This story is written by Hazeen, FEBC Australia’s Partner in Pakistan:
For six sisters in a remote community in Punjab, Pakistan, having “nothing to lose” has given them boldness to take risks to improve their future. But it also reflects the sad reality that they have been abandoned, left vulnerable and in poverty.
The sisters live in the village where we started the ‘Roshan Ghar’ (Bright Home) sewing centre, where women can develop new skills.
When our first batch of participants enrolled in the ‘Roshan Ghar’ training, I was told by the class teacher that some of the girls were very poor. They did not have enough to eat each day. The teacher told me that they were known locally as the ‘Six Sisters’. Two of them could attend the sewing centre. The others wanted to enroll too but they were too young.
I was shocked to hear that their mother, because of poverty, had abandoned them a few years ago when their father had died, and she had re-married. The youngest of the six was just three years old at that time. What a tragedy.
The girls used to say they hated their mother who lived near their village with her new husband who already had several children of his own. Two of the girls came to the sewing centre regularly. The younger ones also came along with them as there was no one at home. Their door was broken and could not be locked. But they were not worried, as they had “nothing to lose”.
When the sisters started coming to class, one of the younger girls asked the teacher, “Where is God for us? We live in one room which leaks when it rains. The rainwater not only comes from the roof but also through the walls. Even our floor level has sunk down. We have only one bed made from grass rope and a broken smaller bed where my elder sister sleeps. We often go to bed hungry, and we all sleep squeezed on one bed, unable to turn right or left. There is no extra thing to sit on or for just hanging out. Winter and summer are both a challenge for us.
Where is God’s love for us? Many men come into the house saying they want to look out for us, but we can tell in their eyes that their intentions are bad. We have an uncle, but he is also poor. Still, he feeds us and supports us from time to time. We go to his house for food after his family has eaten.
People gave us their used clothes. But now, after Roshan Ghar sewing centre, we will wear new clothes.”
Transformed by love
In the Roshan Ghar sewing centre, we use Bible speaker boxes as a support for spiritual growth. The programs start with a devotion in the heart language of the participants. Many of the participants choose to join the devotions, keen to know more about Christianity and the love that compels the Christians who serve the community. One of the six sisters started memorising the Gospel of Matthew. Life is still hard and at times it is still a struggle. But where previously they were filled with rage and thoughts of revenge, the six sisters have found some peace in their hearts.
FEBC Partner’s ’Roshan Ghar’ (’Bright Home’)’s free sewing classes help women learn a new skill that they can use to earn an income.
When I asked recently how the sisters were doing, the sewing centre teacher said to me, “When they started coming to the sewing centre, they were shy and would stay quiet but now they talk and talk. They enjoy what they do and they’ve also made some good friends.”
Our organisation supported the girls with new locally made beds and a pedestal fan. The efforts inspired the community to help. The neighbours next door shared their electricity supply as the girls’ supply had been cut due to non-payment.
When I asked, “what is your dream?”, the girls all looked at each other and quietly spoke, “we want to live a peaceful life and have our home fixed, nothing more.” The second oldest said, “I want to study and study and study this is my dream.”
The little one, the youngest, said nothing but kept smiling.
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The second oldest sister who wanted to go to school received fee support. Since then, she has studied very hard, scoring A+ for her examination. To support the sisters while upholding their dignity, FEBC Australia’s Partner also provides a stipend to this second oldest sister for her volunteer work as a nurse’s assistant in the health program they run. Apart from studying, she now has dreams in the field of health.
‘Roshan Ghar’ means ‘Bright Home’. Through on-air and on-the-ground initiatives, the project aims to empower marginalised rural communities living in poverty and inadequate health and education facilities to address local issues, reduce family violence, improve health outcomes, and enable women to become effective agents of change.
From the free sewing classes, some women have started earning income for the first time, by selling the clothes sewn or through skilled employment.
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