Current Status
Recent Events
Why Support SAVE?
How can you help on the ground in Lahore?
Recent Events
* After overcoming many hurdles, Mashal
School has been able to open a bank account in Pakistan. This is the first step towards
the registration of Save Inc., an NGO in Pakistan. Donors can now remit and deposit directly
into Mashal School's bank account in Lahore, Pakistan. Please note that the name of the
account is Masha'l School and not Mashal School. Kindly click on the
attached image for
information about how to remit in USD and GBP. We look forward to your much needed
contributions.
* All classrooms now have Internet
connection and are equipped with in-class computer-based learning activities. One
classroom has a projector. More photographs are available in the school gallery
section.
* In a recently held Grade 5 inter-school quiz competition at Capital Foundation
School in Charar, three students from Mashal participated in each of the
categories (English, Science and Social Studies). A total of nine students
took part. Mashal students secured the top positions in all categories! They
won the top three positions in the English category. It was, to put it simply,
"a clean sweep!". Congratulations Mashal school students who participated and
the dedicated teachers and staff. You had made us proud! A special congratulations to
the winners:
* "Education For All" held a free medical camp at Mashal School
on Sunday the 19th of June, 2011. Dr. Atif Shehzad (of Lahore General Hospital), Dr. Ajmal Suleman (of Ikram Hospital),
and Dr. Usman Nemat (of Sharif Medical Complex) conducted the camp.
*
Congratulations Mashal School!
*
The latest year-end/promotion exams were held in Dec 2010 and new
classes began January 1st, 2011. Mashal School currently comprises of
(as of January 2011):
* Two LUMS professors are now
volunteering at our school three times a week, teaching General Knowledge and Creative
Writing to our 3rd and 4th Grade students.
* The LUMS Community Service Society held an athletics day at LUMS and Mashal students participated commendably at this event. This event was part of an ongoing partnership between LUMS and SAVE to support local community development and education. Mashal students won prizes in the various competitions held and interacted with students from LUMS and other schools. This was excellent exposure for these students and signals the success that SAVE has acheived in making a difference in the lives of Charar village children. Thank you LCSS and well done Mashal School!
* As of Spring 2010, the strength of students is 205. We shall be holding annual
promotion exams in March and expect to have an additional 50 students in April raising the total strength to around 250.
* We like to thank Mr. Asif Rehan Dar for his generous donation of Rs. 30,000 which
was used in purchasing 15 new student benches.
* We held an eye camp for the students and their families recently and are planning
to conduct breast cancer screening tests with the help of mobile X-ray plants for the mothers free of cost in the near future. An awareness
talk is also scheduled for the event.
* At a recent event held at Bloomfield Hall School (Gulberg Girls Branch), SAVE-Pakistan's president Masood Sheikh was invited to speak to the students and faculty. Bloomfield Hall students and principal Mrs. Saqib raised funds for Mashal School through a bake sale and with the money collected, bought and gifted a 21-inch color TV and DVD player to Mashal School, to be used for educational purposes in the classrooms. They have also made a serious commitment to help Mashal School in the areas of curriculum development, evaluations, pedagogy, extra-curricular activities and more. SAVE members and donors would like to thank Bloomfield Hall students and management for their generous support for Mashal School.
* 60 new students have been admitted to nursery classes in February 2009,
taking total strength to 210 students.
* All new students have been provided free uniforms, textbooks and
notebooks (both binded).
* After the first annual exams held in January 2009, all classes have been
promoted to the next level and 40 students have been admitted to the new, incoming nursery class.
* SAVE's Lahore team has started discussions with the Soros Foundation
about funding for the development of technical training programs and infrastructure at Mashal school.
* SAVE is registering a
* A UPS (Uninterpreted Power Supply) unit has been installed at the
school so that instruction can continue during periods of power outage.
* Afternoon classes are being planned for accelerated learning for older
students so that they can be promoted to higher grades faster.
* Students have been provided two sets of school uniforms and one
set of black school shoes each free of cost.
* The school kitchen is now providing freshly cooked meals to all
students and staff everyday at the extremely subsidized rate of Rs.5
per meal. We hope to make these meals totally free but are unable to do
so at this time due to paucity of funds.
* A teacher-training program has been initiated at our school through
which experienced teachers from the private education sector will hold
training sessions with our teachers at our school.
* Mobilink, a giant Telecom company in Pakistan, has agreed to provide
free school uniforms, shoes and school bags for our students. Their
team is expected to visit the school sometime this week and the
students are expected to have winter uniforms before the cold kicks in.
