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The Peshawar incident in Pakistan in which 145 people including 132 children were massacred in a school, has shocked the world. It gave rise to various debates such as whether children, especially girls, residing in conflict-prone areas should remain at home to stay safe from the Taliban. Amidst this environment of uncertainty, there are those who consider a child’s right to education to be above everything else. Organisations like BRAC still choose to continue working in the conflict-stricken, hard-to-reach areas across Asia and Africa.
The Peshawar incident in Pakistan in which 145 people including 132 children were massacred in a school, has shocked the world. It gave rise to various debates such as whether children, especially girls, residing in conflict-prone areas should remain at home to stay safe from the Taliban. Amidst this environment of uncertainty, there are those who consider a child’s right to education to be above everything else. Organisations like BRAC still choose to continue working in the conflict-stricken, hard-to-reach areas across Asia and Africa.
BRAC’s education programme in Pakistan is designed for out-of-school children from disadvantaged families. It provides education that is free of all costs. BRAC Sadiq Abad Primary School, supported by DFID, is located in Karachi’s Orangi town, the largest slum of Asia. It is a place notorious for its criminal gangs.
Here is a school that is unique in many ways; it respects differences among learners. For example, if a child is not interested in studying on a particular day, he/she is persuaded with various activities that involve innovative techniques. This way, no one is left behind in the classroom. BRAC finds full cooperation from the locals, many of who work as teachers in the school. The community is supportive towards BRAC’s efforts on providing free-of-cost education to children who otherwise would not have access to schools.
One parent said, “If not for BRAC, our children would be playing on the streets instead of studying.”Another parent shared, “I am hopeful of my daughter’s future as she is the only one amongst her siblings to be going to school.”
Sheerin works as a teacher at the primary school. “BRAC is the first organisation that gave me a chance to live a respectable life. With the money that I earn, I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree,” concluded Sheerin.
BRAC has established 123 primary schools all over Orangi, where a substantial improvement can be seen in the quality of education. As one of the pioneers in primary education in the region, BRAC has overcome many challenges. During times of crisis, it is easy to lose sight of one’s goals; BRAC Pakistan strives on with the mission it initially started out with- to make sure that no child is denied the right to an education.
Zilay Huma is the country communications coordinator at BRAC Pakistan.
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