Before leaving Islamabad, we wanted to have one last get together with a group of parents and students from one of the communities we had been working with called Ispalal. This group had welcomed us quickly and fully into their community, and we felt easily at home whenever we visited and were greeted by hugs and warm words. Not only that, but the mothers were particularly invested in ensuring that their children excelled in school and grew up in a supportive and clean community... These were the same mothers who championed the waste disposal project by suggesting getting new garbage bins that they would be able to take care of, and the same mothers who were supporting their children in starting kitchen gardens at home and planting fruit trees that would grow up as the students did the same. Since it was the month of Ramadan, we realized quickly that an easy solution to our idea of getting together would be to host an iftar, where we’d be able to break the fast of the day … [Read more...] about Come Together

A few weeks ago, one of our staff members had the idea of planting one tree for each student in our non-formal school program in Pakistan. We started to make this dream a reality with a couple of our schools in Lahore — Natt Kalan and Attoki Awan. Today, we’re bringing this idea to some of our schools in Islamabad. We're so excited to say that there will be at least one tree for every student in Muslim Colony, Shah Allah Ditta, and Ispalal! “I want to take this field and plan everything out," said Rabia, the teacher of the Shah Allah Ditta school, "making sure that everything has its place. Different plants on the inside, surrounded by fruit trees.” Rabia and her students decided to plant their trees so that they would grow along the edge of the school and her farm, eventually surrounding them all with bursting fruit trees. Now, Rabia’s students water the trees first thing every morning — an easy way for Rabia to use the trees to teach her students a bit about biology, a … [Read more...] about Tree-ting the Students

Through conversations with many of the mothers sending their children to school in Ispalal, we found out that trash management was a huge issue that many of the women were concerned about. The garbage is typically managed by the local authorities, but the neighborhood has been largely neglected. The mothers expressed concern about the welfare of their children, their animals, their communities as a whole. Uzma, one of the mothers, proposed getting garbage bins and committed to collecting 100 rupees (0.70 USD) from each family each month so that they could pay for the trash to be picked up and cleaned out of the streets. Taking the problem into their own hands, in other words! We wanted to help - we bought ten large garbage bins that they could use to collect trash and take care of their community. The bins were out in about a day and already being used - for trash collection, and in other slightly less practical ways too! This change made possible by Mankind Is My … [Read more...] about One Woman’s Trash…

Conserving water is important everywhere, but it’s especially important in dry climates where water is particularly scarce and precious. This holds true for many parts of Pakistan, like Islamabad or Lahore, urban centers where water access is different from community to community. This concern came up in many of the communities that we visited. “We are especially concerned about water here in our community," said Fazal Ahmed, an older man in a neighborhood of Islamabad called Muslim Colony, "We only have access to a government-regulated borehole that is on from 7:00-9:00am and otherwise do not have regular access to water. It makes it very difficult for us to grow vegetables because we cannot water them.” Water catchment systems are a common and well-established practice throughout much of Islamabad, so we decided to help bring practices to some of the non-formal schools we work with by buying them their own rain water catchment systems! The catchments could be used to … [Read more...] about Harvesting the Rain

When growing fruits and vegetables, your harvest needs to grow without getting stolen by little pests and critters. This was one of the major concerns of the communities we work with in Islamabad. Rather than risk insects and animals coming and stealing the fruits of their labor, they wanted to make sure they were properly equipped to keep away the pests. To help solve the problem, we bought three schools in Islamabad spray bottles! These spray bottles could be used for pesticide if they wanted, but they could also be used for liquid fertilizer, or to water hard to reach plants. When we brought them to the schools, the students were excited to learn and see how they could be used. One of the teachers helped show them how to assemble the mechanism and then how they’d be used, turning new equipment into a learning opportunity. “These will help us keep our school gardens healthy,” she said, “so we can make sure we’re getting as much fresh food to our students as … [Read more...] about Keeping the Pests Away

Today, we’re back with Rabia, the teacher at one of our non-formal school in the outskirts of Islamabad called Shah Allah Ditta. We've spent our time with Rabia in such awe of her work — the way that she's able to care for her students, while also tending to her family’s farm and taking care of aging family members. It was all pretty amazing! So even though we had gotten some tools for her to use in her garden and help it grow, we wanted to go a little further, help her achieve a little more... “I learned to garden from my father, so gardening is in my genes," Rabia told me. "My grandfather also gardened, but not many children now are learning how. It’s a dying tradition and art, and I would love to teach my students." To get this student garden started, we bought seeds, small tools like trowels and forks, watering cans, and more. We made sure that there was a variety of fruits and vegetables that the students could get excited about, and that there were enough tools for … [Read more...] about Generation to Generation

I'm back in Islamabad, working with the communities our Pakistan team has developed such strong relationships with. When we go and visit them, it feels a lot more like visiting family than anything else. Shah Allah Ditta, a small school in the outskirts of Islamabad, was the newest school in Pakistan when we went to visit - we were even there for the school’s official inauguration! Even though the school was young, the community had quickly taken to the new teacher, Rabia, ad what she was doing for the community. “I love the teacher so much that I want her to teach my children until they are all grown up," said Bakhti Sultana, a mother of three children at the school. "Then, she can go get married, but until then, I want her to stay here and be with my children!” to which Rabia responded: “I’m not interested in going and getting married. This is what I want to do right now, everything else can wait.” New schools can always use a little of a lot of things, and Shah Allah … [Read more...] about In the Fields

Before leaving Natt Kalan, we wanted to do one more project with the families and kids at the school. The projects we've done so far were all about their nutritional needs — the new garden and trees would produce fruits and vegetables they could use, the borehole would provide water, and Ramadan packages would help tide them over through the holiday. But we all know that staying healthy isn’t only based on a healthy diet. It also involves staying physically active and fit. So today, we’re providing sports equipment for all the students! Everything from cricket bats to badminton rackets, jump ropes and soccer balls, we wanted to make sure that all of the students found something they liked, keeping both the boys and girls engaged and active while at the school. This idea actually came from a group brainstorm that we did with our team in Islamabad. All of the team members wrote down ideas they had themselves, and then broke out into little groups to discuss which idea they liked … [Read more...] about Fun and Games

Hi! It's Sam again, thanks for joining us in Pakistan! We’re back at Natt Kalan, an informal school in the outskirts of Lahore. When we were last here, we gave them supplies to start a garden at the school and plant their own fruit trees, among many other things! But we realized our work wasn’t quite done. We hadn’t solved their problem of water, and how they were going to be able to sustain their garden and the new batch of fruit trees. Not only that, but the students and their teacher didn’t have consistent, clean drinking water for themselves. How is a student supposed to make it through the day in the Punjabi summer heat without regular access to water? The students persevered, and we were impressed, but we also wanted to make sure they access to the best possible conditions to learn. So we decided to drill a well that the school would be able to use, both for drinking water as well as for their garden and fruit trees! It would be hooked up to an electric pump, … [Read more...] about Staying Hydrated