Making a difference: the volunteer school for child workers in Peshawar

This article first appeared on our partner site, Independent Urdu

Every evening, a government school building in the Pakistani city Peshawar turns into a school for 50 underprivileged children, who help their parents at work during the day or who carry the burden of providing for their poor families on their small shoulders and are unable to attend school.

The volunteer-run school, Ujala, had its beginnings in a NGO's literacy project aimed at introducing reading habits in children.

Naila Humayun, a volunteer with the Association of Business, Professional and Agricultural Women, says: “In 2017, an American organisation donated about 500 books to our organisation. These were children's story books. Together we ladies thought, why not visit these government schools and homeless children and tell them these stories.

Ms Humayun said that since children and their parents were not inclined towards reading books, women and volunteers started a project to tell stories to children in order to provide them with fun learning opportunities.

Speaking to Independent Urdu, Ms Humayun said: "We later named this project 'Kitab Dost' [Book-Friendly] which welcomes anyone who can allocate some of their time for the kids on a voluntary basis. For this purpose, formal permission was obtained from the Department of Education, after which volunteers went to different schools once a week to tell them stories.”

She added that as the children’s reading interests increased, her organisation also set up libraries in some schools so that children could benefit from books.

It was during the ‘Kitab Dost’ project that women in the organisation suggested getting a building for the purpose of providing a regular education and instruction to street children.

Eventually, with the help of a government school in Peshawar, classes began in the second half of the day.

Rana Mudassir, a volunteer with the organisation, told Independent Urdu: "We went to see homeless children and after talking to them, we met their parents, who agreed to send their children to school."

Ms Mudassar added: "We started with a preparatory class, taught them to read and write, and focused on etiquette and communication. Along with a curriculum, we also arranged sports for their physical development.”

Children attending the school are given lunch and are provided with shoes and clothing suitable for each season.

According to Ms Mudassar: "We arrange for lunch out of our own pocket. Support is also sought from friends. Some families prepare a meal of the children’s choice, which keeps the children’s spirits up.”

The school’s administrators said that they have recently signed an agreement with Peshawar Model Institute, under which five children from the school will be selected every year for a stipend, so that they can continue their educational journey.

Translated by Taimur Rehman, Edited and proofread by Tooba Ali & Celine Assaf