Annual Newsletter
Dear Family & Friends: As you know, our mandate is to provide educational and medical aid to poor families in South Asia, and offer bursaries to qualified university students in financial need in Canada. Over the past several years we have concentrated mainly on providing educational aid and skills training to the poor in Pakistan. All our projects are in Pakistan and are in partnerships with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Bursary Fund at the University of British Columbia is continuing. Below we present highlights of the new projects and updates on the existing ones.
IN PAKISTAN: EDUCATION
A. Investing in Girls' Education: Pakistan ranks very
low in most human development indices. It has the
lowest female literacy in South Asia, and the consequences have been
far reaching. It is known that low
female literacy rates are associated with:
a) high fertility rates (population explosion) b) high
rates of child mortality c) high rates of violence against women,
and d) high rates of maternal mortality.
Internal violence, global downturn in economy, and population explosion
have all resulted in extreme
poverty in the country. In addition to traditional low female school
enrollments, the parents are now
tempted to pull their daughters out of school to reduce household expenses.
In order to keep the girls in
the school we are starting a scholarship program for students in Grades
6 to 10. As you may know, in
Pakistan Primary schools are from Grades 1 to 5, Middle schools are
from Grades 6 to 8, and High
schools are from Grades 9 to 10.
We have selected a few schools in the district of Jhelum to promote
the education of girls in Middle
and High schools. We have start this program in Maria Helena School,
village Dharyala Jalip,
Jhelum. The cost will be $25 per month (roughly $5 per month per girl)
to provide fee concession to a
group of five girls, one girl each from Grade 6 to Grade 10. The annual
cost per group of five girl
students will be $300. Donors may give as little as $10, that is, it
is a scheme in which a Crowd supports a
Group of five girls
B. Permanent Primary Schools. Typically, the local community provides the land. We pay for construction of the school building, as well as for furniture and equipment. This costs us a total of somewhere between $70,000 and $80,000. Our Pakistani partners manage the schools, charging low fees and covering the operating losses by donations collected locally. In these schools, which are self-sustaining after building has been completed, tuition fees are generally about $4 per month, and teachers' salaries are between $30 and $50 a month. All schools are co-educational and non-sectarian, and the teachers are almost exclusively women. We have helped establish eleven such primary schools, and helped reconstruct one demolished school in the area affected by the 2005 earthquake. Our 13th school, replacing one washed away during the 2010 floods is under reconstruction, and will be open for admissions next spring. On page 3 is a table of all schools completed, and under construction. Below we have included a table of all schools completed, and of those under construction.
C. Scholarships. This is an ongoing program for primary school
children, which offers half-fee scholarships
valued at $2 per month per student. Currently, 190 scholarships are
being offered in 11 different schools.
D. Temporary Primary Home-Schools. These are one-room, one-teacher
schools meant for the poorest
children and for working children. Classes are held at the teacher's
home or in a community building.
Students do not pay any fees. We provide them with books, notebooks,
and mats or benches to sit on, and
also pay the teacher's salary. All schools are co-educational and non-sectarian.
In the Pakistani school
system, the primary school academic program is five years. In the home-school
system, due to fewer
holidays, the same curriculum is covered in 36-40 months. Typically,
the cost of supporting one such school
of 20 to 30 students is about $1,200 per year. Currently, we are sponsoring
15 such schools in partnerships
with one NGO, see table below.
IN PAKISTAN: SKILLS TRAINING
We have helped establish two small vocational schools in which young girls and women learn traditional needlecraft and sewing. This training helps the invisible household economy of poor families, and can potentially generate income from outside work.
1. Nani Maria Vocational School (2000). In this three-room centre the enrollment has varied from 20 to 40 students. Al-Khidmat Foundation manages this school.
2. Dr. Marilyn Mohan Vocational School, Pind Dadan Khan (2007).
This one-room vocational centre is
located in one of our new primary schools, and is managed by Tameer-e-Millat
Foundation.
IN PAKISTAN: HEALTH
1. Amina Jabbar Trust Hospital, Lahore (1998). This, our first project, is an outpatient hospital, the size of a single-family detached bungalow in Vancouver. It is managed by Al-Khidmat Foundation. About 80 patients per day receive a medical examination and 3 days of medication at a nominal cost of 25 cents per patient, about one-sixth the cost of private care.
IN CANADA: BURSARY
The Maria-Helena Bursary Fund at the University of British Columbia (2000). This year, bursaries were awarded to two undergraduate students. These bursaries are awarded from the income generated from the capital of this fund. The University selects the recipients.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. Let us know if you have any questions.
Dr. Muhammad Iqbal |
Dr. Diane Fast |
President |
Vice-President |
PERMANENT PRIMARY SCHOOLS
|
Name of School
|
Year Established
|
City (Village)
Province |
No. of Students
|
Pakistani Partner
|
|
1. Fazal Noor Primary School
|
2000
|
Lahore (Kot Lakhpat)
Punjab |
400
|
Al-Khidmat
|
|
2. Haji Bostan Primary School
|
2001
|
Lahore (Ghaziabad)
Punjab |
300
|
Anjuman
Ghaziabad |
|
3. Dadi Helena Primary School
|
2004
|
Lahore (Dina Nath) Punjab
|
400
|
CARE
|
|
4. Maria-Helena Primary School
|
2006
|
Jhelum (Daryala Jalip) Punjab
|
300
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
|
5. Hazara TM Public School
(combined primary and high school rebuilt after the earthquake) |
2007
|
Shinkiari
North West Frontier Province |
450
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
|
6. Ratwal Residential Primary School
(For orphans of the earthquake. We provided six classrooms) |
2008
|
Islamabad
(Ratwal) Punjab |
200
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
|
7. Maria-Helena Primary School
|
2008
|
Khanewal
(Wajhianwala) Punjab |
210
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
|
8. Maria-Helena Primary School
|
2008
|
Jhelum
(Pind Dadan Khan) Punjab |
300
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
|
9. Maria-Helena Primary School
|
2008
|
Jhelum
(Lilla village)Punjab |
300
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
|
10. Maria-Helena Primary School
|
2009
|
Jhelum
(Jethal village) Punjab |
300
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
|
11. Maria-Helena Primary School
|
2009
|
Jhelum
(Wara Buland) Punjab |
300
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
| 12. Lieba Helena Primary School |
2011
|
Jhelum
(Sugail village) Punjab |
210
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
| 13. Talis Primary School (being rebuilt after the 2010 floods) |
Under Construction
|
Talis
(Talis Village) Skardu |
100
|
Tameer-e-Millat
|
TEMPORARY PRIMARY HOME-SCHOOLS
| City (Village) Province |
Year Established | No. of Schools | Locale | Gender of Teacher | No. of Students | Pakistani Partner |
|
Bahawalnagar
Several villages |
2005
to 2010 |
15
|
Mosques
|
Male
|
390
|
Kawish Welfare Trust
|