Free Brick Kiln Slaves
Donation protected
Many people are unaware that in Pakistan there is slavery going on today. Last year a group of us had the opportunity to visit a Brick Kiln near Lahore. The brick kilns are set up to alleviate poverty, instead they enslave men women and children. Imagine you are a parent in Pakistan. Your father gets hit by a car and suddenly killed. He has left an outstanding debt. The brick kiln, who has covered the debt, turns up at your home. You and your family are taken to a compound rife with malaria and dengue. There is no medical assistance available here. No schools, no hospitals, no shops. You cannot leave until your fathers debt is paid. You are housed in accommodation that is made out of bricks leaning upon each other, joined together and stuck with buffalo or donkey manure. Your house is now a room approximately 3m x 3m. Your children including the 4 year old are no longer able to attend school, instead they must each make a minimum of 300 bricks per day. Your wife must make 300 bricks per day and you must make 600. It will take you years to pay back this debt. But if you fall behind in your quota it will add months to your time.
Although there is government regulation in Pakistan surrounding brick kilns they are often not monitored therefore compliance is not guaranteed or likely.
Walking through the Brick Kiln we were confronted and shocked by what we witnessed. While there we witnessed the children making bricks by hand, squatting next to dengue and malaria mosquito infested streams, they were moulding clay into bricks. The childrens hair smelt like horse hair, as there were no facilities to properly wash. The people were friendly and grateful for the visit, as they don't often get visitors as the Kilns are out of town. We were asked to pray a blessing over peoples living space. We were taken to different rooms or family homes, each room or home was about 3m by 3m and housed up to 10 people. We went into two separate rooms and saw and met two women, both had given birth three days before hand. These women were unable to have any medical assistance at the births. The result being that one baby had died during the birth from the umbilical chord being wrapped around their neck, the other child lived. We were asked to pray for the mother whose child had died. The grief and despair in the womans eyes was haunting. We were then led to meet the mother whose child had lived and were asked to hold the baby and bless it. It was surreal holding a tiny 3 day old baby knowing that the woman we had just left would not be holding her little girl that she had buried. We left the women and were led into another small room and found a man moaning, with sweat beads on his face. He had burns right through to the bone on his leg from the roof of the kiln giving way under his foot. This now meant that the family's brick quota would not be met, and without a miracle he was not only facing the loss of a leg but death from infection. Clothing and food is scarce and people rely upon relatives or outsiders to bring them in. We were able to buy and provide clothing to approximately 300 children at the Kiln a week later.
Coming back to Australia we liaised with local churches in Pakistan and decided to set up a ministry to free some of the slave families. Wings of Hope International Incorporated was born. The people in Pakistan will offer and provide the slaves free accommodation in their own homes and assistance in finding work if we can cover the cost of the debt to the kiln.
We invite you to donate today to join us in purchasing a brick kiln slave family their freedom.
Organizer
Julie Collins
Organizer
New South, Wales