Rural school transformation in Pakistan

In 2014 incoming President and incoming District Polio Chair, Michelle Tanner, was invited to Pakistan to present at a polio conference in Lahore. While there she was taken to visit a small school in rural Jhang Saddar, about a 2-hour drive from Lahore. The school was basically two classrooms, one of which was equipped with desks and chairs. They had a few books and the senior class children wrote on slates. (From a distance Michelle thought they were iPads!!!!)

The principal’s salary was paid by the RC Jhang Saddar and the female teachers were volunteers. The children’s parents ‘worked’ as rubbish tip pickers, gleaning what they could sell from the municipal waste dump. This was a community as poor as it gets.

 

Before photos

 

The local RC wanted to improve the school facilities. They had engaged the support of other Rotary clubs, one each in India and the US. They did not want a Global Grant but worked out that with support from three other clubs applying for District Grants they could undertake the work they wanted to do. Michelle went back to her Board and it was agreed that this would be the RC Matamata’s district grant project for Michelle’s ‘presidential’ year.

 

Undertaking a district grant across international borders can be frustrating but it was finally completed and in 2017 Michelle (and her daughter) were invited back, along with Rotarians from the US and India, to formally open the school. The transformation was a sight to behold. with bright, modern classrooms, toilets and (to the children’s real excitement) running clean water. They had even included a small library and  a ‘computer lab’ with three desktop computers. The welcome was warm and the day one to be remembered and treasured.

 

After photos

 

 

 

 

As an aside, the new Interact club at Matamata College made collecting books to be distributed to schools in developing countries one of their first projects. Michelle and Alice packed as many as they could into their luggage to complement the library.

The project was covered extensively in local media and on the club's Facebook page. A public Facebook group page was created. An article on Michelle’s polio visits to Pakistan was published in RDU in March 2018. Michelle has delivered talks to many Rotary Clubs in New Zealand and Australia on her trips to Pakistan and this project. A photo album of the project is available on the Rotary Matamata website: https://matamatarotary.org/photoalbums/rotary-literacy-centre-jhang-pakistan

 

Finally, comment’s from Michelle “I, with my daughter Alice, attended the official opening of the school’s new facilities on 5^th October 2017. As part of the inauguration ceremony school children portrayed the 20-year history of the making of the school, which began with classes being held in the local mosque, through the RC of Jhang Saddar purchasing a few rooms locally in which to hold the classes, visits by Rotarians from San Diego and Matamata and finally several club’s district grant projects to fund the addition of classrooms and equipment. The school was opened by Mrs Haider whose husband, Jhang Rotarian Khalid, had initiated and driven the project from the start. Very sadly Khalid passed away the month before the school was opened.

 

I cannot adequately convey the appreciation that was expressed to me by the teachers and children at the school when we visited. This project has made a huge difference in the lives of 175 children and their families.”