* A program for selecting 'Student of the Month' has been initiated based
on academic performance, regularity and punctuality, cleanliness and
good behavior. Two winning students from each class, and their mothers,
will both be awarded monthly prizes under this program.
* A parent-teacher meeting took place on Oct 30th with over 100 parents.
Parents were briefed about all the facilities, especially medical, that
the school is offering free not only to students but also their
families. Parents were asked to renew their commitment to sending their
children to school on time, regularly, dressed in clean attire and
having done their homework.
(in reverse chronological order)
Isha Arshad
Huma Amjad
Wajid Riyasat
Sidra Mukhtar
Sofia Fiaz
Ten Mashal school students appeared in the Punjab Board Exam for grade five in March 2011.
These students entered SAVE's Mashal school only 27 months ago in grade one. SAVE is proud to
announce that our school's result was the best in the entire Walton Cantonment area in Lahore.
Seven students out of ten scored above 400/600. Nosheen topped the class with 460 marks. Three
others scored above 350*. Their achievements are a testimony to SAVE Mashal's success and
seriousness in providing high quality education to the children of Charar village. We
wholeheartedly congratulate the students, parents, teachers, administration, donors and
supporters of SAVE Mashal on this amazing achievement. Grade Six commenced in March 2011 and
our students will be appearing in the grade 8 national board exam within two years.
+Results can be verified by looking under Govt. Elementary School Charar in the
result sheet for the board exam [PDF]. The
last ten students in the list are Mashal school students who appeared through Govt. Elementary
school since Save Mashal is not registered with the Punjab Board. The list of Mashal students
starts with 'Rida Agha'.
Nursery class (Two sections)
40 students in each section
2 teachers
Prep class ( Two sections)
30 students in each section
2 teachers
Class One
40 students
1 teacher
Class Two
60 students
2 teachers
Class Three
48 students
1 teacher
Class Four
30 students
1 teacher
Class Five (New admissions)
20 students
1 teacher
Class Five (Sitting for the board exam)
10 students
1 teacher
Total number of students
approx 350
Total number of teachers
11
Lahore Pakistan Chapter very soon
SAVE enables the provision of high-quality education to the ‘poorest and most neglected children’ from across Pakistan! Here is why…
Charar village, and other similar villages in Lahore, are being increasingly inhabited by people who have moved there in search of work in the cities from villages across the country. Many men and women of Charar for instance work as domestic servants and helpers for the residents of Defence Housing Society. The young children of these workers [and other workers such as the donkey-cart driver, construction worker etc] are deprived of education because they are 1) often taken along to work by the mother/father as a ‘helping hand’ or 2) left roaming in the streets, often without shoes, clothes, let alone anyone to attend to their educational needs or 3) left at home to take care of younger siblings or 4) are themselves employed as full-time domestic servants and/or baby-sitters or 5) are simply too poor to pay for even the cheapest NGO-run school in the village.
Many NGOs are involved in providing primary education in Pakistan but the needs still far outstretch the resources committed to such projects. Also, larger NGOs typically focus on more remote areas due to limits of resources, thinking that people living in semi-villages located within/near major cities/towns may not be as needy whereas the migration of a large number of villagers from across the country into villages such as Charar have resulted in a large number of street-roaming/begging children and child laborers. By supporting SAVE, you will be supporting the education and welfare of the ‘poorest of the poor’ and yet the oft-neglected children in the Urban slums/semi-villages in Pakistan
SAVE’s school is not only a primary school. It is a place where children’s nutritional, clothing and medical needs will also be met. In addition to free education, SAVE will provide free daily meals, stipends and free medical care. SAVE has an extremely low overhead, thus 99% of your donations will directly reach the children. SAVE’s vision is for a work-based education where employment/placement are top priorities.
Back to the topHow can you
help on the ground in Lahore?
- You can donate ANY amount
from WITHIN Pakistan in Pak Rupees, one-time and/or regularly.
- You can volunteer to teach (regularly or occasionally) at the school.
- You can volunteer time to help out with other school-related activities.
- You can spread the word and get your friends and relatives to join SAVE
Pakistan on
the ground.
- You can help us design, build and run a vocational training program at the
school.
- You can help us find out the skill demands of the Pakistani job-market.
- You can help our students find internships/apprenticeships/
- You can help design summer school courses/classes for students.
- You can help secure food, clothing and books for our school and the
library.
- You can contact our Pakistan team at
the address/numbers given in the Contact Us section and find out more
about how you can help on the ground.
Back to the top