Global Christian Relief, a donor-funded ministry dedicated to aiding persecuted Christians worldwide, has pledged to pay off the debts of at least 100 Christian families this year, who remain enslaved in brick kilns across Pakistan.
This commitment includes providing economic and educational support, such as equipping 380 youth with vocational training, delivering healthcare to 20,000 families, and assisting 325 women in launching small businesses, as stated in a message to The Christian Post.
Brian Orme, president and CEO of Global Christian Relief, has personally visited these communities and conversed with many of the families involved. He remarked, “When we handed over those checks to families like Raheel and Ruth, we weren't just freeing them from debt — we were breaking generational chains of bondage.”
Many Christian families find themselves in the kilns after taking out small loans, ranging from $800 to $1,000, to cover essential expenses like food, rent, or medical emergencies. Despite earning as little as $3 to $5 an hour, interest payments often reduce their wages to around $1.50 a day, according to GCR.
This debt accumulation system entraps entire families, sometimes for decades, despite Pakistan’s 1992 ban on bonded labor. Kiln owners continue to operate with impunity due to corruption and weak enforcement.
The initiative is part of an ongoing campaign to combat the systemic exploitation of religious minorities working under these conditions, even after the national ban on bonded labor. Last year, the organization successfully liberated 50 families from such labor.
In Pakistan, the Christian minority, accounting for approximately 1.27% of the population, encounters severe religious discrimination, limited access to education, and social and economic exclusion. Often relegated to low-wage jobs, Christians are frequently targeted by the country's blasphemy laws.
