Learning for life has been working in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan since 1996, 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.

Sadly 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 and as a result we are delighted to announce that we have exceeded our initial target, with the construction of a total of 27 schools. This represents an incredible achievement - particularly given the poor accessibility, exacerbated by the effects of the earthquake itself, and the heavy snow and monsoon rain which followed - and also the shortage of labour and materials, both of which were in great demand and short supply due to the massive reconstruction efforts throughout the region.

The new schools are earthquake-resistant structures, each consisting of 2-4 classrooms and an adjoining health unit. LfL's work in Pakistan has underlined the urgent need for health and education to work together. To that end, we have arranged essential training in health, nutrition and hygiene for our teachers, School Monitoring Officers, and Village Education Committees (VECs). With the support of the VECs, teachers are now able to raise awareness of basic community health issues, during community meetings and parent meetings and the classroom health education and check-ups. The health centres are now established hubs of health awareness. In such remote mountain communities, where people have little access to health facilities, this represents a new and significant contribution to community development.

 

Learning for Life is now extending our work in the region to offer maternal and child health support in an effort to reduce the alarmingly high maternal and child mortality rates. 

DETAILS OF OUR RECENT PROJECTS IN PAKISTAN

Community Based Schools Programme

Implementing Partner: Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP)

Country: Pakistan

Dates: 1999 - 2009

Donor - The Big Lottery Fund

At the core of both LfL's and SRSP's philosophy is the belief that people have the potential to help themselves, and that marginalised communities, especially women, must be fuly involved in the deveoment process.

From 1999 to 2001, LfL worked with SRSP to improve access to quality primary education in the Kohat and Mansehra regions of the NWFP in Pakistan, through the establisment of 30 community based schools.

Following the success of this partnership between LfL and SRSP a new three year Community-Based Schools (CBS) project, based on identified needs and experience was launched in 2004. This project provided training for teachers in a further 40 schools, as well as enabling teachers in the 30 original schools to strengthen and broaden their skills. The overall aims of the CBS are to increase access to quality primary education for poor children, especially girls, and to increase student enrolment and retention rates.

LfL is working to ensure the sustainability of these projects by providing schools with one-time grants and training Village Education Committees (VECs) in each school. Each VEC has six members - three men and three women - all respected individuals within the community, trained in finance and budget management to monitor and ensure the smooth administration of the school. Women VEC members are also trained to be proactive in increasing the enrolment of girls and participation in civil and health programmes.

Sadly all 19 of our schools in the Mansehra region on NWFP were destroyed by the earthquake in 2005 and tragically 51 ofour pupils lost their lives. Since then, public and donor support has enabled us to rebuild all the 19 destroyed schools as well as building a further eight new schools, brigning the total number of schools in the LfL and SRSP programme to 72. For more information regarding our earthquake reconstruction project please visit the Earthquake section of this website.

BENEFICIARIES

CBS Project

Girls Educated - 1,975

Boys Educated - 2,271

Female teachers trained - 51

Male teachers trained - 39

Mothers involved in school activities - 1,410

Fathers involved in school activities - 1,401

SFP Project

Children educated - 3,000

Teachers trained - 40

TOTAL = 10,607

TESTIMONIALS

Parent of a student - " Our children will now have a proper school to study in and one day they will go to higher schoold for further studies, they will get better jobs and work for making the conditions at our village better. They will be able to do what we have not been able to do because we are not educated."

Mr Tehseen-ul Haq, one of the Village Education Committee members, says "For us, the Community-Based School is not only a well built school, with a health centre, but it is in fact, our dreams taking the shape of reality and emerging as a ray of hope for us. We believe it will definitely help our younger generations to rise above all and we are committed to it".

Reconstruction of Eathquake Damaged Schools

Implementing partner: Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP)
Country: Pakistan
Dates: 2005 - ongoing

Principal Donors: Monsoon Trust, Reed Elsevier, Capital International, Four Acre Trust, Madeline Mabey Trust, Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust, Asia House, Bannister-Parker Trust, A B Charitable Trust, The Michael and Lousia Von Clemm Foundation Inc, Peterborough Council, Spirit Fundraising committee, Schools4Schools, Lisa B and Anton Bilton, Thor & Kristin Bjorgolfsson, and many other generous donations from anonymous donors and members of the British public.

The earthquake that struck Northern Pakistan on 8th October 2005 devastated Mansehra and Battagram, two of the five regions we work in. Project activities were set aside as we, and our local partner, SRSP, worked tirelessly to meet the urgent needs of the community. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, relief work was aimed at providing communities with shelter, food, and medicines. However, recognising the role of education - not only in rehabilitation but also in maintaining a degree of normality - the schools resumed their activities in the open air or in tents as soon as was practical. Traumatised and lacking proper shelter and other facilities, students found it hard to concentrate; but the continuity provided by school activities enabled them to regain a sense of social stability.

