Good morning.  My name is Sunita Nayab Gill.  Gill is actually my caste.  Together with Colin Gillett, my English husband, we have been running a small Christian Charity called One World Welfare Mission (OWWM), since 2017.  Currently, our work is centered around the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan – a country usually listed as one of the top five most dangerous places for a Christian to be in.

 

OWWM started out life as OWWO – One World Welfare Organization – which was borne out of a vision my mother had over a decade ago.  My mother died in 2017. That vision was to assist with the empowerment of women, and the welfare/well-being of poor children and orphans.  It was Colin who quickly reasoned that the empowerment was for the women of the future – the girls of today – through broader understanding of the world and better education.  However, as always, we have to respect and remain very aware of the culture of the country in which we live and work.  Very much walking a tightrope.  Our work is with those who live in today’s equivalent of mud huts. 

We have taken the older children to a modern shopping mall.  For them, a mind-blowing experience.  They go home and tell all about going on something called an escalator!

My mother’s vision was not able to take root because of corruption within the older members of the family.  Corruption is endemic in Pakistan, and this is the primary reason why Colin realized that he had to give up his life in the West and remain here; thereby showing that we are different.  We are a prayer based, God-led, Charity.  We have to continually prove that we are different, and are always willing to do that.

Pakistan is most definitely a third-world country.  Well over 90% of the population are uneducated, or under-educated.  It is lawless, to an extent, with a corrupt and inefficient police force.  There is little substance; it’s all about image.  Colin often says that he didn’t fly East for 6000 miles in 2017, he actually went backwards – 50-60 years backwards in the way society conducts itself.

 

We run a small village school in a place called Manak, from Playgroup to Year 5.  Free, all-round education for poor children.  All of our children are Muslims.  This wasn’t the case, but the small Christian colony in Manak disowned us because we wouldn’t simply open our wallet and say ‘help yourself’. 

We were the first to bring environmental awareness into the village schools’ arena. 

Each pupil receives a birthday present and cake, even if the school is closed.  For most, the only gift they receive all year.

We provide nutrition breaks, especially in the colder months.  This is usually warm milk and egg, and that may be the only food some of the children eat that day. 

When a child has been with us for more than 2 months, we buy them school shoes. 

We buy chicken for the families, when we have sufficient funds.  Colin will tell you that he’s never heard the word ‘vegan’ since his arrival, and ‘vegetarian’ less than half a dozen times.  The poor can’t afford meat, but welcome any opportunity to have it.

 

 

When the pandemic hit, we realized there was a need to provide family food parcels.  Every month we provide 10-20 families with enough free food for two weeks.  Time and lack of funding reduces the regularity.  We keep a small supply in stock, just in case.  Most of these are given to families living and working on Brick Kiln sites.  These people are the poorest of the poor, and they work in the most horrendous conditions making house bricks by hand.  (For making 70,000 bricks per month, a worker can expect to be paid the equivalent of 50 Canadian dollars per week.  Over 20% is held back for rent.) 

Since the beginning of 2020, we have distributed close to 350 food parcels.  Each food parcel costs approximately 15 Canadian dollars.

Brick Kiln children, up to the age pf 13, also receive a birthday present.  The first child we did this to, took the wrapper off, stared in amazement at his 3 new toy cars and then handed the gift back to me.  Why?  Because he had no idea of how to remove the packaging!

 

 

We started a small church – One World Mission Church.  I was raised as a Catholic.  Colin is an accredited Methodist Lay Preacher.  In Wesleyan tradition, the vast majority of the services are out in the open.  It’s not often that there’s a chair to sit on.  Usually, a bed.  (Colin is referred to as a pastor, because Lay Preacher doesn’t compute.)

 

 

Last winter we were made aware of a Brick Kiln baby dying less than a day after it was born; solely because it was cold.  We both said – never again on our watch!  So, we purchased a supply of baby blankets and asked to be told of any imminent births; not just on Brick Kiln sites.  We gave 4 away last winter.  We will give away as many as we need to, in the future.  Potentially, we saved 4 lives at an approximate cost of 30 Canadian dollars.

On the subject of blankets, over the last two years we’ve also given out close to 50 double blankets to adults.

We’ve already mentioned Brick Kiln work.  This is actually a form of modern-day slavery.  It’s a bit complex to mention here, but we will always talk about it in detail.  We made the decision to get a few families out of this atrocious state of affairs.  This gives them and their children a huge potential of a brighter tomorrow.  We have been blessed with the funds to assist one such family.  We do not pay all of their debt.  They have to find 30% of it to show that they are committed.  Even in these awful environments, it can sometimes be better the devil you know…..

 

Feral dogs are a problem here, as they are in India and other countries.  These dogs are usually kicked and stoned by the local children.  During our trips to Manak we became aware of one very emaciated nursing mother and six pups.  We opted to help this family by buying dog food, but despite our best efforts 4 pups died.  Of the remaining two, one was knocked by a passing vehicle – a common occurrence. We took the pups to a safer place to live, and asked a family to look after them.  We feed the pups 4-5 times per week, and give the family a small monthly allowance.  We continue to feed the mother, and one of her older pups, as well.   Our Manak school children are also involved in helping us – more education for them on the care of animals.  Now, they do not fear that dog family, and the dogs don’t snarl at them.

 

 

 

We would love to buy land and build our own school and children’s home.  Orphanages here are, according to Colin, like something out of a Dickens novel.   Orphaned girls and ‘pretty boys’ are extremely vulnerable; and are often sold abroad.

We would also like to create a small water filtration plant in a village such as Manak.  Even I don’t drink the tap water in my own country!  That would also give employment to a few.  We see this being on the same site as the school etc. 

 

We want to give out more family food parcels to those in greatest need.  The distribution of baby blankets (and the assistance towards any medical costs) would continue.

 

We wish to extend our feral dogs’ care, and also open a similar avenue for donkeys.  The way those animals are treated is beyond brutal. 

 

We have a small MPV, but it’s of no use on some of the roads further out of Lahore, so we’re looking to buy an additional vehicle.

 

Many things hold us back – lack of major funding, lack of physical assistance, the weather, ill-health etc.  But, as always, we accept that OWWM is God’s Charity and we place ourselves firmly in His hands.

 

 

Thank you for wanting to know about us and what we are aiming to achieve.

 

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do. ^{(Edward Everett Hale - US Senate Chaplain 1903-09)}