Conscience Change

The Freeing of an Atmosphere of Children in Bonded Labor and Planting Trees in Pakistan

Pakistan is not just under the pall of subjugation of women, children and minorities in a modern day slavery of bonded labor, but also under the pall of poison air from more than 20,000 raw coal belching brick 🧱kilns.

As one of the most de-forested nations on earth, much of Pakistan’s forest cover has ended up in the massive underground brick kiln furnaces, whose towers can be seen in every direction. If given a little reprieve and a lot of trees, the atmosphere will one day heal itself. This is woman’s advocate and one of our 20 teachers, Kiran Bao and some of her students. 

We at FreedomCry.Life are focusing on planting 10 different fruit trees that perform well in Pakistan and what’s known as the ‘Miracle Tree’, seen in this photo, the Moringa. In Pakistan, this tree also known as the Sohanjna tree, is one of the fastest growing trees on the planet, harboring healing in its leaves of many of the ailments we witness in the human beings of the Brickyards.

Diya uses the same tool for fracturing, digging and stirring the ground for planting a lemon tree that she uses to chop and mix the same soil into clay to help make her family’s quota of bricks.

Royal and a Mango growing and GLOWING together.

Shaffaf Masih is co-founder of the Freedom School System. Prior to his coming on board and leadership with Freedom Cry he worked with his landscaper uncle planting trees for some of the wealthier ‘majority’ in Lahore. Now as Superintendent of our schools in Kasur he likes to get his hands dirty, digging trees and digging the kids.   

The ‘crew’ is protecting the planting sites with bricks. I realize this looks dangerous, but children born in a brick yard, born into bonded labor have known nothing but bricks 🧱 bricks 🧱 and more bricks 🧱 

Now that Freedom Cry and our Freedom School System is gaining ground in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan, the children are getting to yearn for books,📚 books, 📖 and more 📕 books!

And now these ones, the future of a nation in front of them are falling in love with TREES🌲TREES🌳 and MORE TREES 🍊

Take a close look at the chopped tree behind the tree watering brigade…

Many a tree that has gotten a chance to begin to grow out and up has been chopped back for cooking when mixed with dried ‘cow potty’. There never used to be such a scarcity of firewood.

As a keeper of trees for almost 50 years in the USA, the planting depth for certain species in Asia, such as the Moringa was ‘deeper’ than my understanding. 

Blog by Wendell Phillips ‘Phil’ Berwick

Coordinator of tree planting program and photos / Shaffaf Masih

“Something can be done when nothing can be done”