Inauguration Ceremony of Adult Education Center
With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, on March 08, 2016, Saint Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission in Pakistan inaugurated the first Adult Education Center for women in Pakistan. We dedicated the center after the name of Saint Matrona of Moscow. The event was attended by 30 women and 15 young Christian women are enrolled for the adult education. The basic motive of the center is to train the women to read and write and provide them the awareness about the social and legal issues in Pakistan. Beside this in the adult education program they will be taught the Catechism of Eastern Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Prayers.
Speaking at the occasion, Fr. Joseph Farooq appreciated the generous support of Mrs Angela Novac Draghici for the literacy program for adult Christian women in Pakistan and called it an ideal program for those who couldn’t continue their education due to hardship or other reasons.
Moreover Fr. Joseph Farooq told the women group that the importance of this Adult Education Center is to impart basic literacy skills along with some other skills such as sewing and embroidery etc. It is equally necessary that these skills be used by the learners in their daily lives.
The Theological and Spiritual Perspective for Choosing the naming in honour of Saint Matrona Moscow:
Some years ago, I read of the life and works of Saint Matrona of Moscow and this had a deep impact on my mind. Futhermore it has strengthened me spiritually and has encouraged me to face all hardship in my pastoral ministry and to accomplish the tasks ahead of me. She was blind but God has granted her the light of Jesus with the gift of spiritual vision!! Saint Matrona bore infirmity with humility and patience, and God made her a vessel of grace. She never attended any school for formal education but acquired spiritual discernment, vision and knowledge of the sacred traditions.
As Saint Matrona of Moscow comforted and spiritually strengthened the Russian faithful during the Communist Regime. I believe that She will become a source of spiritual encouragement for suffering Christians in Pakistan. I pray to the Heavenly Father that may Saint Matrona of Moscow Center become a source of solidarity, peace, love and harmony in Pakistan.
Goals and Objectives of Saint Matrona of Moscow Adult Education Center:
(The basic literacy skills are important for life)
1- To enable them to read and write themselves.
2- To provide them awareness of Orthodox Christian family values and Orthodox Traditions.
3- To impart the knowledge of Eastern Orthodox Catechism and they will be able to learn Orthodox Prayers, so that they may strengthen and steadfast to their faith in the Islamic State of Pakistan.
4- To enable them to have the ability to change an individual’s life and to solve real-life problems through teamwork within the context of an active learning environment.
5- After the completion basic literacy course, further skills such as sewing, embroidery and handcrafts will be taught to them so that they may earn their livelihood.
6- To foster confidence, trust and determination so that they may deal the difficulties and hardships in their day to day life.
7- To polish their inner talents and potentials.
Background:
The adult Christian girls and women in Pakistan have been denied privilege of human right and basic right to education. They are denied not only the right to education, but also the right to decide matters relating to their marriages and divorce. Often abuses are compounded: poor girls and women are trafficked and subject to forced marriage. The Christian girls are the easy prey of forced marriage and in most of cases the Christian girls are forced to embrace Islam even a married Christian women are victim of Islamic Marriage Act.
There are number of cases that Christian girls and women are raped and forced to have sex at their work places, especially who are working in the houses of rich Muslim land lords and businessmen. Nearly 2,000 women and girls from various minority sects were forcibly converted to Islam through rape, torture and kidnappings.
We are thankful to God that St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission in Pakistan is conducting meetings and organizing different awareness programs for them. We are also working to uplift their living standards. For these purposes we have launched an adult education program for adult Christian women and later on a stitching school. The main motive of the mission is to protect the Christian women from sexual harassment at workplaces and to save them from forced conversation.
Saint Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission in Pakistan with the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, humbly request the kind donors to show their generosity towards the poor and deprived Christian women folk. The mission plan is to open more Adult Education and Skill Centers for women. We need your generous support to buy sewing and embroidery machines for them. You can also help us by becoming a parish link and promoting the work of the Mission in your local community and to your church. We will keep you up-to-date about our work and latest events.
Your generosity makes it possible for Fr. Joseph Farooq preaching the holy orthodoxy in the most difficult region of the South East Asia. He reaches out to communities, families and children in desperate need, bringing the light of Christ to the darkest of circumstances.
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Funds are distributed from the ROCOR Fund For Assistance and directly distributed to the mission
Archangel Michael Mission in Pakistan 