The building has been built with funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
USAID Mission Director in Pakistan Gregory Gottlieb said the government of United States was committed to strengthening education in Pakistan. He said they were focusing on closing the gender gap in higher education. The hostel was an attempt to provide girls safe residence on the campus.
“Education is one of the most important ways of empowering women,” Gottlieb said.
The Hope Tower was a $6 million project which took over two years to complete. According to the USAID’s official statement, construction began in May, 2012, and ended in October, 2014. The hostel has elevators, a card-swipe system to lock and unlock doors, uninterrupted power supply, and a generator backup. The hostel has been built on a 120,000 square feet plot of land.
US Consul General in Lahore, Zachary Harkenrider, said, “We are not just celebrating our partnership with this prestigious institute, but also reaffirming the America’s long term commitment to supporting education in Pakistan.”
FCC Rector James Tebbe said the hostel will help provide a safe environment for its girl students and ensure greater enrolment of girls in the college. He said the college was established in 1864 and the first two girl students joined the college in 1902. Today almost one-third of the students in FC College are girls, he said. “There is a realisation of lack of educational opportunities for women in the country.”
Farah Shah, a student of bachelors, also spoke at the inauguration ceremony. Shah, a resident of Chitral, will be among the first residents of Hope Tower. She said her parents were happy that she could now live in a clean and safe environment. “Now I can participate in co-curricular activities without fretting about commuting.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2014.
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