The Christian community of Gujrat, Pakistan, is bursting forth with both a dire need for steady income and with creativity. Many people in Gujrat, both men and women, have excellent skills in knitting, sewing and textiles, painting, toy-making, and much more. The community, under the guidance of Nadeem Feroze, a novitiate in the Tertiary lay order of St. Benedict of the Roman Catholic Church, and with the assistance of an American liaison in the United States, Kristen Pantle, are attempting to organize the community into a network of artisans."Due to this discrimination," Nadeem explained, "Christians do not have many opportunities to acquire jobs in Pakistan. Most days we struggle to earn a living wage simply to feed our children or care for aging parents. It is very hard."
Nadeem is very involved in his community, and when he isn't doing odd jobs along with the rest of his poor neighborhoods, he spends his time in service to them. Teaching catechism or helping children with homework, making rosaries and bringing the Eucharist to shut-ins, partaking in peace conferences and organizing church events, are just a glimpse into the daily efforts Nadeem exercises in order to uplift his community of faith. "Nadeem wants to live out the Gospel message the best he can," Kristen, student at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, OH, explains. "He is compelled by something deep within to bring hope, dignity, and self-sufficiency to all his persecuted brethren. He wishes so much to help them, but he also has a family of his own to care for." Nadeem has a wife and a daughter with another child on the way, as well as two elderly parents for whom he cares.
Sewing Hope
The pride of the community's artistic work is their tapestries. Taught by the members from the religious order Sisters of the Cross, the community hand-sews tapestries of religious images from strips of fabric. One of the sisters is pictured (left) with their Resurrection Tapestry. "It takes almost twelve hours to make, depending on the skill of the artist," Nadeem explains. "Most of the artists don't have sewing machines and so have to do everything by hand."
They sell religious cards made by the sisters, as well as cards made by the little children in Sunday school. They make animal statues out of jewels and street tar. "Necessity is the mother of invention," Kristen says. There is also an artist who paints pastoral scenes on stretches of velvet (pictured below).
Nadeem and Kristen are hoping to establish a dependable source of income. "This may take awhile," sighs Kristen. "I don't know a lot about these things, but I would love to be able to create a Fair Trade market for this community. For them to be able to produce things that people want to buy will not only give them a sense of pride, it will put food on the table and provide much-needed medical care. It is going to take a lot of work and ingenuity. I hope to find some help with this."
If you wish to purchase one of the items made by the Christians of Gujrat, help with this ministry, or simply would like to donate, please email Kristen at k.louise77@gmail.com.
