One of my most cherished memories from school is picking and eating from a mulberry tree. But as Pakistan faces deforestation and water shortages, we are facing a lack of mulberry trees - and every other type of tree as well. Our team in Pakistan wanted to play a part in turning things around. Together, we organized a "300 Tree Planting Campaign," in our non-formal schools across Islamabad, getting kids excited about planting trees - and bringing some new life to these neighborhoods. This campaign reduces our environmental footprint, encourages community involvement, demonstrates the importance of teamwork, fosters responsibility among students, highlights the nutritional value of trees, incorporates water management, and raises awareness. So many wins! To foster a sense of responsibility among students, we had each student adopt a tree, tying name tags around the trunks and as students pledged to take care of them. The contribution from the community was inspiring - … [Read more...] about Campaign Season

Playgrounds aren't just a fun, optional activity for kids at school. They're actually very important to nourishing their development and learning. Kids who have the ability to play are healthier - physically, socially, and emotionally. The Bari Imam school didn't have a playground. But with 50 students learning there everyday, an outlet for socialization and fun was sorely needed. So we decided to change that! We visited the school and shared our idea with the kids - and they were very enthusiastic! But we also realized that they were missing a few other things...like a door to their bathroom. And the classrooms were too hot - there were no fans on the walls, and the rooms weren't painted, either. So, we thought, why couldn't we solve a few of these problems at once? We built new bathroom doors, installed fans for the classroom, and painted their walls. And then, the change the kids were most excited about - we installed a swing and slide in the play area! And, we … [Read more...] about All at Once

Hello hello! I'm Shaukat from the Alight Pakistan team. And I'm here to tell you about a need that actually has a very doable solution - helping teachers learn the ABCs of first aid. In many of the non-formal schools where we work in Islamabad, children and their families face many health hazards - but there's not a whole lot of access to healthcare. Their teachers often get frustrated that they can't help their students in even the smallest injuries. So even though we knew we couldn't solve the entire picture of the healthcare system in these communities, we could take a first step to equip teachers with the tools they need to help. We gave a one day first aid training to Ms. Kiran, in teacher in one of our non-formal schools, along with a group of her colleagues. Customizing the content to fit the needs of these particular teachers, the trainers gave them the knowledge and skills they required most. We also handed over first aid kits with all the tools they need to … [Read more...] about First Things First

Hi! This is Ahsan here from the Pakistan team. And I'm here to tell you about a problem that doesn't always make for polite dinner conversation - waste management. Here in Pakistan, waste management can be a big problem. Millions of people each year get sick because of contamination, and urban areas take on a big share of the issue. Lack of city planning and the absence of proper systems are responsible, but people's actions are a part of it too. So the first place to start chipping away at the problem? Education. We brought together 28 young people at one of our schools in Islamabad for a training, all about garbage disposal and reuse. I often see garbage spread around on the streets surrounding school in this area, so we wanted to start with ways that even students can help mitigate the problem. We asked the students to gather plastic bottles over the course of a week. Then, we held a session on the three "Rs" (reduce, reuse and recycle) and the children were then set … [Read more...] about Waste Not, Want Not

Hello everyone! My name is Hammad and I work for Alight in Pakistan. Unfortunately, Afghan refugees have remained a secluded fragment of our society. The moment I started working with them, I came face to face with the realization that there is so much to do for these communities, which lack some basic things – like proper education. Education is not only bound to curriculum and assessments, but it hurts students’ ability to participate in extracurricular activities as well. During a visit to one neighborhood, we noticed that the Afghan students were playing with an old tire and wooden stick. Although they were big cricket and football enthusiasts, we realized that they have no way to participate in them. My team and I had an idea...to establish a recreational room in our non-formal schools! So we talked to the school administration, and after our discussion, we mutually decided that we will transform one of the classrooms. Sports kits (Football, Cricket, Badminton) were … [Read more...] about Ready to Play

