In November, the Catholic Sprouts Clubhouse community got to meet Fr. Waqar and some of the children of Our Lady of Fatima and St. Albert’s School in Gojra, Pakistan. 

(For a quick recap of Fr. Waqar and the children’s story, scroll down!)

We want to help them - and we hope you’ll want to help them too! After all, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and Jesus was very clear with us: whatever we do to the least of these, we do for Him!

So let’s give the Baby Jesus a beautiful birthday gift this Christmas through the children of Our Lady of Fatima and St. Albert’s!

We hope to raise $36,000 (yes, we know that’s a big goal…but God has all the money in the world!)

Here’s what they need, and what we hope our incredible community of families can provide:

1) Immediate needs:

The children need warm clothing because the temperature is dropping, and they also need help providing the children with a proper diet this winter. We’d also love to help Fr. Waqar to give the children who live there a small Christmas gift in honor of the Baby Jesus (we can be like St. Nicholas!).

2) Bring HOPE to even more children:

With the gift of transportation, Our Lady of Fatima and St. Albert’s can provide education to even more children who would otherwise be working in the brick kilns. 10 rickshaws would provide transportation for 60-80 additional children, and give them a way out of the cycle of slavery and poverty through education.

Here’s a quick recap of what we learned on our Clubhouse call:

Fr. Waqar shared his (amazing!) vocation story and the work that God has called him to do for the children in his community. In this area of Pakistan, many people (including children) work in very poor conditions in brick kilns, essentially enslaved for generations. Education is the only path to a different future, but for many of the children, this would be impossible. That’s where Fr. Waqar comes in! Fr. Waqar is not just a priest, he is also the principal of these schools. Most of the 250+ children who attend the schools are not able to provide for their basic needs, so Fr. Waqar and the sisters who help him have to provide food and clothing in addition to education. And 46 of the children must live there in order to attend school, so Fr. Waqar has to provide for all of their needs.

Not only that, but in this area of the world, there are very few Christians, and even fewer priests (Fr. Waqar is the very first priest to come from his city!). The children at the school are taught the faith, they go to Mass and receive the Eucharist, and some of them are even beginning to discern vocations to the priesthood and religious life. 

The Holy Spirit is truly moving hearts in Pakistan! And we invite the Holy Spirit to move our hearts to generosity as we prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas!