Christmas is a time of peace, love and harmony. St Thomas, one of the disciples of Christ, came all the way to Taxila and did charity work for the people of this land. Continuing the tradition of helping others, especially the poor, today St Thomas Church has an active group of people working to improve the lives of the have-nots. The groundbreaking ceremony of the church took place on 17 October 1988 by the Duke of Gloucester, Great Britain as the foundation stone was laid by Reverend and Rt Honourable Dr Robert Runcie. The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury came for its completion on 3 February 1990. The church’s construction was completed in 1992. Designed by architect Pasha, it symbolises unity and harmony of Christianity.

During the last 35 years, the people associated with this church have helped the poor communities living in slums. Rt Rev Dr Alexander John Malik says, “Following Jesus Christ, we have no option but to serve humanity irrespective of caste, creed, colour, or gender.” Pakistan has witnessed the outstanding work of Mission hospitals in Peshawar, Taxila, Dera Ismail Khan, Multan, Shikarpur and Quetta. In Islamabad, their aim is to provide facilities to the people living in slums. They are providing health facilities to nine communities in Islamabad, with centres in five of them.

About 40,000 people have benefited from health facilities being offered in Islamabad. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has provided land for the five centres in different slums, with the assurance that it will be returned on request.

A centre is providing basic health facilities, including post and antenatal care, along with contraceptive and other facilities to poor people.

This Christmas many programmes have been arranged, including plays performed by students in these centres. Such performances do wonders for children in giving them confidence and self esteem. Competitions are held between homes with prizes for the best decorated home.

An outstanding aspect of the basic education facilities in these centres is the education of special children. It is an unheard of service in poor areas where the normal children do not have access to education.

St Thomas Church has brought health workers here who visit homes and find out families having handicapped children, and give them timely help and facilities. The hearing impaired children learn sign language and are helped with speech therapy.

Once the child has improved, he or she is referred to other institutions in Islamabad. The government agencies provide free vaccinations and injections for children of residents of these slums.

Director Sholmeat Robin, a devoted person who knows names and backgrounds of many children studying in these centres, has worked here for over 22 years. Rt Rev Dr A J Malik is the chairperson is as the Church of Pakistan is fully committed to these community ventures.

Suneel, a student of class 10th with hearing impairment, is an exceptional artist with an outgoing personality. His smiling face and friendly personality show how much attention and care he has been given.

Every child here is loved and cared for despite lack of facilities. The confidence on the faces of children and their ability to communicate with each other is a wonderful sight to witness.

The greatest need of the times in Pakistan is to provide health and educational facilities at the grass roots level. And this is what is being done here.

It is not to wait for downtrodden people to come to the management, but for the management to go to them and provide them the right help at the right time.

These are the forgotten people of Islamabad who are being remembered by this small Christian community. People of all faith are given help here. However, most of them are Christians – sanitary workers, domestic helpers, peons and housemaids and clerks.

Members of the St Thomas Church are a beacon of hope in the lives of slum dwellers of Islamabad. There is great need for student volunteers to come forward and be a source of strength for such great personalities serving humanity. Why not make it one of your New Year resolutions to be a volunteer at the St Thomas Church?