2020 was a highly unusual year for the whole world. The events of that year will have impacted you personally… whether you were locked down and inconvenienced, or more personally touched by tragedy. It also had a profound impact on PAK7.

Back at the beginning of March 2020, as it was just becoming clear that this virus was going to spread around the world, I wondered for a brief dark moment what it would mean for PAK7. My first thought was whether this fledgling organisation, just over a year old, would survive… We had had a very lean first 2 months of the year, and had almost no money in the bank… if our income dried up, would we be able to continue paying our staff?

My second thought was about what the virus could mean for Pakistan and its people. I began to consider a situation where the country could descend into chaos, where public services would not be able to keep up, where even the rule of law could be under threat. (No doubt I’ve watched too many apocalyptic movies!) Thankfully it was not as bad as I had feared (although some of the scenes in neighbouring India are now close to what I had imagined).

We did a number of things in those first few days of March: (1) We tore up the plan that I’d written for the year, and stripped it back to things that we thought we could deliver remotely and cheaply; (2) We rapidly accelerated our Social Media plans, believing that this was the most effective way of supporting people in Pakistan who would be frightened, suffering, and looking for answers.

This Annual Report tells the story of that year; it tells the story of a faithful God, of lives impacted by the Gospel, of generous supporters who did not turn inwards and look only to their own needs, but who looked to the needs of others. It tells the story of wonderful projects we were able to deliver, even in difficult circumstances. This is our story, and it is your story. Thank you for your friendship and support… I hope you are encouraged as you read this.