washed away thousands of acres of crops, government buildings, businesses, schools, bridges and railway tracks. With incessant rain, rising water levels now threaten regions further downstream and there are serious concerns regarding the vulnerability of one Pakistan’s largest dams at Warsak near Peshawar. Millions of survivors have been left suffering with little food or shelter. With more heavy rain predicted, it is clear the situation is at tipping point and the speed of our response is vital.
The Diocese of Wakefield is linked with the Diocese of Faisalabad in Pakistan. The Bishop of Wakefield said: ‘as a sign of our link and mutual affection we would like to collect any donations and send them to Pakistan through the organization Pakistan Christian Concern, with which the Bishop of Pontefract has collaborated in the past.’ Mr Masih hopes to highlight to the Pakistani government the generosity of Christian people and so hopes the Diocese’s fund-raising appeal will be an act of solidarity with those who are affected by the floods in Pakistan at present.
Making a Donation
Please send cheques made payable to the ‘Wakefield Diocesan Board of Finance’ marked ‘Pakistan appeal’ to Church House, 1 South Parade, Wakefield, WF1 1LP. The funds will be forwarded to Pakistan Christian Concern for local disbursement in Pakistan.