The local Church and some NGOs have distributed basic necessities to hundreds of residents of Youhanabad, where in 2015 a double suicide attack caused 17 deaths. Many of those who have received aid have lost loved ones in the attack. On December 26, the local Church will visit those in prison.
Lahore (AsiaNews) - Boxes filled with gifts, food and basic necessities were distributed to the inhabitants of Youhanabad, the Christian district of Lahore theater of the double suicide attack on churches on March 15, 2015 that left 17 dead and 85 wounded. Priests, religious and members of some NGOs have distributed Christmas gifts.
The local Catholic Church has also organized a visit to the prison on 26 December: "A Christian delegation - said Fr. Francis Gulzar, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Lahore - will visit the prisoners. All the families we have met today [to distribute] gifts have relatives in the Lahore prison. We made this initiative an annual tradition. "
The families came together today in front of a chapel in the parish, where a life-size representation of the Nativity was set up. In recent days, another 400 local villages, including widows and people with disabilities, have received aid from the Church. These include Anayat Bibi, who lost her son Karamat Masih, who died from injuries sustained during the attack: Karamat Masih, father of three, who contracted cancer because of a bomb fragment and died last January.
My younger son, says Bibi, "works in the textile industry, and has a family to support. The food aid will suffice for a week. I will spend all the money I've saved to buy clothes for my grandchildren. "
In recent days, Cecil Chaudhry & Iris Foudation (Cicf) of Youhanabad distributed Christmas gifts to poor students studying in its own training center.