The Portal March 2019 | Page 19
THE
P RTAL
March 2019
Page 19
Aid to the Church in Need
Education is of
‘prime importance’
for the Church in Pakistan
Josué Villalón reports
W ith thousands
of illiterate Christians working in slave-like conditions across Pakistan,
Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need is supporting Church leaders trying to break the poverty
trap there. Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi in north-east Pakistan, president of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference spoke of the vital significance of education for Catholics families. Referring
to impoverished Christians being unable read or write, he said: “Education is of prime importance. Many
people cannot continue their education, either because there are no schools or no money. Our community
has to have access to education. When Christians are educated and have had professional training, then the
image of our community will change.”
In southern Pakistan’s Hyderabad diocese, Bishop
Samson Shukardin is helping indigenous people. He
said: “More than half of the parishes in the dioceses
are engaged in work among the tribal groups of
Parkari Kolhis, Kutchi Kolhis and Bheels... they are
marginalised minorities, traditionally working as
share-croppers for landowners to whom they are
virtually always in debt.”
With a number of indigenous people having become
Christian, the Church’s 19 catechists now include tribal
members helping 13 priests in the diocese. Bishop
Shukardin said: “[The catechists] try to convince the
parents to make a sacrifice, though not at all easy,
and send their children to one of our central or one
of our many two-teacher village schools.” He added:
“The illiteracy rate among them is high… the Church
is active among them with catechesis, faith-formation,
education and awareness.
Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi (© ACN)
our Catholic schools if in their neighbourhood or
otherwise to other schools so that they can get an
education. As a result of all this work there now are
now growing Christian communities of the tribal
groups and a rising of the literacy rate among them
which means that more and more of them can get
better employment.”
ACN is also funding the printing of an additional
80,000 copies of its Child Bible in the Urdu language.
Speaking of the importance of the Child’s Bibles, Father
Emmanuel Asi of the Catholic Bible Commission
Pakistan (CBCP) in Lahore said: “Hundreds of
thousands children will benefit from the services
The charity has supplied a vehicle to transport of CBCP… by bringing the Word of God closer to
Catholic families long distances on dirt roads for children.” The charity is also providing assistance to
classes at Hyderabad’s parish centre or Joti Pastoral make educational Christian programmes for children
Educational Cultural Centre in Mirpurkhas – and on Catholic TV Pakistan.
students travel in temperatures of up to 48ºC (118ºF)
Aid to the Church in Need - www.acnuk.org
to get to classes. Bishop Shukardin said: “The parents
contact: [email protected] or call 020 8642 8668
are encouraged to send their children to school, either
Regular home visitation is a very important part of
the pastoral outreach, which gives the opportunity for
hearing their stories, some catechesis, the celebration
of the Eucharist and the singing of Christian hymns in
their language.”