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 fully involved in the development 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 establishment 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 of our 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, bringing 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".