A little good news for your Sunday
There is plenty happening in our world that can make the news feel a little heavy.
But quietly, often in places far from our own lives, good things are happening too. Someone reaches out. A child is encouraged. An opportunity opens a door. Hope begins to take hold.
That’s what our Sunday Good News Stories are about.
One small, true story each week to remind us that kindness matters, hope is powerful, and sometimes the smallest steps can have a much bigger purpose.
This week, I’d like you to meet Nawab.
I remember this boy
Earlier this year, in February, my wife and I (Doug) travelled to India and had the privilege of visiting each one of our 14 Project Help India centres across Northern India, spending time with the children, their families and our wonderful teachers and staff.
One of those visits took us to our Ferozepur Slum Education Centre.
Although the word centre might give you the wrong picture.
That afternoon, the classroom was a large groundsheet spread beside the road, on the edge of the slum. Children gathered with their schoolbags, shoes scattered neatly around the edge. There were lessons and laughter, friends chatting, children showing us their work - and, quite a bit of excitement when some chocolate appeared!
It was wonderfully ordinary childhood.
And among those children was a boy I remember particularly well.
Thirteen-year-old Nawab.
He was respectful, eager to learn and took his studies very seriously. He delighted in showing me his schoolwork. When I praised him and handed him a few stickers, the pride on his face was priceless.
But there was a cheeky streak too! Around his friends I saw another Nawab emerge, and I had the distinct impression some of the other children looked up to him.
So when a recent report from our team in India landed on my desk, his name immediately jumped out at me.
I knew this boy.
And I couldn’t wait to discover how he was getting on.
The news was very good.
Nawab nearly lost something precious
What I hadn’t fully appreciated when I met Nawab was how easily his life might have taken a different direction.
His father, Shankar, collects scrap to support his family. Nawab began accompanying him and saw that there was money to be earned.
For a 13-year-old growing up in poverty, that immediate reward was understandably attractive.
He started working more often. Gradually, school became less important. His attendance dropped and his studies suffered.
His parents wanted him to continue his education—but poverty has a way of narrowing a family’s choices.
Then Nawab’s mum stepped in.
Worried about her son, she approached Asha, our PHI teacher.
Asha asked her to bring Nawab to the centre.
Just once.
And when he came, something beautifully simple happened.
The other children welcomed him warmly.
He joined in. He participated in the activities. He made friends. He discovered that he liked being there.
Then Nawab came back.
And kept coming back.
Eventually he began attending the centre on his own and returned to formal school. He had fallen behind and had forgotten some of what he’d previously learned, but with encouragement and consistent support, his studies began improving.
And the latest report from Saleem?
Nawab continues to attend both school and our PHI Education Centre regularly, and he’s making good progress.
That’s good news worth sharing.
Because a child should have the chance to be a child
Looking again at my photographs from February, this is what strikes me.
I see children sitting together on a mat beside the road. Schoolbags. Friends. Laughter. Learning. A little mischief. Chocolate.
Childhood.
And that’s part of what we are trying to protect.
At PHI, we work strategically with local police and other agencies to support children involved in child labour, helping them access education and greater opportunities for their future.
This is just one part of PHI’s wider work advocating for vulnerable children and helping protect them from exploitation and human trafficking. If you’d like to understand more about this important work, you can read our recently published Child Advocacy & Anti-Human Trafficking report.
We also work collaboratively to protect vulnerable children and families from organised criminal networks that seek to exploit poverty and desperation.
But we never stand in judgement of struggling parents.
We stand alongside them.
That became very real to me during our visit. I had the opportunity to sit and talk with many of the parents from this community, and something struck me.
Many of them were still so young themselves.
Young mums and dads carrying the responsibility of raising children while navigating poverty, insecure work and circumstances that often leave them with very few choices.
It reminded me that vulnerability doesn’t suddenly disappear when someone becomes a parent. These parents love their children and want something better for them, but many are trying to create that “something better” while facing enormous challenges of their own.
Nawab’s family is a good example. His father works hard collecting scrap to support his family, while his mother was concerned enough about her son’s education to seek help from Asha.
The problem isn’t a family doing what it can to survive.
The problem is when poverty begins deciding a child’s future.
I think Nawab has caught the dream
And that’s why I keep thinking about the boy who proudly showed me his schoolwork.
Knowing his story now, those moments mean even more.
Perhaps Nawab understands that education isn’t something to take for granted.
Perhaps he’s beginning to see that his future can be bigger than the circumstances surrounding him today.
I don’t know where Nawab’s education will eventually take him. None of us does.
But I think Nawab has caught the dream.
And judging by the latest report from our team, he’s holding onto it.
One concerned mum.
One teacher who reached out.
One warm welcome from some other children.
One boy who decided to come back.
Small steps. Big purpose.
You make stories like Nawab’s possible
To everyone who supports Project Help India - thank you.
Your generosity helps keep our education centres open and teachers like Asha present in vulnerable communities. It gives children like Nawab somewhere to learn, a nutritious meal, friendships, encouragement and, perhaps most importantly, the opportunity to imagine a different future.
Not every gift changes the whole world. But it can help change someone’s world.
You can make a one-off or monthly tax-deductible donation by clicking the DONATION tab at the top of this page.
And please share Nawab’s story. Send this little bit of good news to someone who might like some cheering up this Sunday.
As you head into the week ahead, perhaps his story can remind us all:
Never underestimate the impact you can have in someone else’s life.
Reach out with kindness. Encourage someone. Believe in their future.
Sometimes changing a community begins right there.