Fight against hunger
St. Joseph’s Primary School is located in Faisalabad and it is currently attended by 250 children. It was developed from an initiative of the local parish Assumption Catholic Church.
The school allows children who live in surrounding villages to get an education.
In this area Christians and Muslims often get into conflict. This is why the school teaches children a tolerant and respectful behaviour by addressing interreligious issues. In the school’s canteen students are provided with a meal that guarantees a balanced diet. PRO.SA Foundation yearly supports the nutritional programs of the school canteen in order to provide a healthy diet and to fight the early school leaving.
Pakistan is an Islamic country and Christians are less than 25%. Faisalabad is a district in Punjab, one of the main Pakistan’s regions, and it is where the majority of Christian people live. Most of the population is still living in rural areas, where the access to clean water is limited. Rural houses prevail: according to the traditions of the most ancient Indo societies, the most widespread typical village is made of a clay-housed compact core enclosed by high fences. Here children drink the same water as animals and the contamination risk is extremely high. According to data collected by Unicef, 45% of children up to 5 years old suffer from growth retardation and 41% of them suffer from diarrhoea; they do not have the possibility to be provided with oral rehydration or a regular nutrition. Around 5.000 children show signs of liver and stomach diseases every day due to the dirt water they drink. Among the causes of child malnutrition there are not only insufficient amount of food, scarce hygiene and limited access to drinking water and health care services, but also inappropriate care and nutrition practises since they lack micronutrients.
