Have you ever considered what it would be like to not have a hope for the future?
Recently, in one of our Christian lunch groups, we asked students what hopes they had for their future. Many responded saying things like ‘surviving the HSC’, ‘having a family’, ‘being successful’, or even ‘being secure in a relationship with God’. We then asked them what it would be like if they had no hope for these things. As the students considered this, I shared with them about the young people of Pakistan, who are trapped in slavery and have no hope for the future.
Oppression and slavery still underpin much of today’s world; 45.8 million people are enslaved worldwide (Global Slavery Index, 2016). That’s 0.6% of the population. That means that for every 153 free people one person is trapped in slavery.
In Pakistan alone there are 2,134, 900. That’s 1.13% of the Pakistani population living in slavery. In Pakistan, people in poverty (many based on religious grounds) can be forced to work in brick kilns to survive. Each day a family is required to make 1000 bricks. No small task. It is not uncommon for children to work at the kilns. By the time a child is five, they are able to make a brick perfectly. For work that is valued at $100 US the family is given $3 US. A cyclic system of oppression enforced on the vulnerable as a result of poverty. These are statics that really rattle the heart of those who know them.
The reality of oppressive slavery is overwhelming- but there is hope.
Miracle Schools is a Christian School (just like Thomas Hassall Anglican College) providing free Christian education in Lahore, Pakistan. Like students here, students at Miracle have the opportunity to be educated and learn about the great hope of the gospel. A hope that is not just for this life, but the life to come!
‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time’. (1 Peter 3:3-5)
Miracle Schools, in partnership with Anglican Aid, work hard to provide this hope amongst the difficulties of oppression, freeing many from slavery in the name of Christ.
I will be heading to Pakistan to spend two weeks teaching at Miracle Schools, here I will be teaching Christian programs that have been developed throughout my time at the College such as how to read the bible and what the core truths of the Christian faith are. I would love you to partner with me as I head over.
If you would like to know more about Miracle Schools, please visit Anglican Aid; https://anglicanaid.org.au/projects/miracle-school
Amelia van Netten (Ministry Intern)