Foundation stone laid in Faisalabad's St Andrew's school for underprivileged

Bishop Indrias Rehmat inaugurated work on St. Andrew's Middle School in Dawood Colony: a project aimed at providing education for young people from poor families in the area. The benefactor Tanvir Gulzar supported the project financially, dedicating it to the bishop. During the ceremony, parish priest Fr Khalid Rashid Asi emphasised the importance of education: ‘Another lamp lit for the community’.

Faisalabad (AsiaNews) - Monsignor Joseph Indrias Rehmat, bishop of Faisalabad since 2019, has started the construction site of the Catholic school to be called St. Andrew's Middle School, located in a run-down area of Faisalabad called Dawood Colony, in the parish of Holy Rosary.

In this area, the inhabitants are mostly poor and work menial jobs with daily wages. All the expenses of the school, the first Catholic school in the area, were borne by Tanvir Gulzar, a socially active benefactor living in America.

Last week, the Bishop blessed the place, laid the foundation stone of the school building and fixed some blessed spiritual objects in the foundation, such as the cross, Mother Mary and St. Anthony's prayers.

The event was attended by members of the community with Bishop Indrias Rehmat, parish priest Fr. Khalid Rashid Asi and the parish catechists. Before the laying of the foundation stone, all participants sang religious songs of joy, a Gospel passage was read, and prayers were recited for this new building.

The pastor also distributed sweets among the participants to show a gesture of joy and happiness. Addressing the participants at the ceremony, Bishop Indrias Rehmat said: ‘Nations can only progress through education, and we are trying to build schools in those areas where people cannot afford an expensive education. We truly believe that our people, through this school, will receive an education and help build a better society in the future’.

This was followed by thanks addressed to Tanvir Gulzar and his family for this initiative to help the poor community in this area. ‘This is indeed a great project; let us entrust it to the hands of Jesus Christ, that He may bless all those who think of the children of the poor. I hope that this school will train other role models like Tanvir Gulzar who will do their best for marginalised people in the future for their development and progress’.

Tanvir Gulzar, a social activist who has long worked for the betterment of the Catholic community, has already founded several sewing schools and literacy centres in Jhang district and Faisalabad for the Catholic community.

‘I am grateful to our Lord who blessed us so that we could do something for our people,' he said. ’I named this school after St Andrew because it is the same as Bishop Inderias Rehmat's: I have seen that he is making great efforts for the development of the Catholic community. My family asked me insistently to build this school because there is not a single Catholic school in this area'.

The wish to have the same prelate's blessing became a reality last week. ‘I am very grateful to him for his blessings and wishes for this school and community. I assure you that I will continue to work for my community and will always be available for our Catholic Church.’

Parish priest Fr Khalid Rashid Asi also expressed his joy and said that laying the foundation stone of a school is like lighting a lamp so that the light spreads and shows the way to others. ‘Jesus Christ said you are the light of the world, I am really happy that there are activists like Tanvir Gulzar who give light and impart knowledge to others. Only education can lead us to the right path’.

It is education, according to the pastor, that has helped improve the practices of the local community. ‘This is a day of celebration because with the efforts of Tanvir Gulzar, who lives in America but still feels sorrow for his Pakistani community, he has lit another lamp for the poor community, so as to enlighten it and bring more people out of ignorance.