Imran's story

I was brought up in Baddomalhi in Pakistan.

The people of the villages where I lived are very poor. Most of them work in fields, clean the sewage off the streets and make bricks for a very low wage. Most of the families have to send their children to work to cover basic living expenses and therefore cannot afford to send their children to school.

My father is a Christian minister and depends on the offerings of his poor congregations to feed his family. When I was little my father used to say me ‘my son, the only way we can get out of poverty is by getting an education and finding a good job.’

Compared to most of my friends, I was fortunate because my father was able to afford my basic education. When I was sixteen I decided to leave my home town and went to Karachi in order to find work and continue my education.

I went to stay in my cousin's one bedroom flat, I slept in the landing area on the floor and had to wake up and fold my bed away early in morning so that they could use the rest of the flat. After a year of living there I was still looking for work and could not afford to continue my education, many times I had to go without food because I had no money.

After a year and a half I managed to get a job tutoring children. Many times the parents would come to me and apologise because they could not afford to pay me. However I was earning enough to study again.

During this time I prayed to God that He would enable me to get a good education. My struggles and the financial difficulties of those I was tutoring, higlighted to me the problems that many encounter in gaining a basic and life altering education. This inspired me to champion this cause and to work towards enabling families and children to experience the same opportunities I was privileged to experience. Living Hope is the culmination of this vision I have been working and praying towards since this time.

After finishing my secondary education, I was able to get a good job in Citi Bank of Pakistan in Karachi. This meant that I could send some money to my parents to pay for my 2 brothers and sister’s education.

However, I still had dreams of studying for a theology degree. God provided me with the opportunities and resources to travel to the UK and to study at a Bible college for 3 years to gain my degree. Having completed my degree, I am now training to become a Methodist minister.

I am now in a place where I am able to turn my vision of educating underprivileged children, to give them a better future, into reality.