Chickens, feed, water containers, cages. What more could chickens possibly need to maintain their health?? Being a city girl, I wasn’t too familiar with the ins and outs of raising healthy chickens. But our team and families in Ispalal were quick to tell us that to raise really healthy chickens, they needed the full health package. Part of that package is vaccinations. “There were chickens in the community before, but many of them also contracted illnesses," said Tahir from Ispalal. "It’s a big problem here that we’re not able to address.” Not only were vaccinated chickens not easily found, they were also more expensive, which of course made sense. What was pleasantly surprising was that we ended up finding them nearby, and from a women-owned collective! These women understood the importance of vaccinating chickens for longevity and were on a mission to bring this awareness to those around them as well. “The chickens are really healthy and happy here in Ispalal," said … [Read more...] about Healthy Living

One of the first things I noticed about Ispalal, aside from the radiating warmth of the community, was the ample open space surrounding the small houses. It was incredibly beautiful – lots of fields upon fields, owned by local landowners, spaces for children to run and play, and for animals like goats to roam! It was so different from the places I had lived, which were mostly in cities. With this vast space came clean air and beauty, but also stray animals looking for their next meal, usually at night. And chickens seem to be the highlight of their menu. “I used to have a few chickens before but they either got eaten by animals or were stolen,” said our friend Fauzia. "While people tried to find alternative ways of keeping their chickens secure, most of them didn’t contribute to them being raised in a healthy way." Wanting to foster an environment where chickens could thrive (and not be lunch for the odd coyote or two), we took the help of a local nearby carpenter to make some … [Read more...] about A Breath of Fresh Air

I’m taking you back to Ispalal today, a community right outside of Islamabad. It holds a special place in our team’s hearts - my teammate Fatima decision to take us to visit immediately after we arrived! As soon as we got there, I felt I was meant to be there to meet the bright and dedicated children attending our non-formal school and experience the love and hospitality of the families that live in the area! Through our initial conversations, we found that the women of Ispalal were interested in raising chickens right alongside their beautiful fruit and vegetable gardens. And they were on board with ensuring that the majority of eggs laid were shared with the children attending the non-formal school. “Our children go to school hungry sometimes. If we start raising more chickens, sharing the eggs is the right thing to do. This way, the children can eat and study more and more!” Fauzia told me. Through additional deeper conversations, we quickly found out that in order to … [Read more...] about A Little Feed Goes a Long Way

During the last couple days, I've shared stories of our healthy eating and nutrition classes in Islamabad. While we totally understand the importance of integrating nutritious meals in our daily lives, we thought it would be fun to also spark a bit of joy, asking children to share their favorite meal with us - and then making it happen! Children usually don’t eat lunch at the informal schools right now, so this was a special treat. When we asked them what their favorite foods were, biryani came out as a solid winner, with chicken sandwiches as a close second. But to tell you the truth, I’m not surprised. I have yet to meet a person from South Asia that doesn’t love biryani, my own family included! Biryani is a traditional spiced rice dish made with a type of meat and sometimes vegetables, many times eaten on special occasions. Just thinking about it makes me hungry! So biryani it was! We had a local small business owner, known for her scrumptious food across town, make … [Read more...] about A Few of Our Favorite Foods

Following Zara’s well-received nutrition classes, the class filled with women received a surprise bag of healthy goodies for their families! Each bag included fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, squash, and carrots, as well as 16 different types of vegetable seeds - plus some fruit tree seedlings to encourage them to put their newfound knowledge to use. Zara had emphasized the importance of not overcooking vegetables to prevent the nutrients from cooking away, and also said it was okay for children to eat certain vegetables raw, like carrots. This must have resonated with the women in Ispalal - a few of them washed the carrots from their bag of goodies right away and handed them to their children to munch on! While the nutrition class for their mothers was going on in the school, the kids had worked very hard with us to divvy up the colorful fruits and vegetables in the courtyard, showing us their balancing skills or counting skills in English! “We … [Read more...] about Eat Your Veggies!