More...   Frequently Asked Questions Allow us to Dream          The Starfish Asia Fund 32 Beck Lane Beckenham Kent BR3 4RE UK Telephone +44 (0)20 8402 1914 Email mike@starfishasia.com	A personal message from Mike Wakely It is almost impossible from our relatively secure perspective to grasp the reality of absolute poverty. To have nothing... no stable job... no pension... no home... no money to send the children to school. No hope of change. But millions experience the devastation of absolute poverty as a daily grinding reality. Is it our responsibility? Are we our brother's keeper?   One thing is sure: we cannot meet all the needs of the world - but we have got to do something!   The special focus of the Starfish Asia fund is the struggling Christian community in Muslim Pakistan, where poverty is widespread and life is tough.   The Starfish Asia fund has joined hands with several reliable Christian Pakistanis, who are themselves passionate about helping their community but lack the resources. Many of them are running schools for the poor, the handicapped or the blind -- to give a chance to the next generation of Christians from poor homes. In the schools that we sponsor, it costs only £3 or US $6 a month to give a Pakistani child an education. That's value for money and it meets a huge need.   Pakistan is a country with massive problems and Government education is not accessible to everyone. Christians are especially vulnerable and many are trapped in poverty and illiteracy. In a population of 160 million, 41% of the men and 70% of women cannot read or write. 28 million children have never attended school.   It costs so little to give a child the education and the skills to escape the poverty trap.   · Half the world lives on less than £1 / $2 a day. · Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their name. UNICEF-2004 We can't help them all - but we have got to help some!