Back to What we do... How you can give to Compassion Grants                                 Starfish Asia 32 Beck Lane Beckenham Kent BR3 4RE UK Telephone +44 (0)20 8402 1914 Email mike@starfishasia.com	compassion grants Starfish Asia is a small Charity, which means that we have the flexibility to respond to small and intimate needs. Through our trusted partners in Pakistan we are ready to meet individual needs as they arise in the lives of the tragically poor. In some cases we make regular small grants to individuals in need -- of whom there are many.   On the Starfish principle we know we cannot help everyone, but we have to help some!   Grants are made to trustworthy Pakistani partners of Starfish Asia, who are able to make grants at their own discretion. The following are just a few of the many small grants that have made a difference to those who have received them...    Few can understand the desperation and fear of absolute poverty who have not experienced its grip at first hand. Many in the Christian community in Pakistan have no back-up or resources other than their own families. Despair haunts the wife who loses her husband for whatever reason, cannot get a job and is faced with a house full of children to feed. Or the family that faces sickness -- all too common when poverty deprives them of an adequate diet -- and there is no money for medical bills.   It is easy to understand why families send their children out to work rather than spending money on giving them an education. But we can help make a difference!    Safia is a member of the Full Gospel Church pastored by George Thomas in Zia Colony, Karachi. It is kinked to the Morning Star Primary School supported by Starfish Asia. One Sunday, when Mike was preaching in the church, Safia collapsed during the service. We immediately committed ourselves to provide medical care for this faithful member of the church. Investigation showed that she needed a heart valve replacement, far beyond the budget of Safia or her family. Starfish Asia has provided funds for the operation.     A poor believer from Sargodha struggled to pay the costs of his mother's recovery from a stroke. A gift for £10 / $20 made all the difference in a moment of crisis.    The Fellowship of Christ arranges a distribution of food and clothing each Christmas and Easter, mostly to poor women in the community, for whom this provision is a lifeline.  When houses were attachked and burned by angry people in Korian and Gojra in the summer of 2009, Starfish Asia was able to provide funds for immediate relief. Tariq Iqbal brought food supplies from Sargodha, and Ashley Arshad hired a truck and brought beds and bedding from Lahore.             Most Compassion Fund grants are for small sums of money and are used to meet pressing medical, accommodation, food, debt relief, or other compassionate needs. We know that we can't help everyone - but this a way we can help some! And it takes such a little to make such a big difference.   We can't help everyone -- but we must help some!