Lahore restaurant owner helps homeless family after pictures go viral

LAHORE: A restaurant owner has given a homeless family found sleeping on the streets of Lahore a new lifeline after pictures of the family went viral on social media.

The photo showed the man sleeping with his children in the province’s capital had garnered much attention from the public including Punjab Chief Minister’s spokesperson who directed that the family be found immediately and be helped. 

However, before the government could do anything, the family was spotted by restaurant owner Umer Hussain.

Speaking to Gulf News, Hussain shared how he had come across the family on October 27 sleeping near Mall Road. 

Shared a conversation with the father as a story on his Instagram account, Hussain asked the father why he was sleeping on the streets and told him to not bring his children to sleep with him on the streets and promised to offer them an education.

However, a week later the family was still living on the streets.

“I had warned the father to not bring the children with him when he was selling those baskets and he had promised that he won’t do so. So, when I saw them on the street again five days ago, I got really upset. I called the police because I wanted to make sure that these were his children,” Hussain shared.

Not stopping there, he went on to check on the man’s family and once he was confident that the children were his, he took them shopping for clothes and had dinner with them.

In a Facebook post, he shared pictures from his time with the family and asked people who wanted to help the family to send their donations to any one of his restaurants.

In a live Facebook video, Hussain showed the children playing in his home garden, writing: “Kids having best time in our backyard! - look at the smiles they have!”

He said that he had already contacted the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau and searched for schools nearby, where the children could study.

“We are doing our homework because we actually want to make a difference. It is not about a publicity stunt, it is about changing the life of these children forever,” he told Gulf News.

He added, that the Pakistan government has banned child labour but children who are used as bait to sell products or for begging is also a critical social issue.

“Children should not be on the streets. That is the point. If there is no child labour, children should also not be allowed to be used to beg. So, the government should ensure that children go to school.”