Learning for life has been working in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan since 1996, with our partner Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP), developing community based schools that are owned and managed by local communities. During this project we have been able to help improve the quality of teaching for over 1,600 children in 30 schools.

But it doesn't end there. Thanks to a grant from The Big Lottery Fund (formerly the Community Fund), LfL and SRSP are in the last year of a 3-year project to build on this success. The 30 schools mentioned above will continue to get further support, and we have created another 38 in the Chitral, Mansehra, Abbottabad and Peshawar districts, bringing quality primary education to the people of these remote rural areas.

In the slums of Ghaziabad (a low income neighbourhood of the most populus city of Punjab, Lahore) Learning for Life has been working with Khoj since 2000 to provide valuable support for over 300 street children. Khoj's innovative teaching and teacher training focuses on the practical skills pupils and teachers need to help them find work.

Khoj's methodologies have earned them a nomination for an International Literacy Prize and have been adopted by other organisations in Pakistan and India. Khoj's innovative teaching methodologies have also been introduced to our community-based schools with SRSP in NWFP.

Reconstruction of Schools
The earthquake that struck Northern Pakistan on 8th October 2005 had a drastic effect on Learning for Life's project. It devastated one of the five regions we work in, covering two districts, Mansehra and Battagram. It affected 19 of our community-based schools leaving 11 completely destroyed and 8 severely damaged. The continuation of aftershocks to the region exacerbated the problem and all 19 schools were in need of rebuilding. Learning for Life suffered a tragic loss of life as 51 pupils lost their lives in the disaster, while another 43 were seriously injured.

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of our supporters, and our friends in the media (Channel Four News), we were able to take our appeal to the British people. The importance of schools in these impoverished villages was highlighted when villagers donated land and their skills to rebuild schools. SRSP and our communities are now in the process of rebuilding the twenty-four schools, with one-room health units attached to them.

We still need resources to refurbish the schools and health units, and would appreciate any help towards helping our communities on their path to normalcy. For more information, please contact: info@learningforlifeuk.org