Without doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a crisis in every part of the globe, leaving once stable systems in a fragile state. While no one is spared from the havoc created by this pandemic, those in the fringes of society find themselves seriously jeopardized. But in the midst of the bad news, there is good news for Godā€™s people have been responsive and continue to be His conduit of mercy and grace- and one such story is that of OTS Compassion, an initiative of Open Theological Seminary, Pakistan, one of ATAā€™s member institutions.

OTS Compassion was born out of the desire to alleviate the plight of the poor, the deprived, and the daily wage earners, who are most affected by the lock down imposed by the government. This initiative aims at providing food to poor families for at least 10 days and the work of doing so will be carried out in phases, given the uncertainty of the length of the lockdown. OTS Compassion will begin by providing food packages to 1,000 families and should the lock down extend beyond the initial projected time frame, the program will aim at providing for 1,500 families; and in the event that it exceed to more than a month, the program will aim at providing for 2,000 families. Each food package contains flour, rice, sugar, tea, salt, lentils, turmeric, vermicelli, and cooking oil among many and costs Rs 2150 (USD 28.23). OTS Compassion was able to raise Rs 75,000 (USD 984.93)- initially through the effort of staff and eventually through the contribution of various individuals who want to support this endeavour.

Beneficiaries of these food packages are carefully selected by OTS staff through a carefully laid out process.

As OTS responds to this crisis in love, let us join them by praying for the following:

  1. Wisdom in processing hundreds of request forms for food help.
  2. Strength and protection in preparing and distributing food packs.
  3. Provisions for the resources needed through donors who could partner with OTS in this project.

We praise God for the work he is doing through OTS Compassion!

Share your stories!

We at ATA would like to come alongside you as best as we can, so if you have any story of how your institution has responded to the crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, be it in helping out in your community or in the adjustments you have made in delivering your courses, feel free to share it with us. Please email your stories to ataasia.info@gmail.com . We hope that these stories will not only serve as a means for us to encourage one another but also to strengthen our community and remind each other that we are in this together.