Village Early Childhood development schools

DR FATIMA EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT SCHOOL SYSTEM, GILGIT-BALTISTAN (DFECD)

OUR STORY: March, 2019, I visited Gilgit-Baltistan in the extreme north of Pakistan. Maa Foundation, a local charity organisation requested that I visit a family as a doctor, who were having three newly disabled children. The family were situated in Jutal Payeen, a village around 25km outside of Gilgit City.

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Unfortunately, access to the village was somewhat costly and difficult, but I eventually managed to reach there on a special vehicle with my team. The roads were narrow, rough and stony and I observed utter poverty hidden behind the mountains. Every household had seven to ten in a two room; mud house and most of these children showed signs of malnutrition and stunted growth. Almost every household had one or two sick or disabled children and I could immediately note the strains of a hard and challenging life upon the villagers’ faces.

More than 90% of the villagers were illiterate with an out of proportion population. We also observed cases of polygamy and multiple children in one house. The majority of the men were labourers and some were unable to work due to serious illness. The main source of food was a small-cultivated land and one or two cattle for milk. There was only one government middle school being an unfinished deprived overcrowded building that accommodated the children from the approximately 800 houses of the village.

There was no access to clean running water and the women would be required to walk around 3 to 5 km to a nearby river to collect drinking water in buckets. Similarly, there were no facilities for sanitation and no dispensary or health facilities in the village. In case of sickness, the family would walk a 2km steep uphill road while lifting the sick person on their back.

Almost every three to eight year old child did not attend school due to either poverty, an unsafe route to school or the non-availability of Montessori or infant schools. The headmaster of the school requested that I assist the village with an ECD school for the smaller children.

After careful contemplation, I felt the children of the village were deserving of this basic education and hence agreed to his request.

I believe that a quality education can strongly contribute to changing the destiny of poor villages by giving them prospects to build their future and be self-sufficient. These are stepping stones towards the betterment of their future without which they would be unable to come out of the circle of poverty.

26/03/2019

With a group of young volunteers from local University (Karakoram International) we inaugurated our first ECD School in Jutal Payeen village in a single room of a village house. We then hired two female teachers from the local community and trained them to run the ECD class. We paid for painting, carpeting and decorations of the room in order to make it conducive for learning.

Our first ECD became very popular on social media and within days we got requests from villages across the mountains. We were able to open further ECDs in remote villages where NGOs have never done anything about secular education.

On 1/4/19 we opened DFECD School at Bargo Balavillage, which is 45 KM outside Gilgit City.

02/04/2019

On this date we opened DFECD School at Napura Shotevillage where most poor children (3 to 9yrs) were out of school.

01/5/2019

Our Baseen village DFECD was opened on 1/5/19, where young children got access to only Religious Madressa education.

02/05/2019

Our Henzal village DFECD was opened on 02/5/19. Henzal village is 35 KM outside Gilgit city with a large population of nomadic settlers.

Opening dates of other DFECD SCHOOLS around Gilgit-Baltistan.

01/08/2019: BUNDO, Shigar, Baltistan

01/08/2019: Harpoh, Rondu, Baltistan

01/08/2019: Gongma, Ghurse, Baltistan

01/09/2019: Mujahid Abad Jutal, Gilgit

10/10/2019: Kenderik, Kharmang, Baltistan

01/11/2019: Kanday, Ghanche, Baltistan 

01/11/2019: Phugoch, Darel, Diamer

01/11/2019: ShaheenKot, Chilas, Diamer

01/11/2019: Khaltaro Haramosh, Gilgit 

02/08/2020: Dignote, Gohar Abad, Diamer

17/08/2020: Smarfo Bilamik, Rondu, Baltistan

23/08/2020: Hasnain Abad, Jutal Payeen, Gilgit

23/09/2020: Bathikot, Bathrat Nala, Ghizer

01/10/2020: Al-Qaim Town, Goro, Gilgit

20/10/2020: Jagot Colony, Jutal Payeen, Gilgit

15/11/2020: Jutial Haramosh, Gilgit

Currently there are further requests from more than 50 desperate, isolated and remote villages of Gilgit-Baltistan, to set up early childhood education schools. 

I believe it is everyone's responsibility to educate children in need worldwide, in order to bring prosperity and peace into our world.

I'll be extremely grateful to your donations, no matter how small it could be. Together we can educate the world, through collective effort . So please share the message with your friends and family.

Thank you!

WARNING**!!!! gofundme charity page asks for optional !!!*tip/donation*!!! for itself. you can check/uncheck the box. Best wishes!