The school in Ishpitdas is surrounded by land, but it wasn’t the school’s property – until now. Its next door neighbor, Saddam and his father, have generously donated the land to the school. They’re devoted to providing education to the children of the community, and are willing to give over their own property to support the cause.
Chatting with Saddam, we realized that this land could be used for a kitchen garden, a place for kids to access fruits and vegetables, if seeds and equipment could be provided to set it up.
Saddam is a building contractor by profession, and he has his own farm where he grows fruit, vegetables and crops. He also has a few cows and goats for his family.
“Almost all of the community here grows their own food since they can’t afford to spend a lot on buying food from the market,” he said. “I am glad that the land surrounding the school can be used to grow food for the schoolchildren! It’s difficult for children to study when they are not fully nourished.”
Saddam also gave us a list of seeds, gardening equipment, and fencing wire to set up the garden. We were all so overwhelmed by his generosity!
He’s also the head of a local committee that’s responsible for overseeing all the projects we implemented, and they’ve promised to personally look after the garden and use the produce for nourishing schoolchildren. What an amazing way to end our time here, in this community, being met with generosity, hope, and new potential for the future.
Meet Zain! 
Hello Hello! I work for Alight Pakistan with the Program Development Team as an Associate. I have a deep interest in poverty alleviation and empowerment programs that can help lift people up, and I was so pleased to be able to help compelte some of these wonderful projects in Gilgit as part of Changemakers team. I am very excited to share these stories and the beauty of Gilgit with you!
