According to Brother Umair and his experience ministering in many villages with brick factories in the Punjab state of Pakistan, there is a great need for blankets (actually a double blanket) and extra food in the village of Mehnidiabad as the weather gets colder in this part of Pakistan.
Also, according to Umair, the workers at these brick factories are "total Christians" according to Umair. This is consistent with the 2nd class status of Christians in Pakistan where Christians have to take often the worst jobs like being street cleaners or in this case brick factory workers.then buy or rent a house in the village.
They can't leave the brick facotry under threat of arrest since they need to re-pay the loans and
Christians take loans from brick facotry owners and then are forced into a virtual slave status, trying to work and live at these brick factories and pay back these loans. According to Umair, these brick facgtory Christians are paid 650 rupees a day (about $4 at current exchange rate) if they make 700 bricks. They use this money to buy food and other needs.
And even if they pay back the loans they would need to buy a house or rent one in the village. Some do this and do free themselves from the deby and go to larger cities or stay in the village.
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| A look at housing in a brick factory for the Christians working there. |
A video of a service inside a typical 1 room brick factory house.
