2020 Annual Report
people freed in 2020
students in education
families supported into work in 2020
//2020 Key Info
Redemption
People set free: 622 people /136 families (increase of 11% on 2019)
Average cost per person: $145 USD
Average time enslaved: 11 years, 3 months
Total spent: $90,628 USD
Education
New schools started: 0
Total schools operating: 7
Total students: 245
Total teachers: 15
Total Education spending: 960,000 PKR / $6070 USD
Aid, Community Development, Refugee Work
Total Aid spending: 605,000 PKR / $3192 USD
Total Community Development: 640,000 PKR / $4014 USD
Total Refugee Support: $7200 USD
Covid Relief: 2,200,000 PKR / $13,980 USD
Seminars/Training: 110,000 PKR / $695 USD
Redemption
Like people all around the world, 2020 was an exceptionally challenging year. Pakistan implemented regular lockdowns in an effort to combat the spread of Covid. However, surprisingly, we mangaged to still redeem 136 families–a total of 622 people. This was an increase of 11% on the previous year–an incredible effort by our team, especially after losing months to Covid.We would like to offer our sincere gratitude to all our donors who made this possible!
Arzu’s Story
Every so often we encounter a family that is a little different. Arzu was sold by her husband into slavery, who used the money to pay off his debts but then ran off with another woman. Her situation was hopeless. Four amazing donors combined to pay her debt and we were thrilled to redeem Arzu and her son on the 11th of March.
This is a real beauty for ashes story and even after the betrayal and ordeal of slavery, the smile on Arzu’s face is a sign of hope for a joyful future. Thank you so much to our monthly donors and the sponsors who made this possible!
Education
In 2020, our schools were closed for the majority of the year, only meeting when lockdowns were lifted. When open, we upgraded some of the classes with supplies such as chairs and a whiteboard. During lockdowns, because we have no technological infrastructure to teach online, our students went without education. We kept paying our teachers throughout the year so they could continue to support their families. We are definitely looking forward to a better year for our schools in 2021.f life.
Aid Work and Covid
In 2020, feeding families became a huge focus for us. Covid lockdowns meant that many families started starving, and we even had reports of people trying to boil grass to eat. During this time we diverted everything we could into feeding people. Our team received permits to travel during lockdowns and we were incredibly blessed to provid food for over 1,800 familes!
Over the course of the year, we installed 15 wells in remote villages in partnership with our good friend Faris Rajput. We provided flood relief, as well as giving money to people in desperate need for the basics of life.
Refugee Work
In 2020, we continued our support a Pakistani refugee community of 15 families and were delighted to be able to triple our support to the families, providing $7200 USD. These families have been through so much and Covid made the year especially difficult. As refugees, they were entitled to no government support, nor could they work. They have coped well in fairly extreme conditions, and we hope to be able to continue our support in 2021.
Freedom Base
Thank you so much to our incredible supporters who have made it possible to purchase the Freedom Base in 2020. In 2021, we are planning to use the building for:
- Freeslaves Offices
- Freeslaves Medical team
- Teacher Training
- Counselling Facilities
- Emergency Accommodation
The building cost $110,000 USD to purchase plus $12,000 for refitting. Money was not directed away from any other part of the project for this purpose, but we had a number of key donors who gave generously specifically for the base. We are so thankful and excited to see the building put to good use in 2021. Learn more here: https://freeslaves.org/freedom-base/
A Word from Emmanuel
Our Pakistan Project Director writes:
“As we know the last 2020 year was a year of crisis, pain and challenges. But praise the Lord, when people were losing everything, we have seen through His mighty grace an influx of blessing and resources. When everything was stopped and nothing was being done (due to the lockdowns) we saw the supply of God because the Heaven is never on lockdown. In Pakistan there were many people who had nothing so that they may survive, but praise God He has provided us to meet the needs of those needy people. Like Jesus spoke with disciple give them to eat (and we saw a miracle that how Jesus multiplied few fish and bread), so we were able to feed more than 1800 families. And the families who were needy and in bondage told us that they had been praying to God to provide them with provision so that they may feed their families and could be freed from the earthly slavery. We also installed water pump in different villages. And most of these villages had no clean water. We were able to help 15 villages by providing clean water to them and sharing the love of God. This all happened because of your love kindness and sacrificial giving. So I would like to thank all of you from the depths of my heart.”
Final Thanks
2020. The word says it all.
It’s been an incredible year, and I want to start by honoring our Pakistan team. In the face of extreme need and in incredibly crazy times, they poured themselves out for the poorest people and saved lives. I’m really humbled to be able to call them my friends. Thank you Emmanuel, Naomi, Dilbar, Shakeel, Imran, Kashif I and Kashif G,, Saheed, Arif, Asharif, Bashir and Faris! You are all amazing and deeply loved.
Thank you also to our donors. You guys have been absolutely amazing. You’ve redeemed the enslaved, freed those in bondage, fed the starving, clothed the naked, given dignity to the least of all people, and so much more. It’s a privilege to have your support and we don’t take it lightly. We are honestly so thankful and encouraged to have you on board. So for all our supporters, I would like to pray a blessing:
May the God of All Creation cause you to grow and abound in love and faith. May your life be filled with delight, and may you walk into the future with boldness, confidence, and joy. May you and all those you love, experience profound favor in all that you do, and may your life be saturated in love.
With all gratitude in Christ,
Geoff Woodcock
NZ Freeslaves.org Project Director
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