#31 | Reviving Hopes in Pakistan: Empowering Women, Educating Children, and Breaking Barriers
Mike and Robin Gordon and their two teenage sons left their home in Colorado in 2001 to found Shining Light International, a non-profit designed to empower women, educate children, and bring hope to the destitute, isolated populations of Northern Pakistan. From there the mission has broadened and entire communities are being uplifted.
Twenty-two years since its inception, Shining Light's influence is gauged not solely by the thousands of lives it has elevated through tangible enhancements such as heightened literacy rates and household incomes. It is also evaluated by the intangible advantages of elevated dignity, self-esteem, communal bonds, and joy that these opportunities have predominantly bestowed upon women and children.
“Of course, the whole time we're praying and hoping for the girls. And it was probably about a year later when the village elders came to Shining Light and said, you know, how can we be prosperous like our neighbors? And the response was, well, you have to educate your girls. And so they agreed. They said yes.” Mike Gordon
In this episode, Mike and Robin talk about their work in remote villages of Northern Pakistan where one in four children have never seen a classroom, where only 13% of girls reach the ninth grade, where illiteracy is rampant, and where women have been unable to lift themselves up or even commune with other women. For those who have had the opportunity to attend Shining Light skills training or literacy workshops, their progress had been steady, and they are grateful for having the joy of seeing the fruit of their efforts.
In 2005, just a few yeas after founding Shining Light, doors opened at the Shining Light Academy, serving students from Pre-K to 10th grade. The school is so highly regarded children of all faiths attend and study together in the highest rated school in the region. Shining Light has also opened rural schools, have, and provide scholarships for those in need.
It doesn’t stop there, however. Shining Light engages in disaster relief and development, and soon will be finding a path to help provide health care, clean water, and more.
Help Robin & Mike Raise $10,000 to Open a Women’s Sewing & Skill Building Center in Remote Northern Pakistan to Empower Women
Mike and Robin and their team at Shining Light plan to open a new training center for women to gather and learn sewing skills that change their lives. At the end of the one-year course they’ll have marketable skills, confidence, plans, friends, AND a new sewing machine for their homes. They are almost halfway through their goal of raising $10,000. If you wish to help change lives in very tangible ways forever, click the link below. Every donations helps.
Learn More.
Mike & Robin Gordon, Founders of Shining Light International
In this episode we discuss:
• Robin & Mike’s Journey from the suburbs to Pakistan.
• The challenges they faced in Pakistan, especially five weeks after they moved when the attacks of 9/11 occurred.
• Their first small efforts to assist an after-school program
• Opening Shining Light Academy for all children.
• Discovering how to help empower women with skills that enabled them to make money and help clothe their family.
• Breaking through cultural legacies when girls were finally allowed to go to school.
• The many benefits when women can gather and support one another and join a community.
• The rise in dignity and hope filling Northern Pakistan communities.
• Upcoming projects in water, health, and more.
