"Brick by brick, with sweat and blood, I had built my house. Every rupee my wife and I saved over the years was dedicated to making this place. "One day, it will be worth it!” we reassured each other. We all wanted a place we could call home - where we could live out our days in peace, together.
Every year, we come by some horrific accounts that any human being would dread to even imagine. There was a month-old girl with an incision wound on her abdomen made deliberately with a blade. Resultantly, her intestines were out of the abdomen. It happened because a pseudo-spiritual figure had assured the child’s mother that she must do this if she wants to have a baby boy.
This is the story of 8-year-old Jamal from Sheikhupura whose father couldn’t afford special diet for his son who was suffering from Wilson’s disease. It is a genetic condition where our body cannot eliminate excessive copper and causes damage to vital organs like brain and liver leading to formation of fluid sacs in legs and feet. Patients with this disease must avoid leafy green vegetables, peas, and cocoa. However, the child’s father, a daily wager, could only provide his family with leafy green vegetables that were lethal for his son.
8-year-old Jaleel from Basti Sahu, Punjab came to us with tears in his eyes. A snake had bitten him on his foot 3 days ago and he could barely walk.
“I’m just happy that I didn’t die.” He said sadly.
The words of this little child shook us. The wound on his foot had caused his skin to tear apart. We directed him to a medical camp, where his wound was promptly dressed and he was given the medicines that he desperately needed.
When 8-month-old Jannat came under our protection, she was severely underweight. The pain we felt multiplied when we met the 16-year-old mother, Sumaira, who was just as malnourished as her baby.
These are children we can never say no to. When we looked at the fragile 16-year-old mother, we wondered how a child could possibly raise another child…
PAHCHAAN continues to be a ray of hope for the marginalized factions of society. We are the first organization to offer psychological counseling in the flood-affected districts of Punjab. The most recent efforts of PAHCHAAN
It is most heart-shattering when the ones who are supposed to protect us fiercely, become our tormenters. This is especially true for defenseless, young children who solely rely on the undying love and care of their parents while growing up.
A 20-day-old unnamed baby girl was brought to the attention of PAHCHAAN’s Child Protection Unit by a stranger. He found a crying baby while passing by a garbage can and immediately rushed her to the hospital!
The stories of 27-year-old Razia and 40-year-old Farah tell us how women’s health can affect families and disrupt even the most well-functioning households. Both Razia and Farah came to us with severe anemia. What concerned us deeply was the fact that Razia was four months pregnant and Farah had been suffering from Arthritis as well. She was so weak that she could not even walk without support. The deteriorated health of these women was evident of prolonged malnutrition. Both of these women were given the much-needed iron supplements and multivitamins.
Married to be together through thick and thin, things changed for Rabia and Shafique in February 2020. In the blink of an eye, just like thousands of people all around the world, Covid not only threatened their bread and butter but also led their family to hospital for their first born, barely 3 months old. Marriyum hardly survived with the pain of a broken leg. No doubt, her pain is immense, but the agony of her parents must be up to an extent that we cannot fathom. These are the families that are helped through your Zakat. Step forward and heal these families as whole. You can save them from pain, may it be physical or mental.
The phone call that I received shook the floor beneath my feet. My neighbor told me that my son had fallen off the third floor and, in that moment, I could not think of anything except for the vilest possibilities. I did not know if I would ever hear my son call me Maa again. Those 30 minutes were invariably the longest 30 minutes of my life.
Allahditta and Mehmooda tried their best to provide for all their children even from his salary as a guard. With one earning hand they dreamt of educating their children and watching them become successful the way every parent aspires. In their hand-to-mouth life and the house rent to be paid, this family had to take loans from their neighbors and relatives to even eat two proper meals a day. To read the full story of their son Khizer’s journey to ilm power learning center, follow our QR code...
My daughter was a bright student in a local school. It was very hard for me to manage her educational expenses but just like every other parent, I wanted her to be successful. When she was younger, she fell off our roof and hurt her head. Ever since, she started having difficulty in understanding and learning things.
There was a time when I had to choose between paying my house rent and educating my children. In just Rs.25,000 every month, the circumstances were very tough. ILM Power Learning Center came into our lives and turned our worries into relief. My daughter being a doctor in our family when sounded like an unachievable dream. ILM Power Learning Center came to our life and assured us that no dream is too big to be unreal.