Tragically, 51 pupils lost their lives in the disaster while another 43 were seriously injured. One of our School Monitoring Officers, Mr. Abdul Rasheed, was missing for 6 weeks, buried under the rubble. However, none of the teachers or members of the Village Education Committees who manage the schools lost their lives. The disaster affected 19 of our 25 planned Community Schools in the Mansehra region, with 11 completely destroyed and 8 severely damaged. The continuation of aftershocks to the region exacerbated the problem; all 19 schools were in need of rebuilding.

In collaboration with SRSP, LfL embarked on a reconstruction project to rebuild the 19 old schools that were destroyed and to found the 6 new schools that were previously planned for construction in 2006. The importance with which these impoverished villages view the education provided by the Community Schools was highlighted as villagers themselves donated land and skills to help rebuild the schools.

We are now delighted to announce that we have exceeded our initial target, with the construction of a total of 27 schools. This represents an incredible achievement - particularly given the poor accessibility, exacerbated by the effects of the earthquake itself, and the heavy snow and monsoon rain which followed - and also the shortage of labour and materials, both of which were in great demand and short supply due to the massive reconstruction efforts throughout the region.

The new schools are earthquake-resistant structures, each consisting of 2-4 classrooms and an adjoining health unit. LfL's work in Pakistan has underlined the urgent need for health and education to work together. To that end, we have arranged essential training in health, nutrition and hygiene for our teachers, School Monitoring Officers, and Village Education Committees (VECs). With the support of the VECs, teachers are now able to raise awareness of basic community health issues, during community meetings and parent meetings and the classroom health education and check-ups. The health centres are now established hubs of health awareness. In such remote mountain communities, where people have little access to health facilities, this represents a new and significant contribution to community development.

Testimonials

Zainab Bibi, of CBS Sumbol, Mansehra, NWFP:
"When the earthquake came I was in school at that time. The earth under my feet began to move. I was terrified. Our teacher quickly took us out of the school building. We could hear people screaming in the village. People said that the doomsday had come. My mother came running towards the school and took me back home, which had collapsed by then. I wish the earthquake never happened." Zainab rejoined her school, CBS Sumbol, in the new reconstructed building at the beginning of the new term, September 2006, and is enjoying the new spacious building as well as the playground that she uses in her free time with her friends. Her mother is proud to have her daughter continue her education in a safe and comfortable environment, whilst numerous others in the province are still far from realising this dream. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, Zainab replied, "a teacher" in the school that she attends. When posed the same question her classmate replied that she would like to be a doctor as she witnessed first hand the suffering experienced by her friends, family and community as a result of the earthquake.

Alternative Elementary Education Programme

Implementing Partner: Khoj Society for People's Education
Country: Pakistan
Date: 1999-2003
Donors: The AB Charitable Trust, Reed-Elsevier Foundation, The Glendower School, Isle of Man Overseas Aid, Parthenon Trust.

Initially focusing on literacy programmes for women, Khoj have been working in Ghaziabad, near Lahore, since 1995. Through dialogue with women in their literacy programmes, and a wider understanding of the community's social and economic problems, it became clear that there was also a pressing need for quality educational services for children.

Khoj and LfL developed the Alternative Elementary Education Project (AEEP) specifically to meet the needs of children living in the Ghaziabad slums. Children had limited or no access to formal or informal schooling for a number of reasons - cultural restraints, the need to earn money, the lack of schools, and time to attend classes.

The AEEP provided lessons that were relevant and responsive to the problems and issues arising in everyday life, especially in low-income households. Khoj philosophy sees children as active participants in their learning process rather than passive recipients of information. An alternative curriculum based on the national curriculum was designed using a child-focused, reflective approach including health, nutrition, civic education, Urdu literature, problem solving, organic farming and computer technology. This highly successful methodology was subsequently used to train teachers in LfLs schools across the North West Frontier Province.

Beneficiaries

Children educated - 4,500
Teachers trained - 101
Mothers attending women's groups - 609
Total - 5,210

Testimonials

Rashida: "I am 22 years old. Until I joined the Khoj school I was illiterate. I would spend all my time at home doing housework and day-dreaming. Now I teach 41 primary school students. In only 3 years my whole life has changed. I have learnt so much about the world and about issues that I have to tackle in my daily life. First, I didn't even know how to spell my own name. My family was against me learning. They thought it was useless for a girl to have an education. They told me I would never be able to make anything of myself, but now I am not only a teacher, but working in a neighbouring village. It is beyond what I had ever even hoped to dream about. The girls in this village were never allowed to step out of their homes alone. We have always been told that we are useless but now we all have so much confidence. Even though I have a job teaching primary level children, I want to improve myself. I have applied to do my matriculation from the Allama Iqbal Open University. When I finish that, I want to learn how to operate a computer."