For a brighter future : School for poor children an educational oasis

Saaya Trust School spreads education in area plagued by stark poverty

ISLAMABAD: Behind the elite mansions and lavish wedding marquees of the affluent E and F sectors of Islamabad lies the not-so-glamorous slum area of Maira Aku Golra Sharif.

Picturesque with grassy green lands, the story of its inhabitants is of stark contrast. Low wage labourers with an average monthly income of Rs6,000 to Rs8,000 live in the area. Unable to cope with the financial pressures, often, these labourers resort to drug addiction or worse — petty crime. Eventually, the duty of bread winning falls on the frail shoulders of their wives and children, making education a far cry.

Starting form a single rug laid under a tree, the school now sprawls across three kanals and enlightens nearly 500 students from nursery to grade seven. PHOTOS: HUMA CHOUDHARY/EXPRESS

Amid this darkness, flickers hope — a charity school that educates children whose lives would otherwise be of constant struggle.

Asma Tughral Yamin, a lady with kind eyes and a bright smile, is the brains and muscle behind Saaya Trust School with over 25 years of teaching experience in public and private schools.

“In 2008, I read in a newspaper that 25 million Pakistani children do not go to school. I felt it my responsibility to drop my pebble in the ocean”, she said.

The initial days were marked with myriad challenges, recalls Yamin, saying the biggest challenge was to convince illiterate parents to educate their children, otherwise thought of only as earning hands.

Starting form a single rug laid under a tree, the school now sprawls across three kanals and enlightens nearly 500 students from nursery to grade seven.

Saaya, meaning shade in English, was what it became with Yamin’s family’s unhindered support. Her relatives regularly donate which helps in sustaining book supplies, uniforms, food, computers, field trips and teachers’ salaries but finding enough qualified teachers is still a struggle.

Yamin, a mother of two, also wishes to extend the school to higher grades as continuation of studies becomes a challenge after grade seven for students who deeply value education.

Starting form a single rug laid under a tree, the school now sprawls across three kanals and enlightens nearly 500 students from nursery to grade seven. PHOTOS: HUMA CHOUDHARY/EXPRESS

Waseem Khan, an orphan, is one such student who, despite getting an exemption, insisted that he would pick garbage to pay his admission fee of Rs100.

Most students are part-time garbage pickers, mechanics or maids but their aspirations are big. They dream of becoming pilots, engineers, doctors, teachers and even rappers and break dancers.

The story of Shehla Tariq, the school’s principal is not much different. Hailing from a strictly conservative household where education for girls was taboo, she used her embroidery skill to finance her studies till college. “Once a stranger came up to me and told me that he was my former student and is now a lawyer,” Tariq remarked, saying she was pleasantly shocked to learn about his journey.

“These children come from large families where they receive only one meal a day and that too lacks adequate nutrition,” said Mehr Zaidi, a voluntary nutritionist at the school.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2015.