Mr. Israr, only of 14 years old, studies with us in the morning and manages to work in a toy factory in the evening and wants to become a soldier. For us, he is another shining star of PAHCHAAN’s ILM Power learning center that we are proud of beyond words. He keeps his head high and ambition strong. These are the people that can become the game changers of their families with your support. What happened in his life will inspire you.
Our sixteen years long journey has witnessed several ups and down but unfortunately, nothing has been as intense as Covid-19. The families that used to struggle to make two meals a day relying on their daily wages became jobless. The result of this downfall was disastrous for thousands of families living in underprivileged areas.
When 5 years old Sajida got her fingers cut in the toka machine, the unbearable pain made her scream in agony. The parents were devastated at the sight of Sajida’s clothes covered in blood and her fingers on the floor, completely detached from her hand. Her parents could not understand the situation at all as panic surrounded their minds. After a lot of efforts, somehow, they slowed the blood flow and brought Sajida to a local hospital in Lahore.
By the time we started writing this newsletter, we received the case of Iqra, who was at that time hospitalized due to her weak heart and pneumonia at the age of 6 months. Looking at Iqra’s critical state of health and her family’s unspeakable financial circumstances, we tried our best to support this family in every possible way. Filled with hope, when we were about to conclude our newsletter, we received the very sad news of Iqra’s passing away. Such cases reach us on a daily basis, and we lose so many beautiful people too. Read with us and feel how your support can give these families another day. Stand with us today, somebody’s life is in your hands. Scan our QR code and read the full story of many like Iqra’s day-to-day life.
8 years old Abdul Rehman was electrocuted in the backyard of his house. While his family was in a state of disbelief, Child Protection Unit took charge of Abdul Rehman’s care and proceeded. In our years of work, we had rarely seen so much damage done by an electric shock. The intensity of that electric shock had burnt most of his right side, especially effecting the leg. Our main concern was making sure that this child would live to see another day and walk on his legs properly.
In the past year and a half, things have changed beyond everyone's expectations. People with jobs became jobless, hopes turned into despair and happy families content with their hand to mouth lives turned into unstable households. In such situations, the projection of agitation, hunger and frustration gets a hold of the family as a whole. Fortunately, Child Protection Unit, actively running for the welfare of families as a whole, has been tirelessly putting effort to provide mental and physical healing to the entire families.
PAHCHAAN is proudly the first ever NGO in Pakistan to vaccinate children against Typhoid which is very dangerously expanding these days. Moreover, it is an expensive treatment because of extensive drug resistance amongst children and even adults. The typhoid vaccination provides protection against the disease for 3-4 years.
PAHCHAAN along with unhindered support from its donors who kindly donated Rs. 1.5 million pledges to work on the initial commencement of 5 Child Protection Units initially in Punjab. The purpose of these units is to comfort the distressed families by linking them with educational institutions, providing them with vaccinations and medical facilities and enrolling the mothers in skill centers so that they can support their families with honor and pride.
Aima’s mother Naheed is humbled by PAHCHAAN’s support through difficult times of her husband’s declining health and an earning of just Rs. 15,000 per month. Naheed thanks ilm Power Learning Center that is being run under PAHCHAAN for being her only solace. She is grateful to us for not only enrolling her child for free quality education but also bringing out her talents and enhancing her intelligence. To know how Aima made it to ilm Power Learning Center, you can scan our QR Code.
Child Protection Unit receives many cases every day. Most of these cases come from families who barely earn enough for one meal a day. In such circumstances, Ayesha was another child that became victim of the circumstances. There are several loopholes making these families more vulnerable to difficult situations. Raising children in itself is a huge responsibility but factors such as poverty and premature births just add to their downfall.
We at PAHCHAAN have our roots deeply ingrained into the physical and mental healing of not only one person but the whole families and the communities. Out of several cases that are brought to us on daily basis, one is the story of Shehzad. This 12 years old young boy who not only got severe burns from the electric shock but unfortunately may not be able to use his right eye ever again. Let us read into a little mistake that led him to Child Protection Unit.