YOUR DIL SCHOOL, ORANGI

YOUR DIL is proud to sponsor the DIL Nation School in Ittehad Town, Orangi, a town in the outskirts of Karachi in Southern Pakistan known as the largest slum in Asia. This school was established as part of a five-year agreement made in February 2001 between DIL and Faran Educational Society (FES) to establish 25 non-formal schools in the out-reach areas of Northwest Orangi, covering Orangi Deh, Gulshan-e-Zia, Dildar Goth, Khair Abad, Toori Bangush Colony, Itehad Town and Ramzan Goth, where the literacy rate is extremely low. Currently 3,605 students are enrolled in 22 DIL schools in the Orangi area. The Dil Nation School currently has 220 students enrolled in grades nursery through eleven.

Thanks to the efforts of DIL, the effort in Orangi has helped raise the literacy of the township to 70 percent.

Going forward, YOUR DIL's fundraising proceeds will go towards the sponsorship of this school to help educate the students and further promote literacy in the region.

ARSHAD'S STORY

YOUR DIL is committed to trying to better the lives of the children at our Nation School outside of their school activities. One of the more incredible, heartwarming stories to come to our attention is that of our student Arshad. Paralyzed from the waist down due to a poorly treated childhood disease, Arshad is unable to walk. As he lives in the unpaved dirt and stone-ridden area of Orangi, he is also unable to make use of a wheelchair.

However, still determined to go to school everyday, Arshad drags himself on all fours, to the point of making his knees bleed to get to the Nation School for his classes. YOUR DIL has committed funds for new, modern crutches for Arshad to help alleviate his pain and make his journey to class and through life a little easier. We are so proud of his determination to learn. He is truly an inspiration to all of us.

MANSEHRA

In 2006, YOUR DIL committed to building and supporting a new model school in Mansehra, NWFP, the area most affected by the 2005 earthquake.

On October 8, 2005 an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit South Asia, with the greatest impact in the northern areas of Pakistan. Over 75,000 people died, almost 20,000 of whom were children and initially over 3 million people were left homeless. Relief groups estimate that 8,000 – 10,000 schools were destroyed in the impact. With the lowest rate of female literacy in the country before the earthquake (estimated between 8% - 15%) NWFP could not afford to lose more educational resources.

DIL initially set up a temporary camp school outside Islamabad for those left homeless. As a permanent solution we committed to build 3 schools in Mansehra, one of the hardest hit cities. YOUR DIL will be funding of one of the schools with the other two being funded by a private donor and the United Nations.

Each school will cost approximately $100,000 over three years, half of which is for the pre-fab, earthquake-proof structure, half of which is for the school materials, supplies, teachers, running expenses, etc. The schools will have handicapped access to accommodate the children who were injured during the earthquake. 230 students currently attend the two schools which have been built since the 2005 earthquake.

CHATRO

In 2008, YOUR DIL committed to help build a school in Chatro, a small village in the outskirts of the capital city of Islamabad. Currently, students have been attending a small school in Chak Kamdar, where enrollment has reached its peak, forcing DIL to build a school large enough to meet the growing demands of the region. Construction on this project began in the spring of 2008. Below is the story of Nagina Bibi, one of the main forces behind this project.

NAGINA’S STORY

When Nagina Bibi got married she had studied up to Class Four only and was dependent on others to read a letter and was not even able to sign a document. Realizing the importance of education she made her husband promise that their children would be sent to school. All four of her children, two girls and two boys, did go to school, but they had to trudge a long way to reach school and go even further to get to college.

Nagina Bibi did not stop lobbying for her cause of education for the children of her village. When the opportunity came, and DIL was introduced to the community members, Nagina Bibi immediately offered her land for the school building in Chatro.

Her daughter has now been appointed the Head Teacher, one of the few educated girls in the village and the foundations for the new school building on Nagina Bibi’s donated land has just been laid. Meanwhile the Nursery and Grade One have been started in Nagina Bibi’s house and 48 children have been enrolled. Once the school building is ready, the children will move to their permanent school and Nagina Bibi can sit on the hill behind her house, smile and think.