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Barnabas helps educate thousands of Christian children

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Published: Friday 08 July 2011

Barnabas helps educate thousands of Christian children

Project(s): 00-514

Country: Sudan, Middle East and North Africa, Pakistan, South and East Asia

Barnabas Aid is helping thousands of Christian children from poor families receive an education in various countries where Christians face persecution and discrimination.

A Christian girl at a Barnabas-supported
school in

Barnabas Aid’s School-Place Sponsorship Programme is supporting 6,553 Christian children in 35 Christian schools and education programmes in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Iraq, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan, the Holy Land and North Africa. The Christian schooling provides the children with a haven of peace, love and security in contexts where Christians suffer persecution and discrimination.

Without our support, many of them would not be able to afford school fees and so would remain trapped in a cycle of poverty with no prospects for the future, or they would have to attend a school run by non-Christian faiths where they may be mocked, have their faith undermined and even be deliberately failed in exams.

Pakistan

In Pakistan, 822 children aged 4 to 18 attend a school supported by Barnabas Aid. The number of pupils has more than doubled in the last two years. Many pay a small fee, which is usual in Pakistan, but those from very needy families, who would otherwise not be able to go to school at all, are studying for free. And in a country where girls are often kept at home to help with the household, more girls are attending the school than boys (420 girls, 402 boys). Among them are Slayria (17) and her sister Shanza (14), whose father died 12 years ago, leaving their mother, Parcilla, to raise them alone. She is grateful that her daughters are receiving a high-quality education that they could never have afforded on her wages as a domestic worker, without Barnabas Fund.

Our local partner said:

The major difference made by [the] school is that it is reaching the unreached. We want to reach many more students who are not getting an education. This is our mission, to educate each and every child, so we can be a good Christian community here.

Sudan

The number of Christian students that Barnabas Aid is supporting in the Northern capital city of Khartoum has grown enormously from 600 in 2009 to 1,725 in 2011. These are both refugee children from Southern Sudan, whose families were forced to flee their homes because of the civil war, and some from the North.

A new large school of 930 students has been added to our sponsorship programme, and one of the schools that has been receiving funding from Barnabas for several years has added a nursery and another class at the top of the school.

A typical day starts with assembly, where the children and school teachers meet together outside for prayer and singing before lessons get underway. The children are provided with breakfast at the school, which is sometimes their only meal of the day. One day a month is reserved wholly for Christian teaching and fellowship.

Thankfully, the education of these Christian children has so far been unaffected by the political upheaval surrounding the impending independence of South Sudan. But it is likely that life for Christian refugees from the South will become more difficult following the split.

Give Today

If you would like to help educate Christian children, please send your donation to project 00-514 (School-Place Sponsorship Fund). Please click to donate online using our secure server.

If you prefer to telephone, dial: 0800 587 4006 from within the UK or +44 1672 565031 from outside the UK. Please quote project reference 00-514 (School-Place Sponsorship Fund).

If you prefer to send a cheque by post: Click this link for the address of our regional office. Please quote project reference 00-514 (School-Place Sponsorship Fund).

For a quick donation of £3.00 by SMS (see terms and conditions here) text Barnabas/514 to70007 (Please note: This facility is presently only available to UK supporters).

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