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New Beginnings in Pakistan
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We are very excited to announce a new training program in a new country for us, Pakistan! Some of you remember that we did a mosquito net distribution and malaria prevention program last summer with Messiah Ministries in Pakistan. Since then, we have pursued a partnership based on our history of relationship with the founder of Messiah Ministries. We base what we do on trusted partners and relationships and have seen God working on this partnership slowly over the last eight years.
We officially established our partnership with Messiah Ministries in early spring and got to work on our first large program together - a new sewing training center in Youngsonabad, Pakistan. The center was inaugurated this past weekend, and the women got to see the new center they will train in!
There is a significant need for skills training for young women in Pakistan. Messiah Ministries saw this need and, with E4’s help, established a sewing center in Youngsonabad in Central Punjab, Pakistan, to provide rural girls and women an opportunity to learn a valuable, income-generating skill, equipping them to lead a life of self-reliance and dignity. Rural Pakistani girls and women often do not have a dignified source of income, which leaves them subject to dependency and even abuse, especially if they have to work at the local brick factory. Many Pakistani rural girls drop out of school due to the inability to keep up with tuition/school expenses and the necessity of working (usually a menial, very low-paying job) to help put food on the table for their families. Only 1.27% of Pakistanis are Christians, and rural Pakistani girls and women are treated much worse than Muslim women in the same situation and community due to discrimination from the Muslim majority.
We have raised $2,000 for the program, but need to raise an additional $4,500 in the next two months to provide the funding needed for the first year. Please consider joining us.
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We are so excited to have 25 women from this area undergoing a six-month sewing training program. They receive training Monday through Friday and will receive a sewing machine upon graduation to start their business. This program will run every six months, with 25 new young women in each session. The women are between the ages of 15-25 and have all been selected by Messiah Ministries, village elders, and the girls' families. The women will also receive Bible teaching, and learn about Jesus throughout the program. The program includes young women from Christian and Muslim backgrounds, and the training center will provide a wonderful opportunity for the Christian trainers and leaders to share the Gospel with Muslim girls from the village who will be in the program as well as disciple the Christian women.
Our goal with this program is to elevate women living at home, without schooling, and who spend their days sitting in their homes without anything to do. They are trapped by their economic situation and haven’t been given the opportunity to advance. We are praying that this program will be life-changing for each and every one of the women. You can learn more and support the work we are doing here. We have raised $2,000 for the program, but need to raise an additional $4,500 in the next two months to provide the funding needed for the first year.
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