Gidpur is a small village outside of Sialkot, Pakistan. It is centered around a large banyan tree that provides welcome shade from the sweltering heat.

The village is very poor. The road is extremely rutted and the few buildings are single-story brick dwellings that house large families. Martin and James from FairDeal Trading (our sister company in the UK) met the Khan family, who had been joined just days before by a new member, a healthy boy.

The mother - Mushulcut - was sitting with her new baby. The baby was delivered at a good hospital in Sialkot, where Mushulcut stayed for 24 hours after giving birth. The hospital fees and all necessary medicines were paid entirely by our Fair Trade program, which is funded by your purchases of our certified Fair Trade sports balls.

"I am very thankful that the hospital was paid for," she said. "Without this, we would be in debt. My last baby was also delivered with the help of the Fair Trade (program), and she was a girl. Now we have a boy and we have called him Morcadus, which means The Holy."

Mushulcut's husband Selferaz is also keen to say how helpful the Fair Trade initiative has been to them. "We are a Fair Trade family," he said with a grin on his face.