Stories of
Freedom & Opportunity
Behind every number is a family, a child, or a community moving toward freedom, dignity, and new possibility. In Pakistan, many families enter bonded labor after borrowing money for urgent needs such as medical care, lost income, or major family expenses. What begins as debt often becomes years of labor under conditions that can pass from one generation to the next.
12 Years
Later
The Saleem family entered bonded labor after borrowing money to cover childbirth-related
medical expenses. What was meant to be temporary became twelve years of labor under debt they could not escape. Over the years, the family endured repeated loss, including the death of seven sons, while two daughters grew up under severe hardship.
AFC helped secure their freedom and supported the family’s transition into safer living conditions, opening the way for a safer and more stable future.
Learning Opens
the Way
For many children from vulnerable families, school becomes the first steady step toward a different life. AFC supports education for children whose families have often lived through years of instability and hardship.
Mukadas is one of them. Once working in slavery at ten years old, she is now in second grade, learning quickly and dreaming ahead. Her favorite subject is English, and she hopes one day to become a manager in a software company.
Skills That Restore Stability
Vocational training gives adults the opportunity to rebuild with dignity. Skills such as tailoring and welding help strengthen families and create new forms of stability over time.
Kamala is the mother of three children and comes from a very poor rural community where many families spend their lives working in wheat fields under intense heat. She and her husband both grew up without formal education and come from a low caste background within their community.
After completing AFC’s tailoring training, Kamala began sewing from her home. Over time, her work allowed her to purchase her own sewing machine, then two additional machines shared with other women who had also completed training. She now helps oversee the work as the small business continues to provide income for her family and opportunity for others.
